In the state of Texas a person does not need a real estate agent to purchase a home. A person can also represent themselves in court in the state of Texas. There is also a saying that goes along with that: "A man who is  his own lawyer has a fool for a client."

The buying process is a process with many components and plenty areas where mistakes can be made. From disclosures and contracts to inspections, option periods, closing documents, and mortgage paperwork the home buying process is definitely a process worth having a professional help you with. In the Greater Houston Area there is a very strong Association of REALTORS®, known as the Housotn Association of REALTORS®. This group of agents has come together to build one of the strongest associations in the U.S. With an association web site that boasts more than 1.5 billion clicks per month there are billions of reason to use an agent in Houston.

I can go on and on about how HAR.com and the Houston Association of REALTORS® benefits its agents, but today I am going to head in another direction. That direction is new home sales and why a buyer should have a representative. So I have come up with a consolidated list of reasons why a person should use an agent on their new home purchase.

1) Common Misconception:

An agent's commssion will hurt my negotiating a better deal. WRONG. Most credible home builders in the Greater Houston area do not pay agents out out of the same funds that the home sell is negotiated from. Instead, home builders have a separate account  up, usually as a marketing fund, that is used specifically to pay agents. So regardless of how great a negotiator you think you are, wouldn't it be awesome to have a professional represent you in getting an even better deal? So, why not take advantage of a FREE service from a professional that has been a part of more real estate transactions than you will ever witness.

2) Confusing Real Estate Jargon in Contracts:

Unless you are a lawyer or a person that has read hundreds of real estate contracts, there is always going to be verbiage and addendums to contracts that confuse the average person. With the average sales contract stretching more than 10 pages long, wouldn't it be wise to have an agent that has already read hundreds of contracts that basically say the same thing that this contract does, but can find any fine print that may harm a home buyer? Don't take a chance and assume you understand or act like you do when you do not.

3) Negotiations:

Many New Home Sales Reps have a pre-determined dollar amount in which to negotiate. Typically, the less of that dollar amount they use to close the deal, the better they will look to their superiors, which will probablyu lead to a bigger bonus for that Sales rep. A well educated agent often knows thos pre-determined dolalr amounts or has a general idea of what that magic number is and how to negotiate to get every penny form that builder. TRUE STORY: I was in negotiatios with a New Home Builder for a client of mine and I had a previous relationship with the Sales Rep that we were dealing with. That Sales rep and I had already discussed the pre-determined amount and I had negotiated every penny that anyone could. Somewhere within our negotiations I mentioned to him that I would like to help my buyer with a financial gift after closing from my commission. After I said that he mentioed a special online coupon that is hard to find on the web site that would give me an additional $2,000 cash bonus at closing. He printed the coupon out for me and we applied that money as a gift to my buyer to get them an even better deal. I believe we used it for upgrades and some closing costs. If I had not been aprt of that transaction or anagent had not been involved at all, that money would not have been accessible to the buyer. I would like to think that most people would agree that getting an extra $2,000 just for having a representative is getting the best the builder has to offer. FREE Professional Representation + $2,000 = Make sure to use an agent when buying a New Home!!!

4) Catching Mistakes:

We are all human and we all make mistakes. In a home purchase there are hundreds of people involved, so there are hundreds of opportunities for mistakes. In the building process of a New Home there are contractors, painters, general contractors, framers, masonry experts, roofers, plumbers, electricians, escrow agents, closers, processors, and many more people. Who is going to double check all of these aspects of the building process while the home buyer is at work? An agent's job is to quarterback the whole process to allow the buyer to continue doing their job, while having peace of mind to know that their prucahse will go smoothly and all the loose ends will be tied up. 

Those are just a few of the main reason why buyers should use a real estate agent when purchasing a new home. If that isn't enought to convince you to make the phone call toa  local agent, I don't know what is.

About the Blogger:

As owner of Capital Trust Realty and creator of AskOzzie.com I have learned a lot about how business is affected by the local economy. I appreciate all of the blessings that our local economy has given our company and look forward to growing and servings thousands more clients in the future. If you ever have questions about real estate and do not want to feel pressured, feel free to call, e-mail or stop in to get your questions answered.

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