2. Your Realtor® has many resources to assist you in your home search. Sometimes the property you are seeking is available but not actively advertised in the market, and it will take some investigation by your agent to find all available properties.

3. Your Realtor® can assist you in the selection process by providing objective information about each property. Agents who are Realtors® have access to a variety of informational resources. Realtors® can provide local community information on utilities, zoning. schools, etc. There are two things you'll want to know. First, will the property provide the environment I want for a home or investment? Second, will the property have resale value when I am ready to sell?

4. Your Realtor® can help you negotiate. There are myriad negotiating factors, including but not limited to price, financing, terms, date of possession and often the inclusion or exclusion of repairs and furnishings or equipment. The purchase agreement should provide a period of time for you to complete appropriate inspections and investigations of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase. Your agent can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or required.

5. Your Realtor® provides due diligence during the evaluation of the property. Depending on the area and property, this could include inspections for termites, dry rot, asbestos, faulty structure, roof condition, septic tank and well tests, just to name a few. Your Realtor® can assist you in finding qualified responsible professionals to do most of these investigations and provide you with written reports. You will also want to see a preliminary report on the title of the property. Title indicates ownership of property and can be mired in confusing status of past owners or rights of access. The title to most properties will have some limitations; for example, easements (access rights) for utilities. Your Realtor®, title company or attorney can help you resolve issues that might cause problems at a later date.

6. Your Realtor® can help you in understanding different financing options and in identifying qualified lenders.

7. Your Realtor® can guide you through the closing process and make sure everything flows together smoothly.

8. When selling your home, your Realtor® can give you up-to-date information on what is happening in the marketplace and the price, financing, terms and condition of competing properties. These are key factors in getting your property sold at the best price, quickly and with minimum hassle.

9. Your Realtor® markets your property to other real estate agents and the public. Often, your Realtor® can recommend repairs or cosmetic work that will significantly enhance the desirability of your property. Your Realtor® markets your property to other real estate agents and the public. In many markets across the country, over 50% of real estate sales are cooperative sales; that is, a real estate agent other than yours brings in the buyer. Your Realtor® acts as the marketing coordinator, disbursing information about your property to other real estate agents through a Multiple Listing Service or other cooperative marketing networks, open houses for agents, etc. The Realtor® Code of Ethics requires Realtors® to utilize these cooperative relationships when they benefit their clients.

10. Your Realtor® will know when, where and how to advertise your property. There is a misconception that advertising sells real estate. The National Association of Realtors® studies show that 82% of real estate sales are the result of agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, family and personal contacts. When a property is marketed with the help of your Realtor®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your Realtor® will generally pre-screen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.

11. Your Realtor® can help you objectively evaluate every buyer's proposal without compromising your marketing position. This initial agreement is only the beginning of a process of appraisals, inspections and financing -- a lot of possible pitfalls. Your Realtor® can help you write a legally binding, win-win agreement that will be more likely to make it through the process.

12. Your Realtor® can help close the sale of your home. Between the initial sales agreement and closing (or settlement), questions may arise. For example, unexpected repairs are required to obtain financing or a cloud in the title is discovered. The required paperwork alone is overwhelming for most sellers. Your Realtor® is the best person to objectively help you resolve these issues and move the transaction to settlement.

[Source:  http://www.realtor.com/basics/allabout/realtors/why.asp]

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With MLS Listings Available Everywhere on the Internet, Why Do You Need a Buyer's Agent?

by Greg Swann, http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com

Here's an intriguing question: Given that it's so easy to search for homes on the internet, why do you need a buyer's agent?

Face it, if you use the MLS search tool on my web site, you're seeing exactly the same listings I see. And you know better than I ever could what you like and what you don't like.

By now, the home search process is at best a partnership between the agent and the buyer. In some cases the buyer and I will work together to perfect our search criteria. But many buyers simply search the available inventory on their own, emailing me the MLS numbers of the homes they want to see.

So why do those buyers need a buyer's agent?

Realtors hoarded the MLS data for so long that even they came to believe it was the source of their value to buyers. But this is very far from the truth.

You don't need me to search for listings, although I'm happy to do that. And you don't need me to open lock-boxes. You need a buyer's agent to guide you through what is in fact an arcane and perilous process -- potentially a financial disaster. You might not need me to find your next home, but you need me to make sure that you get it -- or that you pass on it, if that is what is truly in your best interests.

A skilled buyer's agent will write the kind of purchase contract that will prove surprising to you at every turn, with every term and condition tailored to achieve your best advantage. Your agent will supervise the inspection process and negotiate the optimal solution to the repair issues. Your agent will be prepared for every pitfall in the escrow process.

If you bought and sold houses every day, you could do all these things yourself. It's because you don't -- and because the seller and the listing agent are looking to take advantage of your naivete at every turn -- that you need a skilled buyer's agent as your steadfast champion in the home-buying process.

Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.

[Source:  http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/AZRep.php?Gfile=AZRepublic/296.php]