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“You don’t know what you don’t know,” says Jeanne Paul when asked why home buyers should consult a broker. “Twenty years ago all realestate brokers represented theseller. Now there are buyer’s brokers and seller’s brokers. A buyer’s broker advises, educates, protects and manages expectations. Buyers do themselves a disservice if they don’t take advantage of that. And buyers don’t pay commission.” Jeanne finds some potential buyers harbor misconceptions. They may believe that a for-sale-by-owner will cost less than a professional broker’s listing. “They may end up paying tenfold down the road for things a real estate pro would advise about,” she says. “My maid of honor bought a house built with the kind of composite stucco that experiences water intrusion. A good broker would know. Another misconception is that going through the listing broker saves money. The commission percentage was signed into a contract, and the listing broker represents the seller.” Jeanne advises interviewing potential brokers and checking for knowledge of both local and global markets. “Some brokers know their neighborhood, but if you don’t know what’s happening globally, you can’t react,” she says. “When the market turned downward, it started in Florida and came across to Las Vegas and California. We knew it was coming, so we told our sellers – ‘sell now.’ I saw the upturn first in northeast Portland and knew it was coming to the southwest and northwest. People who don’t pay attention to trends undervalue.”
Link to the May, 2013 Oregon Jewish Life Magazine: See page 50……
