We are a NC Contractor Who Loves Realtors!
At Lindsley Waterproofing we have the utmost respect for realtors. We have seen numerous examples of folks who regretted not engaging a realtor before buying or selling a property.
We believe that the importance of hiring a realtor is second only to the need to choose a good doctor for your health needs.
For a vast majority of people, buying or selling a house will be the biggest financial decision they’ll make in their entire life. Here is some of what you need to know when buying a home.
If you’re selling a house, your realtor will…
Advise you on an asking price.
Do a background check on people coming to look at the house. There have been numerous times that houses [For Sale by Owner] have been ‘cased out’ by soon-to-be burglars at the property posing as potential buyers.
Prep your house for showing. They’ll advise you on what to do and what not to do. You can easily do too much or too little; and neither is good.
Prevent you from having to take time off work. One of the ‘regrets’ we refer to at the top of this page is someone saving $3k [so they thought] by not having a realtor help them sell only to realize that they missed $5k worth of hours at work. Instead, while you’re at work, your realtor can…
Show the house.
Let in home inspectors whose job it is to see what repairs might be needed.
Let in contractors to inspect, measure, and work up estimates for any needed work.
Let in contractors to do those needed repairs.
Let in a structural engineer when needed.
If you’re buying a house, your realtor will…
Make sure that the asking price is fair and advise you as to what you should offer.
Do ‘preliminary shopping’ for you based upon parameters you’ve expressed to save you many hours of shopping yourself.
Make sure that the house is inspected by a reputable & experienced home inspector to list repair needs before they could become your responsibility.
Recommend reputable contractors to make repairs when needed.
Find out school information for you.
Do research on current zoning next to or near the property.
Research potential zoning changes in the works. Sometimes the reason a house is even on the market is because the current homeowners found out about upcoming and unwanted changes. Maybe there’s going to be a new mall or highway off-ramp where there is now a park or wooded area.
Before considering the sale or purchase of a property without professional counseling and assistance by a realtor, do a small-scale do-it-yourself trial. Give yourself a haircut; you’ll save some money; but you might regret it. How long you live with that decision depends on how fast your hair grows. But going without a realtor – when you really should engage one – is a penny-wise decision that could haunt you for decades.
