The Importance Of Working With A Real Estate AgentThe Importance Of Working With A Real Estate Agent

One of the experiences you'll often face when you're in the market for a home is spending lots of time driving around with your real estate agent. While you can always drive separately and agree to meet the agent at each home you're scheduled to see, letting your agent drive you gives you a chance to learn more about the real estate process. While you'll likely want to discuss the properties you're viewing and get the agent's feedback on each, you should also plan to cover some thought-provoking topics that can make you more of an informed buyer. Here are some topics to ask about.

Common Mistakes

Asking your agent about what common mistakes he or she sees being repeatedly made by buyers can be informative — and help to prevent you from doing the same thing. For example, the agent might tell you that some people fail to view enough properties before they make their decision. You can learn from these mistakes instead of making them. For example, you can avoid falling in love with the first house you visit in favor of looking at a bunch of other listings to find one that you're really happy with.

Negotiation Tactics

Talking to your real estate agent about the art of negotiating can prove very informative. This isn't an area that many people find comfortable, which could prompt you to agree to a higher price than you want to pay just because you're nervous about negotiating. Ask your agent about some successful negotiations that he or she has managed and some of the difficult lessons learned along the way. The added perk is that you may be able to apply some of these techniques in other areas of your life, such as buying a car or even when negotiating a pay raise at work.

Investment Properties

You might not have given much thought to buying an investment property, but this valuable source of a second income is something that many agents are familiar with. Given their involvement in the industry, many real estate agents own investment properties. By asking your agent how he or she got started, what type of property works best for a first-time buyer, and how the agent might do things differently if he or she were to start over, you'll be in prime position to take this leap in the future if you wish to do so.