Someone on this forum recently asked if it was necessary to hire a licensed professional to handle a transaction where mistakes could have severe financial penalties. That sounds like the question that most real estate agents would say “Yes! Hire a professional.”
If the question had said the transaction was a piece of property, most agents probably would have said yes. But in this case, the transaction was filing your annual income tax and whether a CPA was necessary and/or worthwhile, so many agents said no. Many of them essentially said, “Why would I need a licensed professional to handle something that a computer program can do?”
Many real estate professionals take the position that it is irresponsible to buy or sell a home without a licensed real estate agent. If you try, you will fail and maybe lose your life savings. Yet, these same people go online and say a software program is as good as a CPA. The irony here is killing me.
Do I think everyone needs a CPA? Absolutely not. But I also don’t think everyone needs a licensed real estate agent.
You hire a licensed professional for one of the following reasons…
- The transaction is out of your league. You need someone with knowledge you don’t have.
- You have the knowledge, but you don’t want to fool with it. For example, you know how to file your own taxes or sell your own house, you would just rather have someone else do it for you.
I am happy to tell people that when I bought my home, neither I nor the seller had a real estate agent. Would I do that again? Maybe – it depends on the situation. Would that work for everyone in all situations? Of course not – it depends on the situation.
Is it fair for us to treat our industry like everyone needs us and only a fool would try to sell their house without an agent, but then talk about other industries as if their licensed professionals are a waste of money?
Whether it's hiring a real estate agent or hiring a CPA, it's usually worth it to hire a professional.
If you want to become a licensed real estate agent in Florida, please give me a call.
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