Your mother-in-law’s cousin’s Uncle Fred may have successfully bought a house without an agent, and, yes, you’ll have to pay an agent’s commission. But the pros of working with an agent far outweigh the cons – especially if you want the get the house you want, at a price you want, when you want, and without any legal upsets later down the line. Basically, the best course is to always work with an agent in Port-Elizabeth. Why?
1. Code of Ethics
One great reason you should always work with an agent in Port-Elizabeth is that most of the time they are bound by National Association of Realtors’ (NAR’s) code of ethics to, in all instances, put clients’ interests above their own. In addition, the NAR holds agents accountable for making full disclosures about a property’s problems and issues and for truth in advertising. What could be better than having a trained, truthful, ethical real estate professional in your corner to help you get the best deal possible?
2. Pricing Expertise
Through long experience and industry knowledge, most agents can accurately assess the value of a home as soon as they walk through the front door. They also know the value of comparable homes in the neighborhood. And this means that a good agent can help you avoid getting stiffed on price.
Sure, you can check out home prices online yourself, but you should always work with an agent in Port-Elizabeth because a qualified agent, with her extensive pricing knowledge, can help you avoid wasting a lot of time. She can help you sift through the possibilities so that you look only at homes within your price range and that meet your specific criteria.
3. Awareness of Pitfalls and Problems
Just because closing is right around the corner doesn’t mean that everything is a done deal. Many times, problems arise in the final hours that can kill the deal.
For example, it may turn out right at the end that the title isn’t clear after all, or maybe the buyer is having unexpected problems getting the financing. A proactive agent will help ensure that you don’t find yourself in such as situation.
4. Repair Requests
Always a sticky part of the process, repair requests are another good reason why you should always work with an agent in Port-Elizabeth. The process of requesting repairs – and most homes have some issues that need to be addressed and can affect price – is often difficult to navigate and requires a good measure of both experience and expertise. Further, you may not be able to see some of the needed repairs that your agent can discover. And then, too, it can be pretty intimidating for the layman (you) to try to wade through an inspector’s long, jargon-laden report in order to know what issues need to be addressed.
5. Rational Negotiations
But negotiations don’t end with repairs. There are also pricing issues, closing cost sharing, closing date and venue, and appliances issues. Yes, you could negotiate your way through these things yourself, but would you remain all through it as cool and level-headed as your agent? For whenever you let emotion get the upper hand, you bargaining skill declines proportionately.
Your real estate agent is truly on your side. It’s a partnership, and when you’re happy, your agent has been successful. And that’s a very good reason why, when buying your first house, you should always work with an agent in Port-Elizabeth.
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