Working with Realtors
When working with a Realtor, you will pay a commission based on the price of the house that is bought or sold. Most often, if you are the one selling, you’ll be responsible of paying this fee, because seldom do buyers have to pay their Realtor. And if you use a so-called discount broker as your real estate agent when you list your house on the market, you will pay a lower fee, but should expect to receive fewer services in exchange. For instance, a discount broker might help with negotiation of sales contracts and paperwork, but not pay for advertising or do Open Houses, like a full service Realtor would be expected to do.
If you use a real estate agent to help you find and buy a house, be sure to give your agent as much information as possible about what you really want. Otherwise you may both waste time looking at houses out of your price range, with less bedrooms than you need, or in neighborhoods that don’t appeal to you. Have your agent view several properties before calling you, and then show you the top three or four, so that you don’t have to spend all of your free time driving around window shopping for homes.
If you use a Realtor, it is a good idea to first locate a good mortgage company to help with the financing. Nothing is more disappointing than to find the house of your dreams, but then lose the sale because of delays in getting a commitment from the bank to lend the money. By getting pre-approved for a loan, you can approach sellers with money in hand, ready to do business.
Real Estate Investing |