Homebuyers, including first-time buyers, usually use the Internet for the preliminary work of finding homes for sale and collecting information on neighborhoods and recent sales. But those buyers, particularly if they are first-timers, often use real-estate agents to identify long-term value in properties, negotiate prices and ensure that deals go through.
Functions of real-estate agents
Many first-time homebuyers will not be purchasing their dream home as their first place, and often have difficulty seeing the true value in homes. Many of these same buyers will be moving in the future so it is a good idea to think about resale when the buyer is purchasing. Buyers may not be aware of things like the problem of living on a busy street, or know to check on issues with homeowner-association covenants.
A real-estate agent can point out potential issues that could affect the resale price of a home and suggest small changes to increase the home's value. When I'm showing a house that absolutely does not work, I dig into why it doesn't work. When we see other houses that may be a better fit, we discuss what does work for them and why. First-time buyers should rely on their Realtor to provide them with data about comparable homes that have sold, how long a home has been on the market, what homes haven't sold and all the activity that has been happening in the local real-estate market. Ultimately, it is the buyer's decision what price and terms they wish to offer. However, buyers should be able to rely on their Realtors to guide them toward an educated offer on the home. Negotiation occurs not only at the beginning of a transaction over price and terms, but also possibly after a home inspection, an appraisal and at other times between contract and closing.
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