What is the role of an estate agent when buying a home?
The role of an estate agent may be obvious when you are trying to sell a property, but what if you are buying? How can an estate agent help you when searching for your next home? Read more to discover how to work with an estate agent to secure your dream home.
When you begin your search for a new home, you will soon realise it can be a minefield. There are websites, portals, social media exclusives, and, of course, estate agents. It is easy to get bogged down in endless lists of properties as you add the ones that stand out to you in the various saved lists on different websites. Before long, all of the properties start to look like each other, and you can't remember if you have seen one or not.
Most property searchers in this scenario will resort to looking only at the most recently listed properties, keeping an eye on the newest to the market rather than getting lost in the weeds. But what if there is a perfect property that has been on the market for a little while, yet to be snapped up by another buyer, but it could be the perfect home for you? If you stick to the newest listed properties, you won't even see this gem. This is where estate agents can help!
Of course, as a buyer, you don't pay estate agents anything. No fee is charged for them to help you find a property to call home. They are paid by the sellers to sell the property, so essentially, agents work for the sellers. But that doesn't mean that they will not help a buyer out.
Why? Because without buyers, there would be no sales.
It makes sense then that estate agents will help buyers find their dream homes. They will arrange for you to view properties and send you promotions of new properties that come onto the market, showing you properties that you might be interested in. Agents are trying to match a buyer to the property they are selling, so if they think it might work for you, they will make sure you know about it.
However, agents are an integral part of the house-moving process for all parties involved, so how can an estate agent help you buy your next home?
- Expertise in the local market - Estate agents deeply understand the local property market and market trends overall. They can give you valuable insights into current trends, pricing and available properties in the area.
- Property search - Estate agents can help you narrow down your search for your next home, potentially saving you hours of endless scrolling. With their in-depth knowledge of each property and information about new houses coming to the market that may not be live yet, estate agents can help you narrow your search and find your dream home.
- Viewings - Once you have narrowed down your search to a shortlist of properties, it is time to see them in person. The estate agents can arrange appointments for you to view them.
- On-going support and guidance - Finding the property and having an offer accepted feels like the end, but it is, in fact, just the beginning. If you've ever bought a property before, you will likely know there is a lengthy legal process and mortgage application before you get the keys. An estate agent is essentially the linchpin of the process, with access to discuss the progress with all parties involved. This means they can hold the chain together and keep everyone informed, dealing with minor issues before they become major problems and helping everyone move towards that all-important completion day.
Estate agents play a crucial role in helping both sellers and buyers during the moving process. From helping you find your next home to collecting the keys, the estate agent guides you through the process and ensures you have the best experience possible.
If you are looking for a new home, the best thing to do is speak to our team of property experts so that they can get detailed information about the type of property you are looking for and show you homes that fit the bill. The devil is in the details; if you keep things vague, you might have lots of properties to sort through, but if you drill down into specifics, we can really help you find the home of your dreams.
Get in touch to start your moving journey today.