“Why you need a Buyer’s Agent In Queens NY”, by George Herrera, Realtor and Co-Owner of the Queens Home Team at Keller Williams Realty. Have a question? Contact us anytime. 🙂
Value of a Buyer’s Agent in Queens NY
If you are thinking of buying a home you may be thinking “what do I need a real estate agent for?”. Your first instict may be that you can easily buy a home on your own, all you have to do is go on Zillow, find some listings, call the listings agents, go see them, and then make an offer to buy one. The problem with this approach is that it gets very confusing, frustrating, and you end up talking to so many agents that a lot of tie is wasted looking at places that don’t match what you’re looking for. In addition to that, and most importantly, is the fact that if you don’t hire an agent to work for you, then every agent you come into contact with is a seller’s agent and that puts you at a big disadvantage from the very beginning. For more on agency relationships and who agents are working for, check out our blog “Understanding Agency”.
But the question still remains, what is the value of having a buyer’s agent in Queens NY? Well, in my opinion, the value of having a real estate agent help you with the purchase of your home, coop, or condo is the following:
1. Market Knowledge
If you hire an experienced buyer’s agent who has closed a lot of deals, one thing you have is their experience to draw from. They have probably seen so many deals and encountered so many issues that those experiences will likely help you avoid the same issues because they will know how to preempt and(or) resolve them if they arise. In addition, if they are full time and work with a lot of buyers, that means that they’re constantly looking at homes. They will not only know what properties are priced right and which ones are over priced, but they may also have seen a property that matches exactly what you’re looking for. There’s nothing like seeing a home in person so a buyer agent who sees a lot of properties and has their finger on the pulse of the market is extremel valuable.
2. Local Expertise
If you’re looking to buy in a particular neighborhood or neighborhoods, then finding a buyer agent that specializes in those areas will be a huge help. For one, they probably have already seen a lot (if not all) of the inventory that’s on the market there. This means that as you look at listings online, they can tell you exactly what they are like in person. Also, they will know what properties are selling quickly and which ones you can get a deal on. They most likely also have established relationships with listing agents in the neighborhood(s) so they can probably get you into any listing you want to see fairly easily. All in all, that knowledge of the local market and of a specific neighborhood is invaluable because it is very likely that they will know some things that you don’t.
3. Negotiating Tactics
In my opinion this is a very underestimated phase in the Queens real estate process. I can’t tell you how many buyers come directly to us on our listings thinking they can get a good deal by going through the listing agent. Little do they know that all we want is to get the highest price possible for our seller(s). There have been instances where buyers make offers much higher than what we think the property is worth, but as seller’s agents, we are happy to let them do so. A good buyer agent will not only tell you if you’re overpaying a property, but they will also know how to help you win the deal. Sometimes you do need pay over asking price or over appraised value to win the bid and if you are willing to do so, that is perfectly fine. The key is knowing because good information helps you make good decisions. A good buyer agent will know negotiating tactics to find out how many offers are in, where the price needs to be, if the sellers are in a rush, etc. the negotiating aspect is all about finding a win-win and if you have a good buyer agent, they should be able to help you accomplish this. On the other hand, if you go directly through a listing agent, you may get the short end of the stick because if they are doing their job right, they will make sure they get you to pay as much as possible.
4. Vendor Resources
This is arguably the most valuable service a Buyer’s agent in Queens NY can provide for you. This is where I think a lot of the value has shifted in recent years. The reason I say that is because when you’re a real estate agent that sells a lot of homes, you end up needing to hire all kind of professionals to help sell houses. As a result, a good real estate agent will have a whole list of vendors that they have experience with who can help you with your needs as well. I can speak to this from personal experience because when we first bought our house, we needed a ton of referrals. We needed a good lender, a good inspectior, a good real estate attorney, etc.And that was just during the transaction. Once we closed on our house, we needed to do renovations so then we needed recommendations for a good plumber, a good electrician, a good contractor, a good handyman, etc. All of our referrals came from people we’ve already done business with, and co-workers in our office who had experience with them. This is a very very valuable resource.
5. Investment Opportunities
If you want to have a diverse and sound investment portfolio, I’m sure you want to have some real estate mixed in there. Most people love the thought of flipping houses for profit or holding properties for the rental income. Either way, if you had the money I’m sure you would jump at an opportunity to scoop up a good real estate investment. So, another valuable resource that a buyer’s agent in Queens NY can provide you (post closing) is that he/she can keep you plugged in to any good deals that he comes across in the field. As I mentioned earlier, a good buyer agent is probably viewing 10-15 properties a week and through all of those showings, they are coming across some gems. If you are one of their past clients and let them know that you are interested in investment properties, you can almost guarantee that you will be on the top of their list 🙂
Site and blog courtesy of George & Abigail Herrera with the Queens Home Team at Keller Williams Realty Landmark II. The Queens Home Team is a group of friendly, service driven real estate agents in Queens NY. Our team members are not only experts at what they do, but more importantly, they are driven by their desire to help people. The team approach is what truly separates us from the average Queens broker, because while most agents are one person doing several things, we have several agents doing one thing, and being great at it! This ensures expertise throughout all stages of the transaction and allows us to provide the superior level of service our clients deserve. We understand that real estate is a service industry, therefore we treat it as such. Rest assured that when you work with the Queens Home Team, you’ll be in good hands, with people who care 🙂 Â