Q: Why Do I Need a Real Estate Agent? Don't Find out when it's too Late
I have seen this so many times that I wanted to reblog Silvia's well written article so it would not be me saying "I told you so!" Thanks for the well written info every home buyer and seller can use and the permission to reblog it too my WCR fellow member!
Q: Why Do I Need a Real Estate Agent? - Don't find out when it's too late!
There is an interesting discussion going on about a consumer question asking why a buyer might need a real estate agent.
Buying or selling a home in itself do not require the involvement of a real estate agent. If consumers want to go it alone, that is their privilege. Some transactions go alright and then there are those that only seem to have gone alright - until after transfer of title when the problems begin!
I recently encountered just such a story. I was approached by a friend of a friend for some advice about renting or reselling a Spring Hill home he had just purchased by owner. It was actually the neighbor's house who had passed away and the heirs were selling the house. They came to an agreement on the price, it was a cash purchase and they went to the courthouse to do the paperwork for a quit claim deed the next day. The buyer didn't think he needed a real estate agent for that!
The new homeowner was really excited and promised to get back to me when he was ready. Fast forward a bit, I hadn't heard from the owner but I did hear through others the rest of the story!
Soon after the transfer of title, notices appeared on the front door of the home this buyer had just purchased. Yes indeed, they were notices from various contractors who had performed work but were never paid. The new owner started to get concerned and discovered that liens had been filed against the property. And that was not all... there was also a small loan that hadn't been paid off! It turned out that the "good deal" he got on the purchase became a rather expensive one.
How come the buyer did not know this? Real estate transactions are not as easy as they may seem! In this case, the buyer did not even work with a title company to have a title search conducted to make sure there were no liens against the property. He did not receive any disclosures from the seller and the property was transferred by quit claim not making any guarantees to the buyer.
The answer to the question "Why do I need a real estate agent" turned out to be a very expensive one for this buyer.
In this case, had the buyer worked with a Realtor in the purchase of this property, he might have paid a small percentage of the purchase price as a buyer representation fee. At a minimum, he would have received advice on how to properly follow the steps to buying real estate, making sure, clear title would be conveyed, and in the end he would have saved a lot more money by not being burdened with additional liens. Finding a property to buy is just one piece of the puzzle in the home buying process and often it is the easiest one. Putting it all together, giving proper guidance, making sure all procedures are followed correctly, is the value that professional real estate services provide.
Please read my related post:
What is title insurance and Why Should I get it?
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