Real Estate Agents Definition and Job Description is Changing in 2019

“It takes two to tango.” This is a saying we have often heard. Whatever kind of relationship a person enters too, ideally, each of them should work with one another to have a harmonious relationship. The same goes with home buying and selling. Though consumers hire real estate agents to do most of the home buying or selling process, their participation is still greatly needed. Here are the buyers and sellers’ main responsibilities along with the real estate agent’s duties:

• Disclosure Responsibilities: The buyer has the responsibility to present himself as a prepared, eager, and capable home buyer. This includes securing a pre-approved loan letter from a reputable lender and the proof that she or he can afford the monthly loan costs like rates and taxes, water and electricity, insurance premiums, homeowner fees, etc. In this way, the agent can assure the seller that the buyer is committed and can complete the purchase. This also helps to close the deal easily.  The buyer agent helps pick the best offer for the consumer, and compete wisely with any other prospective buyers.

On the other hand, the seller needs to provide necessary documents also, such as the original sales contract for the house (with the purchase price), documents related to title and ownership of the home, including property survey, certificate of occupancy, certificates of compliance with building and zoning codes, etc..  They may also need to provide an existing lease agreement (if there’s any), professional inspection reports (preferably done before putting the house up in the market), and any other important documents. These are vital as they will be taken into consideration in the purchase price negotiation.

• Home Search Criteria: Buyers should be transparent and upfront in telling the agents what they’re really looking for in their home search. Like if they need a home close to schools, their workplace or in hospitals.  Other important items include the number of bedrooms & bathrooms, if they need parking space or pools, or any other specific details. This will allow agents to have detailed information of what kind of homes they can look for that will match their criteria. Since they have access to the MLS, agents will be able to easily narrow down the homes that can be shown to the buyer.
• Home Inspection/Visit: It is strongly advised for the sellers to have their homes inspected before putting them on the market. It will help them locate the things/areas they might need to work on and prepare their homes ahead of time. The seller agents can help in finding reputable home inspectors that can perform the activity and prepare the paperworks when a prospective buyer asks for it.

Meanwhile, the buyer’s agent prepares thoroughly for showings. They will usually call the listing agent and obtain relevant information about the house.  They will walk through the  house with the buyer to get  the positive and negative attributes of it.  Once at the home, buyers need to inspect and investigate whether the house will fit their criteria. They will then be given the opportunity, through their agent, to find out from the seller how he or she plans to fix the issue or provide compensation in the sales price for it . In case the buyer ends up accepting the burden the making the repairs, the inspections and the walk throughs will give them an idea of how much they’re going und up spending after they purchase the home on repairs or replacements.

Finding the right real estate agents

With responsibilities and duties mentioned above, it only shows how important it is to find a viable and reliable source of information when it comes to the home buying or selling process.  Agents have access to a vast amount of resources, and the personal consultations helps consumers sort through the most important things to consider.

Kathleen Chiras, the manager of the BuyerAgentSearch Network says,  “I personally talk to the clients and we get the most important things they’re looking for in a property, and what qualities are important to them in real estate agents.  Our staff are real persons who listen figure out what buyers and sellers want.  The service provide top agents that match specific needs. We also provide a list of questions to ask when interviewing real estate agents, to help consumers filter out which agent they think will be ideal for them.”

Start browsing the best agents in this page of the Buyer Agent site for your next real estate transaction.