Why Use a Buyers Agent: The Pros

Are you curious to know the value of a good buyer rep? Many buyers chose to do it alone and search for a house without having a buyer agent. After all, most homes are listed online, so why not just work directly with the listing agent?

Many buyers only understand what a good buyer agent does when it’s too late. They’ve overpaid for a home, bought in the wrong neighbourhood or just given up on buying altogether.

Here why it makes sense to hire a buyer rep to help you transition from home buyers to happy homeowner. Here are the top 5 things they do for you.

1. Help you find the Right Toronto Neighbourhood

Choosing your next neighbourhood is one of the most fun parts of buying a home and your agent will play a critical role in educating you about the pros and cons of various neighbourhoods. Your agent will help you understand transportation options, demographics, nearby restaurants/shops/services and the trends that are happening in that neighbourhood. What’s going on in a neighbourhood is not always obvious unless you are intimately familiar with the area. We just happen to be South Etobicoke neighbourhood experts.

 2. Help Find you the Right Home

Finding the right home can be time-consuming. How often have you seen a home online that looks perfect, but on first viewing, you find out you could have ruled it out before stepping foot into the home if you had been familiar with the street?

• Your buyer agent can pre-inspect homes for you and only show you ones that really meet your buying criteria.
• They can ask the important questions: Have there been any water issues in the basement? Were the renovations completed with permits? Are there any issues with the neighbours or is there an undesirable new development planned for the area?
• Finding out about the ongoing costs of the property (hydro, heat, water, etc.)

One of the Buyer Agent’s most important jobs is to make sure you don’t buy the WRONG house.

3. Negotiate Price and Contract Terms 

The Buyer agent works for the Buyer, so their job is to negotiate the lowest possible price with the best possible terms for the Buyer. The Buyer’s Agent will look at the price history of the homes you’re interested in, the prices of comparable homes in the neighbourhood and what’s happening right now in the market. They know what’s being planned for the neighbourhood that may affect property values. They’ll advise you when the seller’s terms just may not be a fit for you and you should move on to another property.

4. Help you Find the Home

Today’s Buyers are often identifying the homes they are interested in themselves…but that doesn’t mean that Buyer Agents don’t play an important role in locating homes. Sometimes that means introducing the perfect home that was overlooked because it didn’t fit the initial criteria or neighbourhood or finding an opportunity to buy an Etobicoke home for sale that is coming to the market and not yet on MLS.

5. Connect you with the Best Resources

You’re most likely going to need a home inspector, real estate lawyer, movers, and potentially renovators. A neighbourhood buyer agent will have a wealth of knowledge on who’s good and who’s not.

Does Who I Hire Matter?

Who you hire to represent you on the purchase of a home absolutely matters.  Who you choose to work with will impact whether you actually are successful finding a home, the choice of the home you buy, the neighbourhood you buy it in and how much you pay. It can mean the difference between:

• Giving up on the whole deal and not finding a home at all
• Overpaying for a home vs. paying market value
• Buying an Etobicoke condo in a building filled with university students vs. buying a condo housing professional couples like you
• Unknowingly buying a house that require costly repairs versus knowing before you buy
• Losing money on your real estate investment versus being cash flow positive

So there you have it.  Hopefully you now get the value of a good buyer rep.  Best of all, it doesn’t cost you a dime.  If you’re evaluating your options for a buyer rep, we’d love to share witht your what we do.  You can reach us here