Buying a Home?
5 Important Reasons You Need Your OWN REALTOR®
And The #1 Reason Buyers are afraid to sign up with one
5 Important Reasons Why Buyers Should Have Their OWN REALTOR®
“I was a bit nervous signing up with a realtor to help me look for my new place. I hesitated because there was a paper to sign and a commission was involved, but then I realized that it’s the seller who pays for my very own real estate agent”
REASON #1 As a buyer, you shouldn’t have to pay any real estate commission. So get your own REALTOR® to represent YOU…and RELAX!
Yes, you should sign a ‘Buyer Representation Agreement’ with one REALTOR®. He/she will represent & protect YOU. They will also make it easier for you to find and view the right properties. Best of all, their commissions are covered by the seller as per the seller’s listing. There’s absolutely no reason to be afraid of hiring a licensed, professional REALTOR®.
“I thought I could get a better deal by using the listing real estate agent when I bought my house. Imagine my outrage when I later found out that listing agents are under contract to look after the best interest of the seller. How is that fair?”
REASON #2 NEVER use the seller’s listing agent!
Buyers don’t realize that unless an agent is under contract as your ‘Buyer Representative’, they represent the seller. Listing agents have a legal obligation to represent the seller and to provide them with their best advice and efforts. Their highest level of duty is to the seller. That means, first and foremost, they represent and protect the interests of the seller.
Some listing agents may say that they have an “in” with the seller or “can get you the best deal” or “can reduce their commission to get seller to go for a lower price”. The truth is real estate agents are rarely happy to cut their commission.
As an example, the listing agent may ask you how much money you have for down payment and how much mortgage you were approved for. This info will let that agent know if you can afford to pay more for the house. Do you think that secret will be safe with them? That’s why you need to have your own agent on YOUR side who will keep ALL your information strictly confidential and is bound by law to do so.
“I found 3 condos online and I was ready to view them. I thought I was being smart by calling the listing agents directly. So much time was wasted waiting for them to call me back. Turns out that I managed to see the 3 units on the same day, but it took almost the entire day because of the time spacing and waiting for each of them to show up at their convenience. NOT doing that again”
REASON #3 Super Convenience!
Your very own REALTOR® should have access to just about all listed residential properties. Isn’t it great when several showings are set up, one right after the other, so you don’t have to invest an entire day or two? Or you can stagger the viewings as you like. Just tell your REALTOR® what you prefer. They will have access to keys for every property. They will literally open doors for you.
“My agent knew which homes were listed at the actual price, not at the intentionally low price in order to attract bidding wars. He knew which listings were accepting offers anytime without having to wait for an Offer Date and then be forced to compete with others”
REASON #4 Avoid frustration.
The general public can only see ‘partial’ listings online. The public does NOT have access to all the information in the MLS®. You don’t have access to private notes that Brokers have on the properties. You don’t see some updated information. Also, the average buyer is not trained, educated and experienced in real estate transactions like REALTORS® are. And yet, you spend hours and hours trying to find a place that will fit your needs and budget, only to find out it was sold days ago or the ‘real’ price of that particular home is about $100,000 more than listed. And by the way, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t continue look for a property online while you have a REALTOR® on the job for you…you can’t help it
“My realtor got to know us and what we’re really looking for. It made our search so much easier”
REASON #5 The Result is Key!
A good Realtor® will ask you the right questions in order to get to know YOU. It will make the entire home buying journey much smoother. And when it comes time to make your offer, the REALTOR® will easily prepare a competitive offer that will get you that home and on terms that works for you, the BUYER. The final result you want is getting the keys to your new home in your hands and on your terms.
BOTTOM LINE: Professional advice and guidance through every step of your real estate transaction… without charging YOU a fee.
Also keep in mind…
- Without your own REALTOR®, you will very likely NOT negotiate a better purchase price
- Without your own REALTOR®, make sure you have a good real estate lawyer from the start.
The #1 Reason YOU are afraid to commit to your own REALTOR®
Many home buyers think they’re outsmarting the system by using 3 or 4 real estate agents without committing to 1. Three is better than one, right? Oh, so wrong! There is only 1 MLS® system and all REALTORS® have exactly the same access to it. No agent can get you more info than what others can. And as mentioned above, the real estate agent representing the seller is legally not allowed to give you any ‘inside information’. The only difference is YOU.
Many people think they will find the right property online before a REALTOR® could. Please remember that absolutely NO listed property goes online or gets updated without going into the MLS® first. That’s why you spend hours or days finding what you think is the right home, only to find out from a real estate agent that it was sold a couple of days before. Your system of searching online may be too slow, specially in a hot market. But this is NOT the #1 reason why YOU are afraid to sign up with a REALTOR®.
Some clients sign up with a REALTOR® and still go online to search for a property themselves. And they should. Specially when they haven’t communicated to their agent the exact specifications they need in a home. It also helps keep the agents alert and on their toes when they know you are actively searching on your own.
The #1 reason is…You are afraid that you will be responsible to pay some or all of a real estate commission. Buyers sometimes think that there may be a “fine print” in the agreement that will make them responsible to pay for some kind of costs or commissions, even if they don’t buy anything.
As a licensed REALTOR®, I make it very clear in the Buyer Representation Agreement that the Seller is responsible for commissions and the client is not responsible for any costs or expenses and I delete all clauses that may suggest otherwise. Ask me about it!
And when it comes down to choosing a REALTOR®, chose an experienced one. I know you trust a family member or a close friend, but if they were recently licensed, you’re relying on their lack of experience to handle the biggest investment of your life…and it hurts me to receive calls from people who did just that, but are now asking me to somehow fix it. It happens a lot.
Sol Kahane
Trusted REALTOR®
Member of TREB, OREA & CREA
Cell 416-576-6656
theRESULTisKEY.com
