“Should You Use a Realtor When Buying a New Home? YES!”

Think of planning a trip to Europe without the help of a travel planner…or how about buying insurance without an insurance agent? Then imagine being involved in a major league business dispute, and you’re representing yourself in front of the judge and jury. If you depend on people in the service industry for travel needs, filing a claim for hail damage to your roof, or handling legal matters, then why would you want to represent yourself in the most expensive and probably most important purchase of your lifetime…your new home?

It is a common conception that buying a new home directly from the builder, without the assistance of a Realtor, will save you money. Not so! The price of a new home is the same whether you have a Realtor or not. Since this is the case, common sense would tell you to utilize a professional to help you with contract negotiations, researching loans, or helping you to decide which lot is best suited for you!

Phyliss Sinclair, a broker associate, has been on both sides of the fence. For 10 years, she represented builders as an on-site salesperson. During the past three years she has represented both buyers and sellers in resale and the purchase of new homes. Sinclair sums up new homes sales as, “A one price policy…buyers receive all of the services and don’t pay them any extra, but they also don’t receive any discounts. I always felt concern for buyers who weren’t associated with a Realtor, as they didn’t have the support system they deserve in such a major lifetime transaction.”

In our current, fast-paced real estate market, there are many new home communities to choose from. You need to ask yourself some pertinent questions when looking for a new home. Is this a good builder? Does he have a solid reputation, years in business, etc.? How does the quality of his product compare to that of other builders? What are the existing inventories of the various builders? How do builder models meet your needs (floor plans, square footage, and location)? If I sell in a few years, what upgrades should I include to be competitive?

When you find the answers to these questions, ask yourself if the time spent in researching these answers was time well spent – put a dollar value on your time. Real estate professionals can be a valuable asset in collecting information in areas which may affect your decision on the purchase of a new home.

If builders rely on real estate professionals to sell their homes, then why wouldn’t you, the buyer, take the same precautions in assuring yourself the best service and expertise in making this important decision?

Did You Know...

There is no cost to you when you use a Real Estate Agent to purchase a new home.

These are the advantages to using an Agent to find your new home

Knowledge of the market and geographic area
Help in finding the perfect home quickly
Expertise in contract writing & negotiation
Closing assistance
Buying a new home can be time consuming and labor intensive
Knowledge of and Good rapport with area builders
Database of information about subdivisions, floorplans, etc.
Familiarity with new home warranties and builders purchase contracts
Complexity of transactions & details
It will save you time and energy
Someone representing your best interests
There is no cost to you to have representation