If I’m buying a single Family home, Is working with a Realtor in an area I’m familiar worth it? Or is it fine to just do my own thing and buy via Redfin? I’m not seeing the advantage of a realtor. Opinions appreciated!

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You don’t pay for the realtor as a buyer

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Is the area you’re looking at competitive?

Realtors can be a huge help in getting an offer accepted in a competitive market. They can get a sense of what the seller is actually looking for. A good realtor will also have a Rolodex of contacts for anything that might come up through the process - inspection issues, pest issues, contractors for upgrades you might want before you move in, etc…

If this isn’t your first real estate transaction, and the area you are bidding on is a low demand area, and you already have contacts for pest control / handyman / plumber / etc… then maybe a cut rate realtor will be fine for you.

Realtors earn their fee in high competition environments, or when there’s hiccups in the process.

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“Just buy via Redfin”?
You realize they are just realtors and Redfin is a brokerage too?

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Any realtor can give you a commission credit this is not RedFin specific.

I give 0.5% back to buyers I work with an more for friends and colleagues of course.

My experience is that RedFin isn’t that good (at least I always feel they don’t fight as hard for their clients when I’m the other side of the transaction).

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I bought a house in a neighborhood I’d been watching for years without a realtor. It ended up paying off because I went direct to the sellers and was able to lower the price by saving them realtor fees. Granted, I had to talk to a lot of people to know they were thinking of selling but hadn’t hired a realtor yet in order for this to work.

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The seller paying the realtor’s fee is a scam. The realtor has no interest in getting a better deal if their commission is lower. I haven’t found a single realtor that helps you bring the price down, but they all want you to offer more. That’s absolutely nuts in my pov. I’m looking for ways to make the whole deal myself.

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No advantage really. The guy will work to make sure u buy at the highest price possible since his commission depends on home sale price.

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Maybe with inexperienced agents or agents not planning to stick it out in the longterm. They will make much more money from you referring them to your friends or using them for all future transactions because “they saved you x” or “helped you avoid y issues”.

It’s an easy job to get into and a lot of people do it for short term money and don’t last long in it. Important to find those that
actually take it seriously and do it long term. Find someone who understands construction/renovations as well ideally and can speak to quality.

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6% is getting paid to somebody. It’s either being split by the listing/selling agent and the buyers agent, or the listing agent is keeping it all. So, what do you gain? You’d be better off if you have a friend who is an agent and will take 1% to just write your offer - you do all the work.

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Realtors keep tabs on offer and acceptance trends, very detailed market trends, and they get special access to notes from the listing agent. They are also experts on navigating the closing process, which can be fairly complicated and aggravating.

If that's not okay, you can still hire a lawyer.

My realtor was pretty useless other than setting up listing appointments and handling logistics of the deal. I wouldn’t say they added much value.

Not on my own, but with a lawyer, yes. I was looking at an off market deal and my lawyer would have handled without a realtor. He did most of the work negotiating terms of the contract for the property I bought anyway.

Buying through Redfin just means you’re using redfins realtors

You’re getting a realtor either way

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