Before going into the specifics of how a REALTOR® can help you in the sale or purchase of a home, you need to know why working with a real estate professional who is a REALTOR® is in your best interest. Not everyone who sells real estate is a REALTOR®. Possessing a real estate license does not afford instant REALTOR® status – a distinction of which you need to be aware.

A REALTOR® is a member of local, state and national professional trade associations and, as such, has access to a vast array of educational programs, research and resources. By being a member, a REALTOR® subscribes to a strict code of ethics, and pledges to provide fair treatment for all parties involved, protect the right of individuals to own property and keep abreast of changes in real estate practice through continuing education and interaction with other professional REALTORS®. As a REALTOR® he or she receives up-to-date information on a wide variety of legal, financial and economic issues, and has access to an association with more than 100 years of experience in real estate. And, if things don’t work out, arbitration is a choice your REALTOR® can offer instead of lengthy and expensive legal proceedings.

Like finding the right house, selecting a REALTOR® you can trust and comfortably work with is paramount. Just as you wouldn't be casual with the selection of your doctor or your attorney, you shouldn’t take the selection of your REALTOR® lightly.

Indeed, the best way to find such a professional is through recommendations from family and friends. Of course, you should interview several REALTORS® before you choose one. If you are selling your home, you should ask the candidates how they plan to market your home, what pricing advice they can offer, and what other suggestions they can provide to further enhance the desirability of your home. Ask questions about the transaction to evaluate the REALTOR’S® knowledge. Ask for – and check – references. And, finally, ask yourself whether you will feel comfortable working closely with this individual in the months ahead.

So, how can a REALTOR® help you with the sale of your home? As a trained professional, a REALTOR® can:

• Expose your property to a vast audience of potential buyers by placing your house in the MLS and the internet
• Help you price your home to sell quickly and at the right price by giving you valuable market data on home sales
• Market your home through highly targeted advertising to reach as many potential buyers for your home as possible
• Advise you on how to make your home even more desirable, which could yield high returns
• Manage all the time-consuming aspects of selling a home – like fielding constant telephone inquiries
• Setting up appointments and holding open houses
• Lead you through the maze of paper that ensues during a home sale, plus keep you on track with everything from the escrow process to inspection procedures
• Inform you of all relevant real estate related issues.

Despite the overwhelming advantages of using a REALTOR®, some sellers mistakenly think they can save a few bucks by doing it themselves. Invariably, they learn the hard way that selling a home is an extremely complex and time-consuming undertaking and that, in the end, the savings might not even exist. These sellers usually don’t reduce their price by the amount of the commission they would have paid a Realtor ®, in hopes of pocketing the perceived profit. Likewise, buyers take into account that there are no commissions to be paid and reduce their offers accordingly. So, many sellers end up right where they would have been price-wise if they’d used the services of a REALTOR®, but without any of the benefits of the expertise of this professional.

Beyond this, not utilizing a REALTOR® means your property will not be marketed through the MLS or shown to the largest pool of potential homebuyers. It also means you won’t have the benefits of having your advertised by the REALTORS'® firm in local newspapers, magazines and internet sites. Most important, when it comes to knowing the intricacies associated with this transaction, working without a REALTOR® is like bungee jumping without measuring the height of the bridge first. For instance, there are mandatory disclosure rules a seller must follow and the seller is liable for damages if he or she fails to do so; a seller-financing arrangement can turn into a nightmare of foreclosure and litigation if it’s not structured the right way; and the entire escrow is extremely tedious and complex – miss one crucial step and there can be delays, cancellation, even lawsuits.