How to Hire a Real Estate Agent and Save Money

Real estate agents charge fees; money that could otherwise be going into your pocket.  At least that's the common misconception amongst home sellers.  But is that the reality of the situation?  Do real estate agents really take up a large portion of your house sale price?  Does a professional real estate agent really cost you that much?

The first thing to acknowledge is that yes, a real estate agent is going to charge you a commission.  However, he's not getting something for nothing.  In fact, when you realize what the real estate professional does, you'll understand that although he does charge you a fee, you are not actually out of pocket.  So what does a real estate agent do, and how do they earn their money?

The first thing that a real estate agent brings to the table is an up-to-date working knowledge about houses in your area, what price they are currently selling for, and who's buying them.  This is invaluable because they know exactly the kind of target buyer who will be interested in taking a look at your home with a serious interest in buying it.  This kind of buyer is often already qualified so that if they like what they see, you're more likely to see the sale through to closure than if the buyer hasn't even started trying to raise finance to buy a home.  

An experienced real estate professional will be able to advise you on what needs to be done to your home in order to sell it at the best selling price for your type of home in your area.  It could be that his list is actually shorter than yours based on how much return you will get for investing time and money in repairs and updating such things as drapes.  You may know your home better than he does, but he knows what sells, and his knowledge on how to place furniture in order to maximize natural light etc could make the difference between selling and not.

Selling a house isn't like going to the store, picking an item off the shelf and buying it.  There a lot of legalities and paperwork to be covered before a closing a house sale.  A real estate agent works with this paperwork on a daily basis.  They know how to simplify things and get the official process taken care of as quickly as possible.  They will negotiate on your behalf with the buyers, the financial people and the legal people so that all the ends are tied up neatly and you won't have a legal case on your hands in the future because of a form that didn't get filed, or a negotiation clause that was forgotten in the excitement. 

On the surface, it may seem that a real estate agent is there to take your money, but in actual fact, his experience and knowledge will help you speed up the process, and because of his negotiating skill, could put more money into your pocket than you pay into his.