Is it worth hiring a real estate agent when looking for a home and how do they get paid?

YES - we get paid by the seller in most cases (99.9%) it costs the buyer nothing to have experience and knowledge on YOUR side.

Since the seller has representation to protect their interests, the buyer should also have one to protect their interests. Like previous answers stated, the majority of the time the Buyer's Agent is paid out of the Listing Commission. Also a Buyer's Agent will have access to the MLS and can recommend listings you might be interested in during your search.

You would be crazy not to use a Realtor when purchasing a home. You need someone who is knowledgeable about every aspect of the transaction on your team. It is their job to make sure you receive the best deal and to watch your back against other agents, mortgage brokers, and sellers who are trying to take advantage of you. And best of all, the seller pays for their services. You canâ€™t go wrong.

Wow, the bad information you can get here is astounding. Skip is an idiot who probably hasn't ever bought a home. Here's the deal. No, you do not have to have a Realtor help you in the purchase of your home. Why wouldn't you, though. Most cases, the seller pays the Realtors (both the listing agent and the selling agent).

If you get a Buyers Agent (aka selling agent), you can set it up to pay the Realtor yourself or to have him/her paid by the Seller (which is what mostly happens). The Buyer's Agent then does the footwork helping you to find the perfect home.

Contrary to what Skip says, the required disclosures may or may not be distributed by the Seller. How would you know if you don't have an agent? Your Buyer's Agent is trained to know all of this and to keep you out of trouble. Also, your agent should be able to help you ascertain whether or not the home is a good deal.

There's so much more that could be said here, but I think you get the jist of it. Please feel free to check out www.REBAC.com or my site at www.HawaiianShirtGuy.com to read more about Buyer's Agents.

Best of luck to you!

Why wouldn't you get one? The home seller pays for it, and a good agent can save you hassles, and thousands of dollars. If somthing goes wrong, you have an advocate, and another person with legal liability. They can also show you more houses than you will be able to find yourself. There is basically no downside to having an agent. If your in S. California reply to this and I will help you.

Skip doesn't have a clue about Buyer Agents. We get paid by the seller's agent at closing NOT by the Buyer. The vast majority DO NOT charge a retainer. Agents that specialize in Buyer Representation use the letters ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative) or CRS ( Certified Residential Specialist) behind their name.
Go to REBAC.com and jackosullivan.net for more info.
Good Luck

Hiring a real estate agent to help you find a home can be extremely valuable to you and it should not cost you any thing. The agent who represents the buyer is paid from the sellers proceeds.

Definitely worth it if you get a good one. (Some are not.) They have expertise that could save you LOTS of problems. They get paid by commission, which varies.

If you are looking for a home it is not necessary to hire an agent, though they have created a animal called a buyer's agent. If you hire this animal you will sign a contract saying that you will pay them a fee which will be a certain amout of money based on the percentage of the cost of the house.

How do they get paid? Well they are paid by the individuals that hire them, and that would be you if you hire a buyer's agent. Your object in this whole exercise is to pay as little as possible in getting into your home. Most are paid by the seller, but then they might require a fee or two from you.

Paying someone to look for you a house is not cost effective. Now if you are not concerned with cost then by all means go all out.

The first thing you want to do is get pre-approved to purchase a house.

Now you should contact a mortgage broker to get this pre-approval done. You will find this kind gentleman or lady in your local telephone book. If they insist on doing a pre-qualified move on you are interested in a pre-approval.

You will need the following when attempting to get this pre-pproval so have it available for this mortgage broker you have selected

#1 One month of pay stubs for each person that will be on the mortgage

#2 Six months of bank statements from each banki you do business with to include any 401-k statements you have from your job

#3 Two years federal income tax and W-2's to match.

When you call this person be prepared to either fill out an application on the phone or make an appointment at your home or his office. This a lengthly process so leave the kids at home.

Once this meeting of the minds have taken place you have completed your application to include an authorization form so he can run a credit check you will be ok for a few days, take a deep breath and wait until he calls.

When he does call he will be able to give you your credit scores, the amount of house you are qualified to purchase as well as an idea about your interest rate, the loan programs you are qualified for such as if you are qualified for a 100% loan, if not what amount of percentage of money you will be required to bring in for
the transaction.

Now you are prepared for a real estate agent, this mortgage broker can recommend one or you can find your own. Either way when you find the house you are interested in make an offer thorugh the agent that represent the seller.

The real estate agent will prepare a sales contract for you and the seller to sign stating the terms and conditions of the sale.

Don't worry about others telling you about a buyer's agent will protect you, there are laws in place that must be done by all concerned, these laws protect both you and the seller. There are disclosures that must be issued to you with or without a buyer's agent. Use common sense and you will be ok. If you have anyh questions ask your mortgage broker. He want to keep the loan alive and will do everything legally to do so.

Your mortgage broker at this point will order an appraiser to appraise the property to determine the value. Once the sales price has been established I have never seen a property come in above or below the sales price.

Once all that is done he might require additional information or documentation, just do it this is normal, so don't blow a gasket, we are getting closer to the end.

Once all is done finally a call will come from your mortgage broker that your loan doc's are available for signing and when and where do you want to sign them. Do it in a comfortable office, because again this is a ceremony that takes awhile. You will be given a copy of all that you sign.

Make sure the interest, monthly payments and loan amount match what the mortgage broker told you and are all on the loan docs. The rest is really federal and state requiremtents that only require a signature.

If you are not sure about something, don't sign, because un like a refinance, once you have signed you are up the creek. You do not have a three day right of recission for a sale transaction.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

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