Using a Real Estate Agent to Find Your Home
Having trouble trying to decide which home to buy in a
particular area? Most people do - if you're moving into an area
and haven't lived there before, you simply won't be familiar
with much in the way of where you should go. The solution:
retain a real estate agent to do it for you.
Most people are familiar with real estate agents from selling
houses, acting in their role as a broker. However, many people
don't know that you can also get a real estate agent to scout
around for you among houses that they aren't selling themselves.
You usually don't have to pay them a fee - they take a cut of
the commission from the sale of the house. This arrangement is
beneficial for a couple of reasons. First, you have an expert
person looking on your behalf for local housing. Second, because
they aren't trying to sell you one of the houses they represent
(if they offer, you should probably decline unless you really
like the house), the agent will be acting solely on your behalf.
They'll want to move you into a home, but they won't have any
incentive to push a bad house that they are getting a premium
commission for. You should always try to be at least a little
informed yourself - you may not know everything about the area,
but once the agent recommends a place to live, you should check
things out on your own. Don't rely on their word unless you
absolutely trust them - it's very easy to go check things like
crime statistics, etc. and you shouldn't get caught in a bad
area simply because you didn't want to do the work. If you have
friends in the area, ask them to scout for you or for their own
recommendations. You'll get a better house than by just relying
on somebody else - combine your own hard work with the knowledge
and expertise of an agent.