Buyers - The Cost/Benefit of Engaging a Realtor

Searching for a property can be fun, sometimes frustrating and often time consuming. Whether you’re looking to purchase in the near future or just beginning to explore the real estate market for a potential purchase “down the road”, a Realtor® can help you simplify your process.

You may or may not be aware, but we have the tools to automatically trigger e-mails to our customers when a property meeting the criteria you set comes on the market. Typically I provide my clients access to the current inventory of properties that are on the market at the present time that meet their criteria. Then the automatic e-mail process updates that inventory when a new property comes up for sale. This gives you a “heads-up” and the opportunity to jump on a “hot” property immediately. My clients have found this a far more efficient approach – freeing up the time they are spending scouring websites and newspapers – allowing them to focus on other things that provide a greater return for their effort.

You also may be well aware that engaging a Realtor® to help you search for and purchase a home typically costs you virtually nothing (at least here in central Pennsylvania – practices may differ geographically). However, if you’re a first time buyer it’s important to understand that in the vast majority of cases the sales commissions earned by a buyer’s agent are paid by the seller of the property, leaving the buyer of the property to pay only a small administrative fee (at most a couple hundred dollars) for their agent’s services – and then that cost is only borne if you actually buy a home.

A common misconception among potential buyers is that it will cost them less if they deal with the agent whose name appears on the sign on the house in which they are interested. While that “listing” agent should be fully capable of assisting the buyer in the transaction, it is important to understand, their client is the seller of the property and it is the listing agent’s responsibility to represent their client’s best interest – including helping them get the best/highest possible price for their property. In these situations buyers will often end up paying more for the home than if they had worked with a “buyer’s” agent – one whose responsibility is to represent their best interests – to help them negotiate the best possible deal on their behalf.

Some of the key services a buyer’s agent will provide are:
* helping you to identify properties of interest
* arranging, coordinating and showing you homes
* assisting you in obtaining financing
* providing you guidance in your decision making process
* negotiating the “deal” on your behalf
* coordinating the settlement and transfer of the property to you, the new homeowner

Realtors® provide professional expertise and guidance to the buyers with which we work at little cost to them other than their time and the small administrative fee if they actually buy a home. To use an overused phrase, “it’s almost too good to be true”. A word of advice however – it’s important that you have confidence in your buyer’s agent. For that reason I suggest that any buyer contemplating the use of a Realtor® invest the time to meet and get to know the Realtor® before entering into a buyer’s agency relationship.

The most important aspect in any home buying process is that it be done on your schedule and with your interests in mind. The process has to meet your needs. As your agent, it is our goal to tailor our services to satisfy your needs/desires.