available for sale, right?
WHY HOME BUYERS NEED A REAL ESTATE AGENT
Ah, not so fast, friend. The reasons to use a real estate agent today are as valid as yesterday. The ease of online transactions and proliferation of services to assist buyers in handling their own real estate transactions came recently, arising throughout the last decade. This has caused buyers to wonder if using a real estate agent is no longer necessary, or an expense that can be avoided. While doing the work yourself can save you if you buy a “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) house and the seller agrees to reduce the price by 3% (half of what a listing agent would receive), for many, a do-it-yourself home purchase might be pricier than a real estate agent’s commission in the long run. Besides, a buyer generally doesn’t directly pay any commission to an agent on a house purchase. On most home sales, there is a “listing agent” (the agent engaged by the seller to sell the property) and a selling agent (the agent who introduces the eventual buyer into the transaction). The selling agent is sometimes called the “buyer’s agent” because he or she is often working on a certain buyer’s behalf and it’s easier than explaining that the selling agent is not the listing agent but really the buyer’s agent. There are some real estate agents that market themselves as “buyer’s agents,” “exclusive buyer’s agents,” or “buyer’s representatives.” These real estate agents have chosen to
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