With so much information readily available online, clients sometimes ask, “Why should we hire a real state agent?” They wonder, and rightfully so, if they couldn’t buy or sell a home through the Internet or through regular marketing and advertising channels without representation, without a real estate agent.  Some do OK, many don’t.  So if you’ve wondered the same thing, here are 10 reasons why you might want  to consider hiring a professional real estate agent.

1. Education and Experience  You don’t need to know everything about buying and selling real estate if you hire a real estate professional who does.  Henry Ford once said that when you hire people who are smarter than you are, it proves you are smarter than they are.  The trick is to find the right person.  For the most part, they all cost about the same.  Why not hire a person with more education and experience than you?  We’re all looking for more precious time in our lives, and hiring pros gives us that time.

2. Agents are Buffers Agents take the ‘spam’ out of your property showing and visits.  If you are a buyer, and agent can filter out undesirable homes, saving you time and frustration.  If you are a seller, your agent will filter out those phone calls that lead to nowhere from ‘lookie loos’ and try o induce serious offers from serious buyers.

3. Neighborhood Knowledge Agents either possess intimate knowledge or they know where to find industry buzz about your neighborhood.  They can identify comparable sales and hand these facts to you.  For example, you may know that the home down the street was on the market for $390,000, but an agent will know it had upgrades  and sold for $345,000 after 65 days on the market and had two collapsed sales.

4. Price guidance   An agent  will help to guide sellers to choose a  realistic listing price for their home.  Selling agents will ask buyers to weigh  all the data and choose  a value for an offer.  Then, based on market supply, demand and the conditions, the respective agent will devise a negotiating strategy.

5. Market Conditions Information Real estate agents can disclose market conditions, which will govern your buying or selling process.  Many factors determine how you proceed.  Data such as the average per square foot cost of similar homes, median and average sales prices, average days on the market and ratios of list-to-sold prices, among other criteria, will have a huge bearing on what you ultimately decide to do.

6. Professional Networking Real estate agents network with other professionals, many of whom provide services that you will need to buy or sell.  Due to legal liability, many agents hesitate to recommend a certain individual or company over another, but they know which vendors have a reputation for efficiency, competency and competitive pricing.  Agents can however, give you a list of references to help with your decision.

7. Negotiation Skills & Confidentiality Top producing agents negotiate well because, unlike most buyers and sellers, they can remove themselves from the emotional aspects of the transaction and because they are skilled and experienced.  It’s part of their job description.  Good agents are not messengers, delivering buyer’s offers to sellers and vice versa.  They are professionals who are trained to present their client’s case in the best possible light and to hold client information confidential from competing interests.

8. Handling Paperwork A contract of Purchase and Sale is a complicated legal document designed to protect the interests of both the Buyer and the Seller.  Most real estate files are inches thick , ensuring all aspects of the sale are accounted for.

9. Answer Questions After Closing  Even the smoothest transactions that close without complications can have questions.  Good agents stand by ready to answer questions and assist in any way possible.

10. Develop Relationships  The basis for an agent’s success and continued career in real estate is referrals.  This emphasis gives agents strong incentives to make sure their clients are happy and satisfied.