A realtor doesn’t cost the home buyer anything! Realtor’s commissions are paid by the seller.
Sure, your wife’s uncle’s boss’s daughter might be a realtor and she may have done a great job for someone else. That doesn’t mean that you should use her. What makes a great realtor is how they handle and prepare for unknown situations that come up during a home purchase.
A good realtor is worth their weight in gold. When my wife and I bought our home, our realtor was able to get the seller to accept our offer, even though it wasn’t the highest offer!
No, but it doesn’t cost you anything to use a realtor as a home buyer. Why wouldn’t you use a professional to negotiate and do all of the paperwork for you? It will save you money and from the stress of navigating a home purchase on your own.
A realtor will:
Simply put, a great realtor, like a great mortgage broker and a great real estate lawyer will save you time, money, and stress during your home purchase.
Many realtors will push any purchase in order to get paid. A great realtor will give you their honest opinion about what a home is worth. They will advise to be patient not overpay for a home.
A great realtor will :
When I first started buying investment properties, I was unaware of the importance of having a “great” realtor. I was under the impression that any realtor who had been doing it for a few years would be just fine. The realtor I used did not draft the holdback clause in the purchase contract correctly. That little mistake ended up costing me over $3,000 for repairs that should have been paid for by the seller.
Realtors are paid commission from the sale proceeds of the home.
The typical breakdown of a realtors commission is:
You sell your home for $350,000
Realtor commissions are 7% of $100,000 = $7,000
3% of $250,000 = $7,500
Total - $14,500
That $14,500 is then split between the buying realtor and selling realtor.
