Do You Need to Hire a Real Estate Agent?

While there are no laws requiring homebuyers or sellers to work with a real estate agent, most people choose to hire an agent because of the many benefits they bring to the table. In addition, if the market is working against you, hiring an agent will help make the process of buying or selling a home far more pleasant for you.

Reasons to Hire a Listing Agent

If you are trying to sell your home, there are many benefits to hiring a listing agent. This is primarily due to the services that a listing agent is able to provide. Some of these services include:

* Creating marketing materials
* Developing marketing strategies
* Providing Internet exposure to your listing
* Promoting your listing at company meetings and MLS meetings
* Networking with other real estate agents
* Assisting with pricing your home according to market data and recent sales information
* Being able to contact inspectors, home stagers, repair contractors and other professionals on your behalf
* Providing private showings
* Gathering buyer feedback
* Confirming the qualifications of a potential buyer
* Negotiating the price of the home

While you could certainly conduct these things yourself, it is a time consuming process. In addition, many buyers are not comfortable with dealing directly with the seller, particularly when it comes to negotiating the price or other terms of the sell. In addition, buyers are often reluctant to provide feedback to the homeowner, but obtaining this feedback can prove to be invaluable when it comes to better preparing the home for sale.

Reasons to Hire a Buyer’s Agent

Just as there are many reasons to hire a listing agent, there are also several benefits to hiring a buyer’s agent. In short, the job of the buyer’s agent is to negotiate on the behalf of the buyer. Since the buyer’s agent represents the person who is purchasing the home, the job also involves keeping the buyer’s information confidential, providing the buyer with the information needed to purchase the home and disclosing all of the material facts. Some of the services that a buyer’s agent can provide include:

* Providing comparable sales information from tax rolls
* Providing MLS sales data
* Pulling property files to obtain property data, sales history and information regarding neighborhood services and demographics
* Obtaining copies of the property’s historical documents
* Gathering information regarding the listing agent’s list-price to sales-price ratio
* Calculating annual facts and identifying trends about a particular area
* Suggesting a pricing strategy
* Preparing an offer
* Reviewing documents
* Providing a buffer between yourself and the seller

Again, you can perform these services on your own, but hiring a buyer’s agent will help you save valuable time while also giving you a better chance of getting a great deal on the home you are purchasing. This is because the job of the buyer’s agent is to work on your behalf, which means he or she should do everything possible to help you find the home you are looking for while also working toward getting the best deal possible.

Ryan Lynch is part of the marketing team for an Austin real estate company. They specialize in Riverplace Austin and Steinerranch Austin, and they help both buyers and sellers of residential properties.