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  • Home
  • About
    • All About Theory
    • Meet the Team
    • Theory Companies
    • Theory Cares
    • Fill The Barrel
  • Buy
    • Buy With Theory
    • 2022 Homebuyer Guide
    • Virtual Home Buyer Bus Tour
    • Your Guide to the PNW
    • Featured Listings
    • Home Search
    • Sign In
  • Sell
    • Sell With Theory
    • Free Home Estimate
    • 1 Hour Cash Offer
    • Sold By Theory
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact

Do You Still Need a Real Estate Agent to Buy a Home?

It’s 2022. Your entire life is online, and you can DIY just about anything. This begs the question: do you REALLY still need a real estate agent to buy a home? If you’ve thought about buying, you’ve probably wondered whether using an agent is necessary. As you know, it is a huge financial decision. It’s likely one of the biggest and best investments you will ever make!

But, there’s no doubt the costs associated with the process can be intimidating. The purchase price alone is enough to scare new buyers away. That’s also without mentioning things like closing costs, agent fees, and more. Doing it yourself may seem like the way to go because of potential savings on these costs. But in actuality, it could end up costing you WAY more in the long run. We’re going to cover 3 reasons why this is the case!

Do You Still Need a Real Estate Agent?Expertise


Reason number 1 is expertise. Real estate agents help people buy and sell homes for a living. Your agent will make sure you’re seeing every home within your budget that comes on the market. Contrary to popular belief, websites like Zillow do NOT show every house for sale. If you’re searching by yourself, there’s a good chance you could miss out on finding your dream home.

You also need an agent who is an expert on the local market. They will know how to scour neighborhoods you may not be aware of that could potentially contain your dream home. This could even mean obtaining you a home through an off market deal. This is when a home isn’t listed for sale, but the owners are still open to selling. Agents often have many connections in their network that will make them aware of these kinds of deals. Having an expert guide you is VALUABLE.

Do You Still Need a Real Estate Agent?Negotiation


Reason number 2 why you still need an agent is negotiation. Many people feel that direct negotiation between buyers and sellers is more transparent. They might believe that it allows both parties to look after their own best interests. That’s understandable, and could be true if everyone was rational and reasonable all the time. Truth is – tensions are high during a real estate transaction. If a buyer makes a low offer, it may insult the sellers. Buyers might also get overly excited about a house and offer more than they have to.

What if you, as a buyer, like a home but despise its outdated, bright orange kitchen? When you work with an agent, you can discuss how much it’ll cost you to upgrade the space – without insulting the owner. Your real estate agent will then convey your concerns to the sellers’ agent, acting as a messenger. Thus, putting them in a better position to negotiate a discount or work to be done on the house before closing. This will prevent a situation that could kill the deal.

Additionally, if you try to do this yourself, you could miss problems with the house that agents are trained to notice. There are MANY physical aspects of a home that buyers are not aware of. Without an expert, you could end up paying too much for a home that has issues. Which you won’t be aware of until it’s too late. 

Do You Still Need a Real Estate Agent?Protection


Reason number 3 is protection. When you make an offer to purchase a home, the “purchase and sale agreement” contract is in place to protect you if anything goes sideways. For example, if you plan to buy a home with a mortgage, but you fail to make financing one of the conditions of the sale–and you aren’t approved for the mortgage for whatever reason–you can lose your earnest money deposit. The seller could even sue you for failing to fulfill your end of the contract. An experienced agent deals with real estate contracts every day. They will protect you throughout your real estate transaction.

Additionally, there are MANY complicated aspects to a real estate transaction. There are countless forms and documents with tricky legal and technical jargon to account for. If you are not trained to handle these, it will be very easy to make a mistake. Or worse – be taken advantage of.

Do You Still Need a Real Estate Agent?

Next Steps

We hope you now have a better understanding of why it’s important to work with a real estate agent when you buy a home! If you’re thinking about buying, whether in 2 months or 2 years, a member of our team would be happy to meet with you and provide a free, no obligation consultation to answer any questions. We are here to work with you on YOUR timeline, not pressure you into something that you’re not ready for.

As we’ve said before, buying a home is one of the best investments you will ever make. We want to help ensure that you enter into that investment on solid footing, in a way that works for YOU. We have even helped buyers that weren’t able to get into a home for several years, and we stuck with them the entire way. If you would like to chat with us please contact us here, or give us a call or text at 253-537-HOME!

Or, if you want to attend a comprehensive course that will teach you what you need to know about the buying process, prepare you for being a homeowner, and get you certified for down payment assistance, come to our Virtual Home Buyer Bus Tour!

 

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“I think that’s the easiest it’s ever been for me to buy or sell a home!”

Brad Rasmussen -

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We had a distressed property in Tacoma that required a lot of repair before we could sell. The task soon became overwhelming and that’s when we contacted Theory Real Estate.  They purchased the property “as is”. Within 3 weeks,  we closed on the deal. The Theory team is amazing!!  Every person we came in contact with was friendly, professional and efficient.

