Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Property Matters are Tough Decisions
Property dealings are not as simple as shopping in the mall for clothes, shoes, or accessories. It's not as easy as just choosing the home you want and paying the asking price. Both buying and selling are difficult deals, and you must be alert enough so that the opposite party doesn’t take advantage of your naivety and cause you to lose out financially.
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It seems to be a requirement these days that buyers and sellers hire real estate agents to act on their behalf in property transactions, but the truth is that these people will take a large portion of whatever price is agreed for themselves.. Agents are in such demand because many of those who want to buy or sell a property feel that they cannot do so without them. People are worried that all the legal aspects of the deal are too complex and they'll never be able to get things done alone.
Skip Real Estate Agents
With the dawn of the internet, that scenario has changed. You no longer have to depend on agents to locate that dream home - you can find them yourself. When looking for a home to buy, the last thing you want to do is go through a real estate agent, who'll only try to push you into buying one of his or her own listings, rather than the home that's actually best for you.
Act Smart – Get a Real Estate Valuation
Nevertheless, when it comes to the negotiations, you'll probably have to deal with the seller's estate agent, and so a word of caution is advised - do not agree to whatever price they first quote you. Be sure to negotiate, and to boost your argument, get a commercial real estate valuation done from a certified, legal property appraiser. They can help you set an accurate and fair price for the property so that you won't fall into the real estate agent's trap.
With real estate appraisal services, you no longer need the help of an agent in property dealings. Appraisers don't take sides in any deal, so they're a much more trustworthy source of help in such matters - as such, you can be guaranteed that whatever price they quote is a reasonable indication of the property's true value.
About the author: Aiesha Wells is the staff writer of RD Clifford Associates. RD Clifford Associates, that blogs about property appraiser and helps people on real estate investing. If you want to invest in property, you can check out New York property appraiser for more information.
Aiesha,
I'm a certified appraiser and broker and have been doing this full time since '89 first in NY and now in GA. While I see many agents as ineffective commission chasers, there are many full time pros that provide an invaluable service to clients. Just as WEB MD doesn't make doctors out of people, real estate sites - no matter how informative - cannot prepare someone for buying and selling property. This is a multifaceted process that has become combative under the best of circumstances. Folks not privy to this - or those agents that are not true pros, inexperienced or just inept - are routinely blindsided by the level of nonsense that is encountered. Through negotiating a contract, inspection, appraisal, mortgages, legal issues and the myriad of other unexpected issues, a quality agent keeps a client out of trouble.
Suggesting that all you need to buy a home is an appraisal is both ridiculous and poor advice. Do we need to examine the appraisal business and look into the problems inherent in that? How many of the long time experienced appraisers have left the business? How many fee chasing rookies are working from their basement, covering areas well out of their comfort zone? How many are cutting back on data services to save money? How many are working off reports that are 90% boilerplate to save time? And you want someone purchasing a home to place that amount of trust in an appraiser?
By the way, agent representation for buyers is paid for by the seller in most states, in a sense there is no fee to be properly represented. And refrain from saying that 3% or so can be deducted from the sale price; most sellers aren't open to that as they want to maximize their net. And if the seller is represented by an agent, do you think that agent isn't going to look to collect the full commission?
I'm all for raising the bar on agents - unfortunately this is a business that embraces anyone that can pay "fees"; if brokers and the industry set performance standards we could improve this miserable - yet often deserved - lousy reputation. However, your opinion that Joe Buyer can handle all of this is just well off base.
I was very disappointed that this would even come from an appraiser. Who is very unqualified to speak on what a value a Realtor would have. I have also found that many times we get appraisers from out of an area and realy do not have the expertise to appraise a home. Maybe this should be a topic of better discussion. Realtors are a valuable part in a transaction, as many appraisers are. I love the assumption on what the commission may or may not be. Without a Realtor handeling all the buyers side of the transaction. Who do you think will? It will land on the sellers agents side, I guess the additional work should be for free. Makes me wonder how much of a expert in Real Estate you could be. I am also all for raising the bar on appraisers, and making sure that they are qualified/knowledge able to appraise the area in which the choose to take a job in.
I think your article is only a ploy to try and get a extra appraisal out of buyers. Because as you know the lenders will still require their own.