Using a Myrtle beach real estate agent or not?

In the Myrtle Beach, SC area, so many homes are for sale today. If you even remotely have thought about buying, now is the time.

If you've never considered a new home purchase, you might not know where to begin. The first thing you'll need to do is contact a professional lender. Contact one you can trust, one who will not load you up on fees and request a free prequalification.

Then you'll be ready to speak to a qualified real estate agent. Most of you probably think working with a real estate agent will cost you a great deal of money, but this is not the case at all.

Personally, I'll never understand why someone who is about to make the largest purchase in their life would not use the free services of a real estate agent. In a purchase transaction, the seller pays all the fees the real estate agents will receive. The buyer pays nothing.

As a lender, I have heard too many horror stories of those people who attempted to buy a home on their own. Consider the following and then decide if it's a good decision to use a professional real estate agent or not. Take my simple quiz, and the answer to you should be obvious.

1. Do you have the time, energy and contacts to do the home search, price negotiations, home inspection, contract preparation and contract review yourself?

2. Do you feel comfortable dealing with contracts and legal issues, and do you have access to all the contracts needed?

3. Can you honestly determine the true "fair market value" of any home?

4. Can you support your offer or price with facts of home sales in the neighborhood?

5. Do you have the negotiating skills to help negotiate your best price and terms?

6. Do you know what to look for when viewing a home? Do you know the tell-tale signs a home might have a problem?

7. Do you know if any future highway development, landfill or commercial development is planned for the area?

8. Do you know what you can request a seller to fix, what a seller is required to fix and what a seller does not have to fix during the process?

9. Do you know how to handle the situation if you have to sell your home before you can close on your next home?

10. Do you have any formal training or business background in real estate or real estate law?

You see, a real estate transaction is a complicated and time-consuming ordeal. Keep in mind professional real estate agents have done all of this before, and they do it every day of the week. On the other hand, most of us will buy only a few homes in our lifetime.

Even if you have undertaken this type of venture before, laws and regulations change all the time. Don't take the chance of becoming one of those horror stories I'll hear about in the future. To relieve a great deal of stress in your life, take my advice: Having an expert professional real estate agent on your side is critical.

As a leading lender in the area, I have contact with many professional real estate agents on a weekly basis. If you are at all hesitant or unsure about which real estate agent truly is a professional and will work in your best interest, contact me. I'll get you pre-qualified and put you in contact with real estate agents who always seem to go that extra step for each and every family they are involved with.