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Why Use A Realtor?

The Seller Pays Our Real Estate Commission 

The best part of using a Realtor when purchasing a home is that you receive all the benefits mentioned below and the seller is responsible for paying the real estate commission! 

Realtors Are Real Estate Specialists

Not all real estate professionals are created equally. There are approximately 2.3 million licensed real estate professionals, but only members of the National Association of Realtors can call themselves Realtors. This association of about 750,000 brokers and agents provides a Code of Ethics to standardize professional behavior.

 Realtors Lower Your Risk

If you have a Realtor as your advocate, he or she will make recommendations that will assure that you are buying a home that is safe, environmentally sound and priced fairly according to the current marketplace. This can be particularly important in the San Fernando Valley given the many hillside homes and residual damage from the 1994 San Fernando Valley earthquake.

Realtors Understand The Current Market 

Real estate professionals have invaluable house-by-house, street-by-street, and market-by-market experience which can't be learned overnight. This is especially important in an area like the San Fernando Valley where neighborhoods can change drastically within a short driving distance. Realtors who have weathered the pendulum swing between buyers' markets and sellers' markets know that the real estate market can turn abruptly. Rising and falling interest rates affect the number of available homes for sale and their prices within weeks or days. All it takes is the entrance or exit of a major employer, and hundreds of homes in a neighborhood can be affected. As neighborhood experts, experienced brokers and agents can help you with home buying strategies and proposals that will get the right house at the best price and terms.

 Realtors Have Information You Don't Have

MLS data entry can take from one to 10 days, depending on the listing agent, his or her broker, and the rules and technology of the MLS. By the time the home is posted on the Internet, it could already be sold, this happens all the time in the hot San Fernando Valley real estate market. When you shop for homes on the Internet, you may not be seeing the most current inventory. That's why clever agents network with each other. As your agent, I will tell other agents about you and your wish list in exchange for information about upcoming homes for sale which are not yet in the MLS or the Internet. Many homes are bought and sold this way without a sign ever going into the yard.

 Realtors Understand The Complexity Of The Transaction

Less than a decade ago, a home could be bought with a two-page contract. Now consumer-mandated seller's disclosures, environmental and structural reports, and other legal documents have turned the home transfer into a potential minefield. Realtors work with contracts daily, and can fully understand which points are harmful and/or beneficial to you. From helping you make a reasonable offer, to providing for the discovery and disclosure of material facts, your real estate agent can also correctly interpret information for you.

Realtors Work For You...And The Transaction

Your agent not only represents your interests but also works on behalf of the transaction. Does that seem like a conflict of interest? It isn't. Buyers and sellers are natural adversaries. You want to buy for the least price, and the seller wants the most. Agents must be skilled negotiators to keep pride, ignorance, or stubbornness from getting in the way of a fair deal for both sides. As the buyer, remember that you are the one in control. You can instruct your agent how far to go in negotiations on your behalf. One day, you'll be glad your agent helped you keep your cool when the seller refused to leave that old chandelier.