A real estate transaction will most likely be the largest transaction one will make in their lifetime. It is a transaction that will impact on your financial future for years to come. Take into account everything that is involved in a real estate transaction. Then balance the risks of working without an agent versus the advantages of working with an agent. It would be foolish not to consider bringing in a real estate professional to assist you with making the right choices with your largest investment.
If you are an unrepresented buyer or seller, here are some good reasons why you should hire a Realtor:

      Sellers:
You decide to sell your home, your largest investment. Next you need to decide if you want to deal with the headaches, frustration, and confusion of trying to sell yourself or deal with a professional. When you employ an agent, you enter into a contractual relationship. The agent you choose to employ will be legally representing you and acting in your best interest throughout the transaction.
The role of the agent is to bring about the quickest sale with the strongest offer. The key to obtaining this goal is maximum exposure. The more people who know about your home the more interest there will be, the more interest there is the higher the price will be. There are two components that bring about such a sale, marketing and pricing. Agents have the knowledge of both to cause such a reaction from buyers and bring in the desired result for the homeowner. The only question is; why wouldn’t you trust your largest investment to a professional?

A Real Estate Agent will explain the sales process from beginning to end and be with you every step of the way.

A Real Estate Agent can provide you with up-to-date information on what is happening in your particular market place. This will include your current competition’s pricing, condition, previous sale prices, and explain how pricing is determined. A Real Estate Agent will help you price the property to sell at a fair market figure. The average owner overprices, but often accepts a price far below the market value.

A Real Estate Agent becomes your marketing coordinator. They know the best avenues to market your property to other real estate agents and the public. Through experience, real estate agents know which marketing tools have proven to be successful and have the resources and contacts to have your property advertised in prime locations.

A Real Estate Agent can recommend what can be done to your home to generate the most money. Certain small repairs, organizing a room, and even having scented candles burning will help with the salability of your home. Having an experienced critical eye look through your house and make suggestions for repairs, furniture layout, and decorating can add thousands of dollars to your sale price. The value of a critical eye cannot be underestimated. After living in your home for several years, surrounded by your cherished possessions it’s hard to be objective about which ones are too much or may take away from the appearance of your house for a typical buyer.

Your Real Estate Agent will objectively evaluate every buyer’s proposal without compromising your position. When reviewing offers it is not only purchase price that needs to be taken into account but terms as well. Sometimes it is too attractive to go with the higher offer when the terms are not good. It is the agent’s role to help you sort through the offers and advise which the “strongest” offer is.

A Real Estate Agent is experienced in negotiating with buyers and knows the appropriate questions to ask to make sure all information is obtained. When you sell your home yourself, you need to be able to act not like a proud homeowner, but an impartial negotiator to maximize your sale price and profit. An experienced real estate agent can be a buffer between you and the turmoil of dealing with the buyer directly. Plus, a successful real estate agent can offer negotiating skills that most homeowners do not have. These skills could result in a higher price for your home.

A Real Estate Agent is much more aware of the tastes and requirements of the buyer and has first hand knowledge of competitive values in your neighborhood. This helps you with your sale.

You have only one property to show (yours): whereas all of today's properties are purchased after a thorough comparison of other properties.

A Real Estate Agent only gets paid when your property is sold and you have received your proceeds from the sale.

A Real Estate Agent will accompany you to the closing. He is familiar with and able to write a detailed agreement of purchase and sale contract that is valid.

      Buyers:
The purchase of a home is one of the most complex, high-risk, and expensive transactions most people will ever go through, yet approximately half of home buyers go to the closing table without an advocate by their side. Moreover many buyers do not understand the importance of having an advocate. Without someone representing their interests, how will these buyers ever know if they found the right home at the right price?

A Real Estate Agent will explain the home buying process from beginning to end to help educate the buyer. You are paying the agent to assist you, advise you, and help you to navigate the transaction legally and safely.

Realtors Lower Your Risk. When you have a Realtor as an advocate, you share some of the risk of home buying with your agent. Otherwise, it's buyer beware. If you have a Realtor as your advocate, he or she will make recommendations that will assure that you are buying a home that is safe, and priced fairly according to the current marketplace.

Realtors Understand The Current Market. Real estate professionals have invaluable house-by-house, street-by-street, and market-by-market experience which can't be learned overnight. Realtors who have weathered the pendulum swing between buyers' markets and sellers' markets know that the real estate market can turn abruptly. As neighborhood experts, experienced brokers and agents can help you with home buying strategies and proposals that will get the right house at the best price and terms.

A Real Estate Agent works For You...And The Transaction. Your agent not only represents your interests but also works on behalf of the transaction. Does that seem like a conflict of interest? It isn't. Buyers and sellers are natural adversaries. You want to buy for the least price, and the seller wants the most. Agents must be skilled negotiators to keep pride, ignorance, or stubbornness from getting in the way of a fair deal for both sides. As the buyer, remember that you are the one in control. You can instruct your agent how far to go in negotiations on your behalf. One day, you'll be glad your agent helped you keep your cool when the seller refused to leave that old chandelier.

A Real Estate Agent can assist in the decision making process of how to make your offer look as attractive as possible to the seller.

Due to their experience Real Estate Agents can assist buyers in seeing properties from a different perspective and suggesting adaptations that would make it more suitable for you.

Real Estate Agents strive for providing their customers with the utmost care and compassion. Customer satisfaction is top on their list of priorities. Since they are a team they believe that their customers should be able to reach them any time, seven days a week. They are passionate and love what they do and this correlates for a smooth transaction.