Are you thinking of buying or selling a home in the Baltimore area? If you’ve bought or sold before, you might be tempted to take on the transaction by yourself—without the help of an agent. However, even if you’re a highly experienced investor, you still need a Realtor.
Here are eight things a real estate agent can provide for you.
Unrivaled Experience
Even if you’ve bought and sold dozens of homes throughout the years, chances are, a good agent has bought and sold a LOT more. Which likely means they’ve seen a lot of different situations and scenarios, too—and are equipped to deal with just about any issues that arise. And if you don’t know much about real estate, all the more reason to enlist the help of an expert.
Real-Time Local Market Knowledge
Bought or sold in another city or area? Bought or sold here… but 10 years ago? Or even 5 years? Odds are, everything’s different. And that’s where having an expert on your side really comes in handy.
Real estate is constantly changing. It’s different in different neighborhoods of the same city. It’s different from week to week, day to day. And likely, you’re nowhere near as up-to-date as an agent whose job it is to stay on top of everything happening in the local real estate market.
Professional Networking
As professionals working in the field each and every day, month after month, year after year, real estate agents develop a pretty vast network—and we’re not just talking about other agents or other buyers and sellers (both of which are quite helpful, though). Agents can also make recommendations for other types of professionals, like lenders, home inspectors, attorneys, contractors, and more.
And there’s no denying the value of being in the know ahead of the game—like before new homes list publicly.
Skilled Negotiation
Do you know what a good home offer looks like? Not just the price, but also the timeline, the contingencies, and all the legal details? You might not be 100% certain, but you can be sure your real estate agent is.
For buyers, an agent can help you craft an offer that’s competitive while keeping your best interests in mind. For sellers, that means reviewing received offers. And for both, that means negotiating with the agent on the other side of the transaction to ensure the very best possible deal for you.
Paperwork Relief
There’s a LOT of paperwork that goes into buying or selling a home. Literally, mountains of it. The purchase agreement alone is around 10 pages—not including disclosures or addendums. All said and done, most real estate files are AT LEAST an inch thick.
An inch. Of paper. That’s a LOT of tiny print and legal jargon to go over.
For Buyers—Cost-Free Assistance
Working with a buyer’s agent isn’t going to cost you anything. That’s right—you work with an agent for FREE. It’s actually the seller paying your agent’s commission, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of the free assistance? You have literally nothing to lose and everything to gain.
For Sellers—Expert Pricing, Staging & Marketing
Do you know what your home’s real-time value is? Fact: your home’s value has nothing to do with what you paid for it, with how many updates you’ve done, or with what you expect to make on the sale. Your home’s value has everything to do with what buyers are willing to pay. Do you know what that is? You might not, but you’d better believe your agent does.
Your agent will also be able to give you some tips for making your home look spectacular and super-appealing to buyers (so maybe you can inch that price up a bit…). And of course, your agent will make sure your home is seen by the maximum number of buyers. Because how else are you going to sell a home for top dollar?
Time. Plain Old Time.
Even if you’re a real estate expert, even if you have an extensive professional network, even if you know how to market and advertise, understand legal jargon like nobody’s business, and just absolutely love paperwork… Do you have the TIME to do all of that? Do you have time to scour the market for the perfect home? Do you have time to field calls and show potential buyers around your home? Do you have time to stay on top of every little thing the market’s doing?
For most people, the answer is a resounding, “No way!” and that alone makes an agent well worth having.
Thinking of Buying or Selling in Baltimore? Work with Me!
If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in the Baltimore area, it’s time to contact me, Kyle McCarthy. I’m here to help you explore the area, price your home correctly, and ultimately find success, whatever your goals may be.