Can A Real Estate Agent Benefit You?
Many home sellers bulk at the idea of having to pay commission and additional fees when they use a real estate agent to sell their house. These people however often forget to take into account the many benefits that they can receive from the professional and expert services available from experts in the real estate market:
1. Commission Is Only Payable Upon Sale
Did you know that your real estate agent will not receive any money to advertise, market or show your house to potential buyers. This means that they will have as much interest in selling your house as quickly as possible as you do.
They also receive a percentage of the sale price. So the more they can sell the property for, the higher the commission they will receive from the transaction. The agent will therefore do their best to sell your house at the highest amount possible, maximizing your profit.
2. Free Services
In an effort to retain your property for sale, a real estate agent or brokerage may offer you some of their services free of charge. One of the most common free services that you should expect to receive is a property valuation.
The real estate agent will take into consideration they type of property, the location, the size of the property as well as any other factors in determining the current market value of your property. This valuation will be the price at which your property will be listed at, but may not be the actual amount the property is likely to sell for.
As part of the valuation process, the real estate agent can help you calculate the profit that you are likely to make from the valuation price. They will educate you on all additional costs that could eat into your profits such as attorney fees, transfer fees, admin fees as well as their own commission.
3. No Pay Per Hour
Other industry professionals hire out their services on an hourly basis. Not your real estate agent. The time that they take in running a show house or taking individual clients to view your property comes at no extra charge.
No matter how many times they need to show the property before closing a sale, they should never require a fee for this services. However, you need to be aware that a real estate agents may employ someone to sit in your house on show days and not be there in person. They will need to pay such an employee out of their own pocket.
4. Access To Sales Skills
An experienced and successful real estate agent is a skilled salesperson and will employ all their sales tactics and expertise in selling your property. They will negotiate terms that are acceptable to both the seller and the buyer while always keeping in mind their own interest in increasing their income from the sale.
5. Professional Conduct
Most estate agents are registered with, or become members of, a specific local or national institution that regulates their actions through a code of conduct and ethics that they are required to adhere to. This protects you from swindlers or real estate agents that don’t act in a manner that is professional at all times.
However, it is not a requirement that a real estate agent become a member of these types of regulatory institutions and it is up to you to determine if they will conduct business in an ethical manner.
6. Access To Potential Buyers
Potential property buyers and investors often first approach a real estate agent when they are looking to make a purchase. Unlike sellers, buyers don’t have to pay anything to a real estate agent to view different properties that may interest them or to finalize a property purchase. This means that real estate agents have access to a greater amount of viable buyers. Viable buyers are those who really want to make a purchase and aren’t just wasting time shopping around.
If your real estate agent doesn’t offer you these free services or is unable to sell your home quickly and profitably, you may need to look for a different agent to provide you with a better solution.