Looking for a new home isn’t always the easiest task. The process can be complicated, stressful, and full of ups and downs – which is why enlisting the services of a qualified real estate agent is essential for helping you succeed.
A buyer agent helps people to navigate real estate markets, saving homebuyers money, time, and stress on their journey towards owning a new home. This is opposed to a listing agent, who represents the home seller. According to the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA), “an Exclusive Buyer Agent represents only the home buyer, in a real estate transaction. They work within a company that never represents sellers and never takes listings.”
There are agents who represent both buyers and sellers. If they work both sides of a deal, they’re likely to get more money, but it doesn’t always mean they’ll have your best interests entirely at heart.
Read on to learn how an exclusive buyer agent can help you find your new home – and more importantly, how to find the right buyer agent for you.
Benefits of an exclusive buyer agent
Buyer agents are, as the name suggests, an advocate for the buyer. They not only can answer your pressing questions and help work through your concerns, but they’ll also be by your side during some of the most challenging tasks in your home buying journey. For example?
Finding the perfect property
Buyer agents look to understand your wants and needs for a new home and then go about scheduling viewings of homes that will fit your bill. They will know about the pros and cons of different neighborhoods and can even help you work out your realistic purchasing budgets based on other hidden expenses that you might not have considered.
Negotiation
Buyer agents aren’t just there to understand your budget – they’re also there to advocate for you during the negotiations. The agent’s experience in negotiating deals is likely to help avoid pitfalls, as well as save you money on the final agreed-upon price.
Recommendations
The house buying process involves many professionals. Beyond real estate agents, you’ll need an attorney, a home inspector, and likely a mortgage broker as well – all of whom your buyer agent should be able to recommend to you.
Overcoming setbacks
The homebuying process is often full of hiccups. Negotiations can become heated, or a home inspection can bring new issues to light. Whatever happens, you’ll be happy to have an experienced professional with years of experience on your side to aid in finding productive solutions to overcome any setback that might come your way.
Finding a buyer agent
A quality buyer agent will make homebuying smoother – but that doesn’t mean you should hire the first buyer agent you meet, or that’s recommended to you.
Every agent works differently, and it will benefit you to speak to a few of them before agreeing to work with them.
Ask a few questions to get to know the agent, to see if their specialty matches with your needs. What areas do they work in? An agent familiar with the locations you’re interested in can give you the lowdown on different neighborhoods, and sometimes can even help you to see homes before they make it to the market.
Additionally, make sure that any agent you like has time for you. Part-time real estate agents can do a great job; however, if you’re buying in a particularly hot market, you might want an agent who’s on the job full time to make sure you’re at the head of the pack of buyers.
You can also contact the NAEBA to find an exclusive buyer agent in Long Island.