There have been several posts in the last week about the merits of buyer agency. I personally think buying or selling you should have your own agent. You wouldn't dream of going to court, even for the smallest thing and use the same attorney as the guy (or gal) you're up against, would you?
Why do that in a real estate transaction? If you're a buyer, it's not just that it's the biggest financial transaction of your life. It's also the place you're going to spend significant chunks of time in the next few years. You want to make sure you're close to what you need to be. That the kids have an easy time getting back and forth to school, that you feel comfortable and it feels right when you go home at night.
If you're a seller you want to make sure you're not jibbed. That you get what your home is worth. For you it's mostly about the bottom line. Very often your bottom line is what dictates what happens next and how much home you can afford when you move up or down.
Buyers and sellers have different motivating factors. I think the most obvious is that a buyer will always want to pay the lowest price possible. The seller will always want to make as much money as possible. How can one agent representing two parties achieve both those goals? There's a conflict of interest right there... I could go on, but I think I've already made my point!
So how do you go about finding the right agent? The first thing you do is to try and figure out what is important to you. Then you talk to a few agents and figure out if it's important to them too. Empathy is what it's all about. Trust your gut. Just because buying or selling real estate is a big deal, doesn't mean you need to be intimidated by the so-called Professional in front of you. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. Move on... I'm sure where you work you have colleagues who go the extra mile and others who just show up every day. It's the same with Realtors. Some just show up. You don't want one of those. Move on...Find yourself someone willing to go the extra mile.
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