The Motley Fool gives advice on buying and selling homes.

The Motley Fool, a well-known multimedia financial education company with a mission to educate, enrich, and amuse individual investors around the world, says that buying or selling homes without a real estate agent is truly a foolish thing to do.

In a recent article on buying and selling homes, the Fool says: "Real estate agents may sometimes look like they’re earning some easy money, but appearances can be deceiving."

For home buyers: "A good buyer agent can help you spend your dollars wisely and can save you money, too, despite what he or she earns in commissions." This goes for new construction as well: NEVER visit a new development’s sales office without bringing your Realtor with you. Be sure to visit our article on Tips for Buying New Construction as well.

For home sellers: "If you’re selling on your own, you might not have a really good handle on what your home is worth. A not-so-good agent might entice you with promises of high values, but a good one will give you a realistic expectation. On your own, if you just use some online resources, they won’t always give you the most accurate information."

There are lots of ways to go online and get a ballpark idea of what a home is worth, but nothing can replace the knowledge and resesarch of a qualified Realtor. Even Zillow says that it’s Zestimates "are designed to be a starting point for consumers who want to learn about the value of homes".

These online home value estimates aren’t designed to be the final word on a home’s value, since they cannot know all of the factors involved in that home’s true value. Websites like Zillow take the square footage of a home and matches it to other homes of similar size nearby, but cannot tell if it’s the same tract or has the same upgrades as neighboring homes.

Motley Fool also has some great advice on choosing a Realtor: "Not all real estate agents are created equal. When you select one, don’t just go with the cousin of your good friend, unless you’re fairly confident that he knows his stuff."

Whether you’re thinking of buying or selling your home, be sure to choose a qualified Santa Clarita Realtor who understands the neighborhoods and the current real estate market conditions. If you’re looking for a qualified Santa Clarita Realtor, call Linda Slocum at 661.670.0349 or email her at Linda@SantaClaritaRealEstateBlog.com.

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