John and Diane Simchuk -

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We are new investors to this market. We met Isaac and Alan through a good friend, and we are so thankful to have met them. They are the nicest, caring, most professional, kind-hearted people we have met in a long time. We would recommend these guys to ANYONE.

Anthony & Sarah Wooden - Tacoma

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We have bought 2 homes and sold 1 home with Theory. We would recommend them to all our friends.

Rhonda & Rickey Wilks - Buckley

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We worked with Theory to find our perfect house, but ran into a couple obstacles with the seller. The Theory team was always there with answers and went above and beyond all of our expectations.

Ceirra & Kenny Williams - Spanaway

LET'S GET SOCIAL

Stay safe out there, have fun, and respect your ne Stay safe out there, have fun, and respect your neighbors 🇺🇸 💥
In June we only had two Theory anniversaries, but In June we only had two Theory anniversaries, but it's two big ones! Alline has become an absolute rock on our team. In addition to being a fantastic agent & investor she has also been helping us out with a TON of financial work and has been hugely valuable. As for Jay, it's hard to believe he's already been here 4 years but time flies when you're having fun! He too has become an excellent agent & investor over these years, is always making moves, and knows how to grind 💯Thank you both for all you've done 🙌 🥳
2.5 acres, TWO primary bedrooms with a split floor 2.5 acres, TWO primary bedrooms with a split floor plan, THREE full baths, vaulted ceilings, a gorgeous lot surrounded by greenery, and we're just getting started! This house in Olalla is absolutely LOADED with features & perks 😎📍 6585 SE 160th St, Olalla
👣 1,980 SqFt
🛏 4 Beds
🛁 3 Baths
💰 $449,000This home has TWO primary bedrooms with a split floor plan, allowing for easy multi-generational living! Say goodbye to fights over who gets to get ready first, you've got THREE FULL baths! Say hello to your vaulted ceiling & skylights over your huge open kitchen & large pantry. You'll be the talk of all your friends with 2.5 level acres for all your toys, RV parking, gardening, & entertainment needs. But wait, there's more! It is on a street with gorgeous custom-built homes -- is it time to build yours & use this as your income-generating ADU? Whatever you do, you'll be doing it in loads of privacy as you're located on an easement road off of 160th. Close to everything in Gig Harbor, too!If you're interested in this home, contact Jamie at 253-792-9402!
Picture living on a waterfront home with lake view Picture living on a waterfront home with lake views from multiple rooms & surrounded by tranquil forest! It's vacation style living year round 🤩📍 22222 Bluewater Dr SE, Yelm
👣 1,918 SqFt
🛏 3 Beds
🛁 2.5 Baths
💰 $400,000Imagine yourself enjoying the lake view from your living room & dining room, relaxing on one of the many community beaches, strolling along the 14 miles of trails, entertaining on your deck, or enjoying a good conversation around your fire pit! This home is surrounded by GORGEOUS nature & situated on a large lot with almost 2000sf of space to sprawl, including a den + bonus room on main AND an additional bonus room on the lower level!If you're interested in this home, contact Carlos at 253-617-9202!
Hey South Tacoma Residents, we want to hear from y Hey South Tacoma Residents, we want to hear from you! Tell us what you'd like to see more of in our community by filling out the survey at the link in our bioThe survey can be submitted anonymously, or with your contact info if you'd like to be entered to win a $100 gift card to a STW restaurant of your choice!We truly appreciate any and all feedback or ideas you can give us. We love this area & its people, and we want to help the community grow as South Tacoma continues its epic rise to destiny!Thank you,The Theory Team**Gift card winner to be drawn at random on 7/15/2022, the contest is not in any way affiliated with Facebook, Instagram, Meta, or other associated entities**
It's a double birthday!! Two complete legends at T It's a double birthday!! Two complete legends at Theory. The man himself Alan Miller who helped found the company and has worked tirelessly growing it into what it is today, and an absolute ACE among aces Jamie Mc Donnell who is fresh off winning South Sound Magazine's Best Agent of 2022 award and has been killing it for Theory since the day she joined 🔥Happy birthday you two!! We hope you both have incredible days celebrating 🥳 🧁
It's already been 3 months since we hosted this aw It's already been 3 months since we hosted this awesome Powerhouse Women In Real Estate event 🔥 🔥The turnout was amazing and the room was buzzing hearing incredible entrepreneurs & business owners share their stories about how they've acheived success as women in real estate! Should we do more events like this?? 🤔
Happy Birthday to one of the nicest guys you'll ev Happy Birthday to one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, Davis Higginson an agent here at Theory! He has been an absolute joy to have because in addition to being a phenomenal agent, he's always got a big smile and his face and is exceedingly friendly to be around. He's a great person to work with & know, and we're lucky to have him on the team! Have an amazing day celebrating, Davis 🥳 🧁
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