Why Use a REALTOR | New Homes Market Center
Once you are pre-qualified, there are six remaining steps to complete the homebuying process when buying direct from the builder or seller:
Why Use a Realtor®
Find a Realtor® That You Can Trust
Find Your New Home
Making an Offer on a Home
Inspecting a House
Steps to Buying a Home
Step 1. Decide to Use a Realtor®, Understand Why it is a Good Decision
There are two main ways to search for the perfect new home for sale: with a Realtor® or on your own. Thanks to current technology, you can search for properties online. This is an excellent tool for viewing homes for sale, but websites only display limited information. In addition, the information available to the public is usually three to four days behind the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is what real estate agents rely on when dealing with the current real estate market. You may also decide to spend your time driving in and out of neighborhoods or visiting builders’ model homes. Although you can see the outside of the properties first hand, it can be time consuming, and you risk not seeing all the properties that meet your criteria.
Some people think they will save money by locating and negotiating on their own. What they may find, however, is that they do not save money because the seller pays the commission to the Realtor® based on a percentage of the sales price. When you hire a buyer’s agent, you rarely have to pay them because the seller of the house already has an agreement to pay the seller’s agent a certain commission whether or not the buyer uses their own agent or not. The seller’s agent then splits his or her commission with the buyer’s agent.
If you do not have a buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent can choose to pocket the whole commission, and you do not get better pricing because the seller or builder of the house already accounts for the whole commission in the sale price.
In addition, shopping and making an offer on a house on your own carries with it many risks such as overpaying for a property. If you find a property on your own and make an offer, you will be working with the seller’s agent or on a new home, the builder’s agent. The seller’s agent will try to represent you fairly, but ultimately, their loyalties lie with the seller. You might be purchasing a house that is over market value, and the agent cannot tell you that because they are trying to get the higher price for their client. Many individuals find that after they purchased a house without representation, they realize they paid too much.
The second approach to finding a home is with the help of a licensed Realtor®. Whether you are looking for a new home or an existing home, a Realtor® that represents you solely as a buyer’s agent can help you save money in many ways. Agents have access to and can search the MLS in real time. The MLS offers more details and more properties than information available to non-licensed individuals. New Homes Market Center Realtors® not only have access to the MLS but also to thousands of new home listings that are not on the MLS. That is what makes us specialists when it comes to locating or building a new home. With more properties to choose from, you are more likely to find perfect new home and a better deal.
In addition, when you find a house you like, your Realtor® can help you negotiate the price and submit an offer. He or she can prepare a comparative market analysis (CMA) on the house you want to purchase. A CMA will tell you what other homes in the immediate area, that are similar to the one you want, are selling for or what similar homes recently sold for. Now read up on finding a Find a Realtor® .