Real estate agents are there to provide professional representation for you, whether you’re a new and repeat home buyer.
Using professional representation ensures that informed purchasing is the forefront of home buyer assets when considering a potential home.
Bound by law, and held to higher standards through the REALTOR® code of ethics, Realtors specifically, are considered to be trusted advisors when helping you buy your home in the lower mainland.
Table of Contents
- Preparing for your home search
- Navigating market complexities
- Access to Their Network For Financing
- Organizes relevant properties and showings
- Negotiates the best terms of sale and purchase
- Provides Property Insight and Due Diligence
- Establishes Proper Contracts
- Finalization and Closing on Your Deal
Preparing for your home search
One of the first steps for potential home buyers is making a list of desires and compromises you would be willing to make for your dream home. Some considerations include neighbourhood, size of home and lot, age of home, nearby amenities and price.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers a “Home Buying Step-by-Step Guide” which can give buyers confidence to make decisions regarding a home investment.
Next, a consultation should be made with a potential home buyer’s bank to discuss finances, loans and available subsidies or exemptions in preparation for searching for a property.
Reaching out to a Realtor before beginning the search on your own can save you time and money, as a Realtor will make sure you are provided with a proper support network.
Recommended Reading: Documents Needed for a Mortgage Pre-Approval in BC
In a shifting market, Realtors provide the research skills to find updated values on potential homes and current properties for home buyers and sellers. For both buyers and sellers, the starting points for searching the market come from resources on the internet, word of mouth, physical ads in newspapers, magazines or “For Sale” signs on properties or new development sites, and of course, real estate agents.
It is important to remain critical when house hunting. It’s easy to fall in love with a house as a first time home buyer. Comparing multiple properties and investigating their pros and cons with realistic expectations will help a buyer to make an informed decision.
Navigating Market Complexities
Realtors know exactly where to find information about trends and market history to best assist and ease the home buying and selling process. This understanding of the market can help to pinpoint exactly what a buyer or seller is looking for, and simplify the underlying complexities for the benefit of the client.
There are many questions and concerns that arise from potential investments into property, and with a Realtor by your side, these critical questions will be answered for you.
Realtors come with a network of professional assistance to help home buyers and sellers with finances, permits, legalities, databases, marketing and negotiating skills so that the client is free to participate on whatever level they are comfortable with.
A real estate agent can remind a buyer to look deeper at a potential home and think about the complexities:
- What kind of extra financial expenses could there possibly be?
- Will the home need repairs in the next few years?
- What kind of bills, utility costs, taxes and monthly expenses are associated with the home outside of face value?
- And more…
Realtors are trained to find this information on Multiple Listing Service (MLS®), by using Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), and through their extensive network of service providers such as, home inspectors, lawyers, contractors, insurance agents and collaboration with other realtors and the seller of the property to provide the records you may need.
Other considerations include finding out the existing financing on the property, the potential for development in the area, the neighbourhood culture, the nearby amenities, and the potential hazards, permits or land use legalities associated with a property.
Trusting a Realtor to help home buyers navigate these concerns can prevent fraud, buyers remorse and unexpected hardships as a result of knowledge gaps when searching for a dream home with a dream price.
Access to Their Network For Financing
Financing is the most important aspect of searching for a home. A limit on finances is to be expected and it reduces the amount of properties that are available for consideration.
As a home buyer, knowing your limits and making the most of your finances is the most beneficial asset to bring to the table for your goals. Realtors make sure you have explored all routes available to you and provide you with hard data on financially feasible home investments. The expertise of a real estate agent and their support network will give you the ability to sift through a large property market and find what will work best for your money.
The network that surrounds Realtors is extensive, from lawyers and notaries to insurance agents, lenders, brokers and financial institutes. By working with a Realtor, this network is available to you and will increase your options.
Alternatively, they also have the negotiation skills to look at outside-the-box financing methods like taking over existing mortgages on a seller’s home, or getting a “vendor take-back mortgage” where the seller of the home can lend the buyer the money to help make the sale. A real estate agent will work to make sure your financing options will take you to your goals.
Organizes relevant properties and showings on your schedule
Whether you have the time to be the face of all potential negotiations or not, a Realtor will be there to check out a house of interest for you or accompany you to a viewing. Having a Realtor dedicated to finding houses that meet your criteria means that they can give you the first shot at a new listing. Property databases like MLS® give Realtors the ability to check new listings and find older gems without a busy client needing to spend time searching on their own.
Once a property of interest is found, a real estate agent can forward the information to a client and start arranging viewings or open houses with a seller or listing agent that fits into a client’s schedule. Having a Realtor with you at a viewing will ensure that all potential questions will be considered and answered. They can give expert feedback to the pros and cons of every property.
Additionally, a Realtor can give you updates on activity surrounding a property, like, how many other people are interested, if there have been any offers, or other developments in a seller’s listing.
