Shortlisting your Broker
Always Manage Risk with an Experienced Broker
One very common question that arises in clients’ mind is whether to opt for real estate agent or do the real estate transaction individually. For that let us first understand who a real estate agent is?
A real estate consultant is the link between the buyer and seller or the lessee and lessor. Real estate agent assists in the transaction process by detailing the terms of the deal and may also represent a client in settlement of the transaction. It might be tempting to save the brokerage amount by not hiring a broker to sell/lease your property, or to buy/lease a property yourself, but that can make you lose more than you might save.
A broker is an experienced individual or company in the real estate field and hence they can prove to save lot more than their service charge, get your transaction done legally and smoother avoiding any road blocks to the transaction.However, you should keep in mind various factors before selecting your real estate agent-
Period of Operation:
As the famous proverb goes “Old is Gold” which easily suggests that an estate agent with more years of operation can help you better with his experience. The estate agent who is older and more established can not only help you with a more viable solution to your problems but also with wider range of options at your disposal due to his synergy with various stakeholders of the real estate industry.
RERA registration:
Nowadays RERA turns out be a litmus test to check if the agent is reliable.
- Any credible or reliable broker or broking firm would be registered under RERA.
- Once you have the broker’s RERA ID you can look into his past records and his details on the RERA website of the state.
Market Knowledge:
Your broker should have a complete understanding of the market trends.
- He should be able to provide you with the best deal by negotiating on your behalf using the market trends on your side.
- Your broker should be well read and updated on the latest real estate news and regulations so that legally you are very intact and safe.
- You should prefer brokers who are established who have certifications and associations with estate associations deeming them more credible.
Contacts:
- Broker usually has strong contacts and connections among builders, buyers, sellers and other real estate agents which can prove a great asset in home buying, selling or leasing.
- With his great reach he can provide a huge variety of options to buyers and lessors and many potential clients to the seller and lessee.
Best Negotiations:
- Brokers are well versed with the market ongoing trends and can help you get the best deals.
- Experienced and learned brokers are aware about the legal aspect of the property can easily make out if any property has encumbrances and safeguards your interests.
- Brokers are aware of the deals happening in the neighboring and same locality and hence give you proper insights about the deal and hence safe you from either spending too much or selling for too less.
Brokerage / Service Charge:
- Be clear about the service charge or brokerage that is chargeable.
- In India the service fee of real estate agent is usually around (1-2) % for transactions. But you can mutually work it out with your real estate agent.
- Many times people feel that there is no need to give brokerage rather do the transaction themselves.
- But you need to understand that broker saves much-much more than he charge for his services. He can help you save lacs of rupees by working out most effective negotiations.
- An experienced broker safeguards your interests and make sure that you are not cheated in any way due to his in depth understanding of the legal aspects.
Finally, should you hire a broker or real estate agent for your real estate transaction?
The answer is very subjective and totally depends on you. You have read the pros and cons of having a broker by you side and the information can help you make your decision. However, conventional wisdom would make you have a broker do dealing on your behalf because it will surely be going to benefit you to have one than not having one.It is always advisable to figure out the net saving that you are going make with and without a broker. Most of the times the net savings with the broker will be much more than without one.
