Why You Should Always Use a Licensed Real Estate Agent

Listing, selling and buying property is easy. Anyone can do it! Not so. It pays to have a professional real estate agent on your side.

The real estate market is awash with online advice for DIY selling and buying; virtual real estate agencies and now third parties that say they’ll sell your home and take no commission abound. Sounds like the way to go……ditch the Agent, take control and save money.  Winner!  Hmmm, if something sounds like it’s too good to be true – it probably is.  You should always use a Licensed Agent.  Here’s why.

Listing and selling real estate is our full-time job. We live it.  This is what we do, day in, day out.  We liaise with a wide variety of people from all walks of life. For us, selling homes isn’t just about ticking the boxes and keeping the balance sheet in the black.  It’s about changing lives by matching the right people with the property that best suits their lifestyles and budgets.

Negotiating can be tricky at the best of times, let alone when there is several hundred thousand dollars at stake and one party is trying to secure the most money possible, the other trying to relinquish the least amount of money possible. Licensed Agents act as messengers, intermediaries and sometimes psychologists, as we walk a fine line between how much or how little we convey, especially when buyers start relaying a laundry list of ‘faults’ in order to secure a lower price.  An outcome that could be promising, but instead ends in tears when seller and buyer don’t know how to give ground without losing face, would most likely have been saved by the diplomacy and negotiating skills of a professional Agent.

Fancy ploughing through a real estate contract with clauses, sub clauses, site plans, zoning certificates, sewer diagrams and sometimes old system documents hardly legible?  Well, that’s what we do daily.  We regularly deal with the same conditions and variables.  We can explain the inexplicable and facilitate the administration process.  And we are now permitted to exchange some contracts of sale in office which is a huge convenience factor.

It’s important that real estate agents are honest.  Now I know you probably raised your eyebrows at that statement but think about it.  As Licensed personnel, working under industry and government-initiated laws, the repercussions and penalties for lying can be severe – think back to the recent underquoting scandals that have plagued Agencies in both NSW and Victoria. Repeat business is integral to our success and honesty is vital in securing and maintaining customer confidence.

We are professional and highly trained. But above all, we are required to be Licensed across all facets of the real estate spectrum. We do not live, uncredentialed in cyberspace, but have offices you can visit and get to know our staff, all of whom have your best interests at heart, whether you’re a potential vendor, buyer, or investment property owner looking for the very best in management services. You not only want a Licensed Real Estate Agent on your side……you need one!

Receive your FREE what you need to know about selling and buying property book