Recommended Reading: The Simple Process of Buying a Home in Vancouver
Negotiates the best terms of sale and purchase on behalf of the buyer
Realtors are skilled in marketing and negotiation strategies. These skills enable Realtors to confidently represent and communicate to listing agents or sellers on the client’s behalf.
An agent can use their knowledge of the ins and outs of the property market to make your finances work to meet your goals. Historical data on past sales in the area can give home buyers the confidence to put in an offer and be sure they are not overpaying for a property.
Realtors often use Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to compile this information for their clients. As the first contact for negotiations between buyer and seller, a real estate agent will work with their client to keep them up to date on the negotiations of price and terms of agreement until acceptance of an offer is reached.
Provides Property Insight and Due Diligence
The expertise of a real estate agent can give home buyers peace of mind when it comes to due diligence and property insight. Realtors listen to their client and go beyond the “wishlist” by reminding the client of important aspects to include when searching for and choosing a property.
The role of a Realtor is to ask the questions that often get overlooked and investigate the property past face value. The resource network of Realtors ensure that the right professionals are appointed to dig deeper into a property, such as, surveyors, engineers, home inspectors, contractors and lawyers.
These professionals provide a critical eye in order to give a potential home buyer an informed perspective. Along with physical and legal inspections, Realtors can find and provide information about previous or ongoing bills, past renovations, potential repairs, strata reports/plans and bylaws associated with a property.
Establishes Proper Contracts
Most home buyers are not aware of many of the details surrounding a property negotiation, but a Realtor can provide a sound strategy to ensure buyer and seller safety and satisfaction. Important information in a proper contract includes details around financing and deposit money, land and legal title transfer and dates, and insurance and assurances surrounding a sale.
A Realtor will work to create a solid contract that ensures additional client satisfaction, like the inclusion of a new front door, filling holes in the walls, or leaving behind the appliances, in a negotiation of sale. As the “face” of a client, a Realtor will make the first steps to put in an offer to a property and stay in touch with the seller or listing agent for updates.
After the first steps are completed, a Realtor and/or lawyer will help a client to review any documents to do with the house and property or negotiation contracts. Realtors use the professional expertise of lawyers and notaries to ensure Canadian contracts are without loopholes to legally bind and protect the buyer or seller in Canada.
Finalization and Closing on Your Deal
Finalizing a deal for a property is a milestone achievement. After the final signing of contracts with a lawyer or notary, a Realtor can make sure that everything runs smoothly and goes according to plan. One of the benefits of working through a real estate agent are the insurance and assurance protective measures to keep the plans moving and hold all parties responsible.
Realtors work in a well-regulated industry that encourages highly ethical work standards. This means that your Realtor will also be held responsible for any mishaps on their part. Clients of Realtors have multiple assurances built in to help them pursue appropriate actions if they feel their Realtor did not fulfil their obligations.
It can be easy to get lost in the paperwork without professional help. Realtors work to save their clients from headache and stress as there are a lot of steps and due dates in closing a deal.
Assistance on post-close issues or questions
When the property is finally yours, some new questions may arise. One of the first and most simple is: moving. You can move into your new property on closing day once the titles have been transferred and the keys given to you by your lawyer.
Your Realtor will be able to suggest a trustworthy moving company to help you get settled in your new home before this date, so that you can plan ahead. Any other questions that arise after closing day to do with the contract and obligations can be brought up directly to your lawyer or to the Realtor who will then pursue the proper routes of action. This means contacting any professional parties bound by the contract for the sale of the house, like, lawyers, home inspectors, cleaners, or repair people.
Overview: How a Real Estate Agent Helps a Buyer
Throughout it all, a real estate agent remains loyal to their client. Working with a Realtor helps to ensure smooth sailing through all of the steps and processes, whether you have experience or not. From searching for a home, to making an offer and closing a deal, the skills and network of a real estate agent work to the potential home buyer’s advantage.
Whether you have the time to be extensively involved in home searching and purchasing, or want someone else to take care of the more time consuming and tricky work, a real estate agent is an asset to your goals. Being confident that you have found the perfect property at the perfect price is possible when you ensure that all the necessary questions have answers, and a Realtor will do that for you.
Looking for a Reliable and Trustworthy Realtor?
If you’re unsure of any steps involved in searching for or selling a home, a great Realtor will save you time and money by putting their professional skills to work for you. Daniel John is an experienced real estate leader in Vancouver, BC, with a passion for his craft.
Daniel has 17 years of Realtor experience, and continues to learn in an ever-changing industry in order to stay at the forefront of real estate. The passion for his career has driven his success and ensured that his clients are also successful in reaching their goals.
Daniel’s approach is to “never-stop-learning” which makes him a great teacher for the new generation of real estate professionals that he teaches at BCIT. Along with being an education leader, Daniel served as Chair on the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® and is a member of the Sutton Group Seafair Realty team. His skills include marketing, development, and property management, all of which have helped families and investors achieve their property goals across Metro Vancouver.
Get in touch with your local friendly guides at Metro Vancouver Life, local real estate experts and area guides. We’ll help you have a smooth transition and especially closing day process, whether you’re buying or selling.