Working With A Realtor

Working with a realtor is an easy proposition for a home buyer. Since real estate agents can show you all the houses in the multiple listing service (MLS) in a single sitting, and since the buyer does not need to pay a realtor any money, there is little reason to try to buy a house without using one. You may here of houses that are "for sale by owner" (FSBOs). In theory, the seller of an FSBO home will tell you that they are saving on the realtor's fees and passing half the savings on to you. The problem is that you have no real way to verify that, and chances are the seller does not either. And a very small percentage of homes are sold this way so there is a lot less choice for you to look at.

There is no reason for you to tie yourself to one real estate agent. Find one that you are comfortable with, and make sure that you have a good relationship with them. Its important that you find someone that will listen to you, and will show you houses you are interested in looking at. It is also important that you trust them enough to accept their advice about market conditions, house prices, and other factors that guide your plan.

Unless you already know what house you want to buy, plan on hooking up with a real estate agent for a few hours. Tell them what you want. Have them help you figure out what you can afford. Have them show you pictures and details on candidate houses before you go look at any of them. Pick out a few that are of potential interest, and then go take a look at them. Working this way can save you a lot of time during the house buying process.

Once you find a house that you like and want to make an offer on, your agent will provide you with a form for the offer. This is when the real negotiating begins. While you can expect your agent to be helpful, bear in mind that you are not paying them anything. Your agent and the seller's agent (if they are not the same person) will split the fee paid by the seller. This means that they are employed by the seller (both of them), not you.

Nonetheless, most real estate agents are experienced negotiators, and they can make many helpful suggestions in how to approach the negotiation with the seller. Just bear in mind that the final decision is yours, and you need to decide for yourself what you are willing to do, and what you are not willing to do.

If you have not yet applied for a loan, but are ready to do so, make sure you consider offers from multiple lenders. Online services exist that offer a simple form to get quotes from up to 4 lenders. Getting multiple loan rate quotes improves your chances of getting the best possible rate.