By definition, a real estate agent or simply a realtor is a licensed personnel who help people to either purchase or sell their property. They are trained and must usually licensure examinations though some had on the job training instead. Generally, you can choose to hire one realtor but hiring more is not prohibited. It is not required to employ a real estate agent but having one usually serves several advantages.
If you find a particular property which you like and wishes to buy, the real estate agent will help you evaluate the property and submit a price offer. Moreover, if the initial price offer is not accepted, the realtor will continue to make certain negotiations regarding a reasonable price.
If you are interested in selling a property, a real estate agent can help you come up with an asking price based on the given assessed value and the state of the current market. The realtor will also be the one to find you a buyer by running open houses or by welcoming potential customer to come look at your property.
When the buyer wishes to finally buy the property, the realtor will convey to you the buyer’s offer, help make counteroffers and set up terms once the offer is accepted. Usually, buyers do not speak out concerns directly to the seller so a real estate agent is needed to hear them out and handle them professionally.
Aside from buying and selling property, real estate agents help their customers manage the property owned by their clients. Additional functions of realtors include showing a list of available properties for rent, collecting rents, as well as manage the property for needed repairs.
Employing a real estate agent could help the buyer or the seller to the advantage but in case one feels he is capable and is not in need of a realtor, they are not obliged to hire one.