Why do you need a Professional to handle the biggest investment of your life? Intro

So Far this year has been off to a GREAT start!  The Real Estate market is On Fire! It's a Sellers Market with Low Inventory and Many Buyers! Interest Rates are Low, Home Prices are rising, and  with the HOT Market have come some new and scary developments for homeowners.  I have found that there are predators preying on the naive and uninformed*.  There are companies offering to assist you to sell your home on your own, in the name of saving on the commission. There are "real estate" investors offering to buy your home as-is with cash for you to have a fast close and save on the commission. There are real estate companies providing discounted services to just post your home on the MLS so that you only have to pay the buyer's agent commission and save part of the commission, but are these services just Wolves in Sheep's Clothing?  Does a Home Owner actually SAVE money by not paying a professional to help them with the biggest investment of their lives?

*(As depicted in this painting by my daughter, Haley.
The predator may look beautiful (enticing) on the outside but it's purpose is to hurt you)

Are all of these companies really out there to help the consumer? Is "Saving on the Commission" really putting more money in the consumers pocket?  If you use Turbo Taxes to do your taxes are you really Saving money on paying your taxes? You may be saving a few hundred dollars to not pay a professional who knows the codes and deductions you can take to Save thousands in Taxes that you don't necessarily owe.  Is it in your best interest to go to court and represent your self to Save money on an attorney when the Plaintiff is represented by someone who knows the laws and possibly has experience and a good relationship with the judge?  Would you Save money to deliver your own baby because you saw how to do it on Youtube rather than have a professional help you who knows how to handle complications and has the tools to do so when needed? 

I know there are people who have had bad experiences with professionals in any industry that made them feel like they were better off doing it themselves! Trust me! If I knew how to install a pool I would've done it myself rather than waiting for the contractor to get around to helping me! But in the end, I am glad that he did it and knew what he was doing because I would've screwed the whole thing up and cost me so much more money and time and probably would've had to pay him to fix it in the end and it would've cost me more than if he had just done it in the first place! 

Rather than giving much attention to these companies, I want to educate and inform the consumers and help them make an informed decision as to the best way they can capitalize on their investment, their home and prove to them that I am a Professional and that there is value in my services.  

I know first hand, from my own experiences as a do-it-yourselfer and from the experiences of those that I have helped the value of what I do for people.  Here are just a few real-life examples that I can share:

In the early years of our marriage (20 Years ago), being young and naive, we thought that if we didn't have an agent, naturally we would save the money that an agent would receive.  On the first 3 properties that we bought we didn't have an agent represent us. We offered Full asking price on the homes and thought that if we just used the listing agent, we would save money. We had no one to let us know if we were paying a fair price, no one to let us know that we should or could do an inspection (heck we wanted to save money on that as well! Why pay $250 when what you don't know doesn't hurt you!). We had no one to let us know if the lender was giving us a good rate or fees, but we did find out at the closing table that they had jacked up the fees and the rate to put more money in their pocket and if we hadn't of had the good faith estimate at the closing table we would've been screwed! (by a family member no less). Then when we went to sell these properties BY OWNER on the first one we made $5,000 what a whopper, but we saved on the commission so we were happy that we had come ahead. Little did we know that if we had hired an agent we would've sold it for $20,000 more! Same with the next 2 properties! On one we made $10,000 and didn't have to pay an agent! But again, hind site-would've sold for $30,000 more after the remodel that we had done! On the third one, we sure saved on the commission! We also walked into closing with $10,000 because the person we had sold it to was an investor who was also a mortgage lender that knew the value of our property and our inexperience. If we had paid an agent to represent us, we would have walked away with that $10,000 and another $10,000!!!  So this was the beginning of Amie and Bryan Larsen's Real Estate Career! We decided that we needed to learn how to do this right if we were going to do it! 

Now, 20 years later there are companies offering to help you SAVE THE COMMISSION. No they aren't free. You pay them a fee as well!  But they recommend to you to get a Real Estate agent's opinion on value and to Pay a Real Estate agent a flat fee to put your home on the MLS to market to the 95% of buyers who are represented by Real Estate Agents while they post it on other websites that are proven to be ineffective and are used by Real Estate agents to generate leads, so in the end, you are just helping the agents that are paying for those sites to get more business! All the while having no one to negotiate on your behalf, ensure the contracts are written in YOUR favor, or to make sure that you are paying accurate closing costs, and are not going to end up in a lawsuit! 

When you enter into a Real Estate Purchase Contract, you are entering a legal and binding contract. The very first paragraph advises you to seek legal advice. But when a Real Estate Professional acts as your "Agent" and as your fiduciary, they are taking on the liability on your behalf. Their fiduciary responsibility is to protect you throughout the transaction.

Did You Know?

Fiduciary relationships often concern money, but the word fiduciary does not, in and of itself, suggest financial matters. Rather, fiduciary applies to any situation in which one person justifiably places confidence and trust in someone else and seeks that person's help or advice in some matter. The attorney-client relationship is a fiduciary one, for example, because the client trusts the attorney to act in the best interest of the client at all times. Fiduciary can also be used as a noun for the person who acts in a fiduciary capacity, and fiduciarily or fiducially can be called upon if you are in need of an adverb. The words are all faithful to their origin: Latin fidere, which means "to trust."

Our goal, is to provide a high level of service to my clients, to prove the value of my profession. Our goal is to have clients for life and to get our clients the Highest and Best Value from their investment and help as many people as We can! We know We can't save everyone, but anyone that will listen and give us the opportunity, has our pledge of service, to get the Most money from the sale of your home and with the least amount of inconvenience!  We will help you put MORE money in YOUR pocket!

The Lar Team-EXIT REalty Legacy

801-330-3089