| In the US, a buyer's agent is worth it. Here is why: 1. You, the buyer are not paying anything. Sure the seller needs to come up with the 3% for your agent and 3% for their own agent which could be expensive for sellers. 2. A good agent knows the local market/area well. They can assess your needs/prefernces and suggest properties that are worth your time. My agent was awesome and every property he showed us, we loved. He knew what we wanted exactly. That helps. Otherwise, you are just running around looking at houses you don't want. 3. A good agent can take care of logistics of viewing a home. They have access to homes, lockboxes etc and most will even drive you around in their own car (saving you time and hassle of driving yourself). Again, this may not mean much when you see 1 or 2 homes but when you start seeing 4-5 homes a week, it adds up quickly. 4. A good agent is well connected with other professionals in the home buying/selling process. They can recommend that home inspector you really need, or the title agent or even a mortgage lender. If you don't have an agent, you need to find all these people on your own and you will HAVE to when you close a deal. 5. Finally, when you actually select and ready to close,l there are tons of paperwork that need to be prepared and signed. You may use a a lawyer but a good agent can even get that sorted for you. My agent was so good that he literally got everything ready for us and I just had to show up at his office to sign like 100 pages of documents. So yes, they can be worth it if they are good. Otherwise, they are just middlemen. You need to find the good ones. |