Hiring a realtor can be one of the most beneficial things that you can do when you are buying or selling a house. I know it might seem counterintuitive to pay extra for someone to do a job that in theory, you can do yourself. But we do that with a lot of the professional services that we use.
We could probably fix our own vehicles, but we send them to repair shops. We could probably figure out how to do our own taxes, but we use accountants. We could probably treat our own illnesses, but we go to doctors. Buying a house should be the same.
There are seven reasons that you should hire a realtor the next time you purchase or sell a house. Let’s get into it.
Understand This First
As you will see in just a moment, you should most definitely hire a realtor for your next real estate transaction. However, you need to hire a GOOD realtor. Don’t hire someone with no track record or who doesn’t take their profession seriously.
When looking for a realtor, look for someone who has been in the industry for at least a couple years. Look for someone who you get along with and jive with. Make sure that you trust them. And remember, they work for you. A good realtor will listen to your concerns, treat you respectfully, and do all they can to help you get into the house that you would like.
(1) Realtors Will Get You a Better Price
The first reason that you should go about hiring a realtor is that you will get a better price. It might seem counterintuitive that you would pay money to a realtor to get a better price, but that is what generally happens.
If you are buying a home, generally you will not pay any of the commissions to a realtor. Most of the time, the seller pays the commissions to the buying and selling realtors (which are usually 5-6% of the purchase price split between the two agents). So if you are a buyer, you have nothing to lose, hire a realtor! But what about if you are a seller?
Let’s look at the hard statistics.
The average for sale by owner (FSBO) home sells for $260,000 while the average home sold through a realtor sells for $318,000.
That’s a $58,000 difference! And even if you factor in the commissions from the average $318,000 home sold by a realtor, the seller would still get $298,900!
That is still nearly $40,000 more by hiring a realtor!
(2) They Will Save You Time
A realtor will save you time. Loads of it.
If you try to sell a house by yourself, you can only offer it to a certain number of people. You can advertise it on Facebook Marketplace, buy online ads, tell your local network, and a couple other avenues to get the word out that you want to sell your house.
But if you hire a realtor, you will be able to advertise your house to an unlimited amount of people. This is because they can list the house on the MLS and they are working with a number of other buyers and sellers at the same time and could even offer the house to one of them before it goes on the market.
Generally, your house will sell much faster through a realtor than if you do a FSBO.
(3) Realtors Have Access to Houses that You Don’t
To continue on the last point, realtors have access to the MLS. Yes we all have access to websites like Zillow, Redfin, etc. But they are rarely accurate. So, again for this reason, you should go about hiring a realtor the next time you buy or sell a house.
A realtor will list your house on the MLS so that other realtors can see it and they can offer it to their clients.
If you don’t have a real estate license, you won’t have access to the MLS.
So, other than just driving around or calling or searching on real estate agent’s websites, you won’t know what houses are or are not actually listed, if they have a pending offer, or if they are under contract.
(4) They Have Professional Networks
Most of the time, realtors have very robust networks. They know other realtors, teachers, accountants, doctors, attorneys, and a whole host of other people in the community. So they will usually have their ear to the ground to know if there is going to be a house on the market soon.
Also, if you are moving to a new area, they will be an excellent source for contacts for school districts, accountants, attorneys, etc.
(5) They Have a Code of Ethics They Must Abide By
Realtors have to abide by a certain ethical code when buying or selling houses for a client.
That means that they are required to operate in a fiduciary capacity. This basically means that they are required to act with your own best interests in mind before their own interests.
Yes, some people have a story of how a realtor “screwed” them out of money or something of the sort. And while some of these stories are probably true, they are certainly the exception. If a realtor acts in an unethical manner and not in a fiduciary capacity, they risk their reputation, their job, and even their real estate license.
So if you think that a realtor would want to screw over their clients in a business that relies almost exclusively on referrals and risk their real estate license and their entire livelihood, think again. Yes this can happen. But it is very rare.
(6) They Know the Market
This is the biggest reason that you should hire a realtor.
Realtors know:
- What houses are on the market
- How long they are on the market for
- The general terms and conditions of a housing offer in the current climate
- Details about the specific neighborhoods
- What to look out for as far as probable repairs
- How to spot a nervous/desperate seller or buyer
- When to ask for repairs/what repairs to ask for
- How much houses are being sold for above or below the listing price
- And a whole lot more
Someone who is doing a FSBO, most likely doesn’t know (or even understand) these topics.
And if you try to buy or sell a house without understanding these things, you can lose out on THOUSANDS of dollars.
(7) They Understand Real Estate Contracts
This one is probably the second biggest reason you should hire a realtor IMO.
Real estate contracts and offers can be very confusing. Most of us don’t have an understanding of how they work at all. There are multiple documents that have to be filled out and signed in a specific order and at specific times.
A realtor will know all of these. And even if they have a hiccup and don’t do something right, they have back-office people to catch the error so that it doesn’t delay the closing process.
Realtors put in offers, accept offers, reject offers, and otherwise live in the world of real estate contracts. They are the professionals at them.
Final Thoughts
Hiring a realtor is one of the most important things that you can do when you are buying or selling a house. They will save you money, headache, time, and worry.
Like most things that professionals do for us, we could probably do them if we had to. But why do those things if we are just going to be stressed out about them, will lose money by not relying on the professionals, and will take longer without using the professionals?
Just hire a realtor. 🙂
You can do this!
Until next time!
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