14 Reasons You Need a Great Real Estate Agent

Allow me to preface this listicle with a real story from yours truly.

A quick aside to address a common misconception, a buyer typically does not “pay extra” for a real estate agent. Both the buyer's and seller’s agents pay is built into the sale price. In other words, you are already paying for an agent’s services when your purchase a home. With this in mind, you should find an agent who is going to earn their pay.

Without further ado, here are:

14 reasons why you need a real estate agent (and why it should be me)

Search for a Home

Finding a home is just a fraction of what real estate agents do. Great real estate agents can facilitate this search, but the best agents will work with clients in a dialogue of how to search. Some clients like to be involved and actively seek out homes on Zillow or Redfin and bring them to their agents attention. Other clients trust that their agent will find the right home for them. The best agent is going to work with you to develop a plan on how to conduct the right search for you.

Remember that finding the home is just the beginning of a real estate agent’s job. Once you find the right home, it takes an average of 60 days from the acceptance of the offer to the closing. You want a knowledgeable agent to guide you through this process.

Direct Access to Listings

Many prospective homebuyers find their homes on Zillow and Redfin. These websites have changed the way clients find homes and are a valuable resource to homebuyers. However, these sites draw listings from the ultimate source called the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service. The MLS is the master database where all homes are listed. You will find homes on MLS before they are on secondary sites like Zillow or Redfin. Like the other big sites, you can browse the MLS for free. Access to the MLS is granted through a real estate agent. With just an email address and your search criteria, I can register you on MLS to receive daily emails with new properties on the market.

The advantage to being on MLS is speed. By working with an agent through MLS, you have access to properties before casual buyers find them on Zillow. This gives you a competitive advantage in a tight market. You can be the first to place an offer on a home because you saw the listing first.

Build a Relationship

I am going to be by your side throughout the entire home-buying process. I like to build a relationship with my clients to get to know their interests and preference in a home. Many home-buyers are attracted to alternative agents like those on Redfin because they offer a rebate. Each home you view with Redfin, you may be with a new agent who doesn’t know your preferences. They aren’t going to be involved with later stages of the buying process like negotiating after the home inspection. You want to work with someone who is going to know your needs and provide guidance along the way. If you’re traveling across country, you wouldn’t want a different Uber driver planning and driving each leg of the journey.

Local Area Expertise

I am an expert on Boston’s housing market. I can provide analysis on various neighborhoods like the number of three-family homes sold in South Boston in the last year or what a 3 bedroom apartment in Mission Hill rents for at a moments notice. As a former teacher in Boston, I firmly believe that knowledge is power. I am willing to share any information with you or direct you to where we can find it.

Evaluate a Home

Once you have found a home, the next question is how much is it worth? This is where a CMA comes in. A Comparative Market Analysis is a valuable tool that I share with all my clients. I pull data from recent sales in a neighborhood to estimate the market price that the home should sell for. I provide this information to you as a report which we can go over. This informs us as to how to proceed in developing our offer price.

Negotiate Competitive Offers

In real estate, there are so many other factors in negotiation besides price. A strong CMA can estimate a fair market price, but there are other factors that need to be considered. For example, a mortgage contingency, size of deposit, home inspection, home sale contingency, occupancy status, and condo document review are just some of the factors that can strengthen or weaken you offer. Once we have decided on our offer, I will write and submit an offer to the seller’s agent.

Manage Dates

The timeline for buying a home may appear daunting, but it is the role of your agent to develop one so that it is acceptable to you as a buyer and to the seller. Your agent will establish deadlines and key dates in your offer to purchase and will help you maintain that schedule as the transaction proceeds smoothly. This includes purchase & sale agreements, home inspections, smoke detector certificate, Title 5 inspection, and closing. If you miss a deadline you may forfeit your deposit on a home. It is my job to make sure you are fulfilling your obligations as a buyer so that the transaction runs smoothly.

Build Your Team

When you buy a home, you need to assemble a team. This team typically includes a real estate agent, an attorney, various home inspectors, and a mortgage lender. As your real estate agent, I am the captain and you are the coach. I coordinate with the rest of the team so that we are following your directions. You want to make sure everyone is qualified and working together. As a member of the FOCUS Real Estate team, I have many highly referred personnel to complete your home buying team.

Coordinate With Others

Throughout the various stages of buying a home, you want an agent you can trust to communicate with the other participants in the transaction such as your mortgage lender, seller’s agent or any attorneys. It is important that everyone involved is fulfilling their obligations and it is my job to hold everyone accountable.

Physical Presence

A transaction can be a long process and a great real estate agent is going to be by your side the entire way. There are numerous in-person meetings that cannot be performed online such as an open house, private showing, home inspection, or closing. I believe it is important to be by your side throughout each meeting to support you.

Understand Condos

If you are thinking about buying a condo, you need an agent who has experience with this unique type of property. Condos add a layer of complexity to the transaction. It is important that you work with an agent who can navigate them process and help you understand condo documentation.

Smooth Transactions

Your transaction should run as smoothly as possible. You want an agent who is accessible to you in any form of communication, whether email, Messenger, phone, or video conference. I allow my clients sign using an e-signature platform to facilitate immediate documentation.

Pre-Market Properties

Some of the best deals are made even before they are publicly on the market. A great agent will provide you will access to these so you can decide if they are right for you before other buyers find them.

Being a Member of a Strong Team

Working with a great team of agents multiplies the benefits of working with a great agent. I work at FOCUS Real Estate which established in Boston, particularly in Jamaica Plain. Our tightly knit team has 57 years experience and we have been voted best of JP in 2016 and 2018. 2017 was a bad year. (Just kidding.) A great team is going to have a network of buyers, sellers, contractors, lenders, and every other resource you may need. Your agent should be happy to share them with you.

Message Me

Let's talk today to see what I can do for you.

John Cancilla

Cell: 617-608-7664

John@focusre.com

Focus Real Estate

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