The whole home buying and selling process could be a little bit overwhelming. This article will help you understand the importance and benefits for hiring a realtor in Calgary. Realtors can be your life savers when contacted at the right time.

Its 2018 and yes you still need a realtor, be it in Calgary or anywhere in Canada. You need realtors to help you make that tough decision, your best decision ever! Whether you are buying or selling your home, the entire experience can be either an exciting or an unnerving experience depending on the choices you make.

Let us look at top 10 benefits to you as a home buyer when you hire a realtor

10 Reasons to hire a realtor in Calgary:

1. Price management and guidance
2. Marketing and Negotiation skills
3. Effective home presentation and staging skills
4. Guidance for pre-approval, home inspection
5. Market conditions & neighbourhood knowledge
6. Creative contract writing and handling process paperwork
7. Renovation and space utilization ideas
8. Professional education and networking
9. Speedy Contract Closure
10. After sale questions and long term business relationship

It is always a good idea to seek professional help before you finalise your biggest purchase or sale process in your life. It can be a scary road but you don’t have to go through it alone – this is where a realtor can help you understand if you are going on the right track.

Let me elaborate you on the above top 10 points on understanding the importance and benefits of hiring a realtor in Calgary –

1.      Price management and guidance

A good realtor can help you determine your home sale price taking into consideration the new furnace installations, new roof shingles installation and other maintenance that you have done in your house in the past years. Also realtors have better understanding of Calgary’s neighbourhood prices, market speculations, city home evaluation and future development projects like Calgary’s new transit line development projects or road widening projects. A realtor can help you understand if the price that you desire is according to the industry standards for your neighbourhood in Calgary.

If you are a buyer in Calgary, a realtor can help you understand the area or community that you can afford considering your budget. If you are selling and looking to buy an upgraded home, it is best to hire a realtor to reduce the stress of dual transactions.

2.      Marketing and negotiation skills

Many realtors in Calgary work with branded real estate companies such as Remax, Century 21, CIR realty etc. When you hire these professionals they not only are able to share the listing within their company network circle but are also able share it with their other professional networks for your house to have more visibility and buyer prospects.

According to the recent survey, home owners are able to sell their homes 15-25% more that the listed price with the help of a realtor than listing on your own. On the other hand, if your realtor represent you as a buyer he/she can negotiate the price down to 5-10% based on the market conditions, demand & supply or using other negotiation strategies.

3.      Effective home presentation and staging skills

In Calgary, many realtors choose the means of some professional staging agent and photographers help in order to stage your home. Very often these services are included in their commission fees and are of no extra expense to you as a seller.

This can be a hit for their upcoming open home event that they will be organizing next weekend. At the same time, your realtor can get these pictures uploaded on their website, Facebook page or on MLS listings for more buyer prospects as well.

Sometimes, you will be amazed on how small tips that your realtor can provide can actually help in long run of maintaining your home. A realtor can help you declutter and help you get some minor repairs done in order to get a higher sale value for your home.

4.      Guidance for pre-approval, home inspection

When we were first time home buyers in Calgary, we did not know that there was a process of pre-approval, condo document review and home inspection. Thanks to our agent, she was pretty good in letting us know about these processes and got everything done on time.

Many realtors in Calgary have their professional contacts for mortgage agent, insurance broker, renovation contractors and other professionals. What’s best is that some of these professionals may offer you their services with a discount or no fees as you came with your realtor’s reference.

5.    Market conditions and neighbourhood knowledge

It was because of our realtor that we bought our first condo in 2016 before the government changed mortgage rules and introduced the stress test. Many good realtors will keep you in the loop of what the latest government rules or interest change will be that could affect real estate prices to hike up or down.

Realtors being professionals in the industry, they have a good understanding of each neighbourhood in your city. In Calgary, realtors have their own niche of each neighbourhood and therefore they can guide you to get your best investment as per your wants.

6.      Creative contract writing and handling process paperwork

Once you finalise a home, you need to put an offer with certain clauses that you want. These legal paperwork can be tiresome and can sometimes run into more than 10 pages. That is why your realtor will help you put it together. Your realtor will check with you the things that you need to stay or need to be removed and cleaned before putting an offer. He/she will also check on when you would like to take possession of the house and let the seller’s agent know the same.

Usually this contract will have details of the property, purchase price and completion date, general terms, deposits, land title, representation and warranties clauses.

If you have any questions on the contract, feel free to check with your realtor before signing them.

7.      Renovation and space utilization ideas

Experienced realtors can give you their valuable advises on how to make it to your taste looking at the current build-up of the house. Some realtors in Calgary may also provide you contacts of contractors who can doll up the house that you buy into something that you have dreamt of considering you given budget. So basically if you wanted that extra gaming den it can be done by just contacting them. Thus having a realtor be a lot of help to find you that dream home that you can call your home forever.

8.      Professional education and networking

The governing body of real estate in Alberta is called Real Estate Council Alberta (RECA). Home buyers and sellers should know that there a lot of research, studies and tests that your realtor does before becoming a licensed realtor.  Once you become a licensed realtor, these professionals go out in the market and build up their own business plan. Top realtors in Calgary create their own networking circles, brand image and marketing strategies to help you get your home within the right budget.

9.      Speedy contract Closure

This is basically another part of writing an offer once you have finalised to buy a home. With the help of a realtor, the processes go on pretty smoothly. Your realtor acts on your behalf. Thus he/she ensures that the contract becomes complete on time so that no other prospective buyer will consider to even take a look at the home. Most realtors enter a time and date of the offer in writing with the acceptance from the buyer with his signature on the document to make it mutually binding to both the parties.

10. After sale questions and long term relationship

Good realtors will keep in touch with you after few weeks and get your feedback on your newly purchased home. At this time, realtors can let you know on how exactly you can add more value to your purchase and after few years get a bigger home. The base for a real estate agent’s success is good customer service, and that urge to keep in touch with their existing clients for future referrals.

Let us know if you are new to Calgary and are looking to buy a home or condo. Feel free to comment or get in touch with us for any questions that you may have.