Free Real Estate Articles by Damian Lanfranchi and Done-For-You Deals

When Is A Realtor Right For You?

Buying a house, call a Realtor.
Selling a house, call a Realtor.
Renting a house, call a Realtor!

This is how most of us have been trained to think, right?

Yet – do you really know exactly what a Realtor does, how they work and when they are and are not the right answer???

If you are thinking of buying or selling a property any time soon – this Real Estate Agent 101 is a MUST-READ for you.

In general, Realtors either work for the buyer or the seller. (They can sometimes work for both at the same time, but let us keep this simple).

When a Realtor works for you as the seller of a house – they are called a sellers agent. They place your property on the Multiple Listing Service or MLS, which is the database used by Realtors to find properties for their own clients. The only way to get on MLS is to be listed with a real estate agent.

A “good” sellers agent will also market and promote your property with open houses and other advertisements. They can also assist in the closing process. But this is not always the case. Some agents list properties on MLS and that is about it.

Lots of folks think you only use a Realtor to sell a house. Not true.

When a Realtor works for the buyer – they are called a buyers agent.

They will search MLS to find potential property matches for you and then arrange appointments for you to visit these places.

So a sellers agent represents the folks selling the house and a buyers agent represents the folks buying the house.

Got it?

When a property exchanges hands this means TWO separate commissions must be paid.

A commission is paid to the sellers agent who listed the house.

And a commission is paid to the buyers agent who brought the buyer to the property.

Two commissions and if you are the seller, you pay BOTH.

Typically the combined percentage paid is 6%, which on a $250,000 property is $15,000.

So as a seller, this $15,000 will come out of the net proceeds of the sale before you get your share.

Now that you know how the process works – when is a Realtor the right for you?

(Stay Tuned for – When Is A Realtor Right For You? – Part 2)

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When Is A Realtor Right For You? Part 2 of 2