Do I Need a Real Estate Agent to Buy a Second Home?

Reader Question: If buying a second home, do I need a real state agent?

That's a question only you can answer. I don't know how familiar you are with the home buying process, or how comfortable you are going through the process alone.

With that being said, I firmly believe that almost anyone can buy a home without a real estate agent, if they do some research and preparation. I bought the home I'm in now without using a real estate agent. We bought it through a builder during a buyer's market, so the process was very simple. I did not need a real estate agent for anything, so I didn't use one.

Even if the seller or builder paid the agent's commission (which is common in real estate transactions), I still don't like to see somebody make a lot of money for a little bit of work. But that's just me. Some agents do the least amount of work as possible during the transaction, while others bend over backward for their clients. It's like any other industry -- there's an incompetent agent for every knowledgeable one. So if you do use one, choose carefully.

Of course in a seller's market, it's harder to buy a house because there's a lot of competition from other buyers, and properties get snatched up quickly. You have to be able to present an offer quickly, and this is where a real estate agent can be useful. But this type of market is rare, because of the economy -- I don't think there's a true seller's market anywhere in the U.S. right now.

If I were you, I would think about each step in the home buying process to determine if you can do it yourself:

• Can you search for and evaluate properties on your own? The Internet certainly makes this a lot easier, so you're probably good in this department.
• Next, can you evaluate the seller's asking price by looking at recent sales data? Again, the Internet can help you here. There are a lot of home value websites online these days, and they take a lot of the mystery out of the pricing game.
• What about the paperwork? You'll have to create a purchase agreement when you make your offer on the home. If you decide not use an agent, you could have a real estate lawyer write this up for you. There are also many websites where you can download these forms in Microsoft Word format.
  

Once the offer is accepted, the real estate agent's job is pretty much done. At least in my opinion. After that, you will work primarily with your mortgage lender (for the appraisal), the home inspector, the escrow company, etc.

So if you can do all this on your own, you don't really need a real estate agent to help you. If you're uncomfortable with anything mentioned above, or if you don't have time to do it yourself, then you might need the help of a real estate agent.