IS A REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL IMPORTANT IN SELLING OR BUYING PROPERTY?
Johnny Horton, United Country H5 Auction & Realty

NO! A real estate professional is not important…...a real estate professional is CRITICAL in getting property sold or bought! An experienced, qualified real estate professional facilitates the selling and/or buying of property on a daily basis. No offense to sellers and buyers, but dealing in real estate is not, in most cases, their primary area of expertise, and certainly not something they deal with every day.

Even though we are currently in a “HOT” real estate market there are things that come up in the process of selling or buying real estate that could be better handled by a real estate professional than the actual seller or buyer of the property.

Here are 7 issues or skills that might be encountered when selling or buying property:

SALES KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

o   Facilitating real estate transactions requires sales knowledge and skills

o   A proficient real estate professional will know the right things to say as well as the most effective questions to ask and when to execute them!

o   A skilled salesperson may be able to save a buyer thousands of dollars or get their seller thousands of dollars more using effective sales skills.

PAPERWORK

o   There is liability involved in filling out contracts and other paperwork

§  I would suggest that many sellers are not aware of the requirement for providing buyers with a completed and accurate Seller’s Disclosure Notice.

·         Undisclosed issues that a seller is aware of can cause sellers a lot of problems if discovered after the fact.

o   Most real estate transactions require more paperwork than just contract.  A real estate professional will know exactly what documents are necessary for any particular transaction and how to properly complete the necessary information.

NEGOTIATING SKILLS

o   Negotiating skills are essential to making the best deal possible for all parties involved.

o   The only successful deal is one in which both buyer and seller leave the closing table with a smile on their face!

o   You must “Know when to hold em’ and Know when to fold em’!”

o   Negotiating is not only important during the pricing process. Good negotiating skills can make or break a deal when dealing with inspections, appraisals, surveys, etc.

INSPECTIONS

o   It is critical to know when to order the home inspection.

o   For a Buyer, reading a home inspection may be frightening and make them believe a property is in poor condition causing them to think they want to avoid the property. The guidance of a competent real estate professional may help them separate the issues that may need to be addressed from cosmetic issues that may or may not need to be addressed.

o   For the Seller, a long, detailed inspection report may appear to be somewhat offensive. A qualified real estate professional can walk them through the inspector’s report and see what, if any, issues should be addressed to provide the buyer with a property with no known safety issues.

APPRAISALS

o   Competent real estate professionals have the tools and skills to help both sellers and buyers compare the subject property with recently sold properties to arrive at realistic pricing.

o   Arbitrary pricing without legitimate comparable sales may result in disappointment if the appraisal comes out below the sales price.

o   Even if an appraisal comes back lower that desired, a skilled real estate professional can salvage what might be a failed transaction by negotiating a workable resolution between buyer and seller.

SURVEYS

o   Should you get a survey? When should you order the survey? What is a T-47?

§  These are all things that a professional real estate agent can make sure are property taken care of to make the transaction flows smoothly.

o   Reading and understanding a survey are important in making sure that buyer and seller know the exact boundaries of the subject property.

§  Reading and understanding some surveys can be challenging to an inexperienced person.

TITLE COMPANY

o   Why can’t you just go to the courthouse and record a deed to close a real estate transaction?

§  You can, but without a title search there may be issues with the title that can cause issues, maybe even prevent the property from being sellable in the future.

o   A real estate professional knows that all titles should be searched for liens and encumbrances.

o   Your real estate professional will make sure the title is insured for the buyer.

o   Often there are issues in the chain of title on a piece for property that must be addressed before a title can be insured.

o   Often there are heirs discovered in a title search that must be addressed before a title can be insured. A qualified real estate professional will know how to work with the title company in making sure all heirs are located and affidavits are in place.

Every real estate transaction is different from the previous one. Some are trouble free and
very simple to navigate while others are laced with challenges that require special skills and knowledge to address and correct to get the deal closed. If you need heart surgery, are you going to do it yourself? Of course not! You will hire an experienced well-trained hear surgeon to take care of you. Even though the sale or purchase of your real estate is not critical to life or death, it is an important financial transaction, possibly the largest transaction you will ever be involved in. It is wise to procure the assistance of a skilled, well-trained real estate professional to facilitate your transaction as quickly and smoothly as possible.