Buying or Selling Your Home
Why Use a Broker?
by Charles Martinez
Perhaps the single most important reason to use either a Buyer Agent or a Listing Agent is finding the funds necessary to complete a successful transaction. In today’s market, money is a critical and sometimes rare resource.
Qualified real estate professionals are guides and knowledgeable subject matter experts who can help you navigate this fundamental requirement of buying or selling real estate.
A professional broker/realtor can find funding for construction
loans, commercial loans, jumbo loans (yes, they are still out there),
single and double-wide manufactured homes, rehab or renovation loans,
down payment funds, and even 100-percent loans for qualified homebuyers.
Professional brokers/realtors develop long-standing business
relationships with lenders who constantly develop portfolios to meet the
ever-changing needs of today’s homebuyers. This allows your agent to
act as your advocate by guiding you toward several financing options to
best meet your specific home buying needs.
Most sellers who choose
to be their own “agent” often cite their opinion that a) they can
complete the transaction without any help, and b) they will “save money”
by cutting out the agent as a middleman. These seem like legitimate
reasons. However, professional listing agents always act as consultants
and will offer competitive pricing information to a seller. Among
numerous other services, the agent analyzes the net proceeds his client
requires and ensures that any commissions earned will not impact this
pre-determined net amount.
National statistics demonstrate that
sellers who use such professionals pocket an average of 16 percent more
in sale proceeds. This is NOT due to the great negotiation skills of an
agent (although some of us would like to believe so). I believe it is
the financial options that a knowledgeable professional can bring to the
table. He or she can help a home sale become reality by helping
potential buyers acquire the needed funds to purchase the home of their
dreams.
Whether you are a buyer or seller, this could be the
difference in how and whether you “survive” or “triumph” in your
transaction.
