Realtors are the middle people. When someone wants to sell their home, they can try and sell it themselves, or they can contact a realtor and have the realtor sell the house for them. Most people choose realtors to sell their homes. It takes too much time for an individual to advertise the home, arrange the actual sale and take care of all the other costs and fees. That’s why the realtor business is so enormous; realtors eliminate all the hassle of selling a home. They take care of all the paperwork, they arrange the actual sale and they take care of what fees and closing costs are to be paid. For their services they usually require between three and five percent of the sale. It’s not loads of money, but if realtors sell a few homes in a month, they can earn a pretty hefty wage.
Realtors can provide you with all the resources you need when buying a home. They can take you on tours of the home. They can give you an idea of what the interest rates are and how much money you could qualify for. They can work with you. They want to work with you because you are in their best interest. Your potential purchase is going to put food on their table so they should treat you well. However, you need to keep in mind they represent the selling client’s best interest as well. Remember, the higher the sale, the more money for the realtors. Realtors are generally easy to bargain with though. You can make an offer and the realtors take the offer to the selling client. If the client accepts the offer, welcome to your new home. If the client rejects the offer, you can still work with the realtors to find a price that meets the selling client’s standard.
If you don’t know a realtor well enough that you feel you can trust him or her, ask a neighbor, friend or relative which realtors they’ve worked with. You can usually find a realtor that has worked with a close friend or family member. Once you’ve chosen a realtor, you’re not obligated at any point to continue with that particular realtor. You can leave the relationship at any time. If you’re unsatisfied with a realtor’s determination to facilitate buying a home for you—just leave the realtor. Go find someone else you like better and who will help you more.
When the time comes to start signing papers, make sure the realtors explain to you in detail what each portion means. If you don’t understand something, have the realtors clarify it for you. Don’t just take their word. For example, a realtor might tell you that a part of the papers you are signing is not really important. That should raise a red flag. Don’t allow realtors to brush certain things aside. Ask questions so you know exactly what you’re getting into.
Some people have lawyers and accountants accompany them to the signing agreements. It just depends on the trust you have in the realtors and their organization.
By John Ivie