Don’t be a lone cowboy when purchasing property – this article shows you how.

You know that old saying that used to make the rounds in the ’90s? It was popularized by then First Lady (and current Secretary of State) Hillary Rodham Clinton’s book of the same name: It Takes A Village to Raise A Child. Well, in real estate, it takes a lot of people, too. You can, like raising a child, conceivably do it all yourself, but it would be so much easier, not to mention potentially better, to have a team of professionals assisting you – even doing it all for you!

“Potentially better” refers to the fact that having professionals on your side should decrease your chances of error. People who make a living doing something day in and day out minimize risks for you. Purchasing real estate is usually the single most expensive investment anyone will ever make in their entire life. Unlike anything else that can be bought with money, there are many complex stages involved in buying property, which is why even the professional investors, who buy property day in and day out will typically have a staff of dedicated real estate professionals working for them!

Typical professionals are a real estate agent, a lender, an appraiser, and an inspector. These are the key people who should constitute the core of your real estate buying team.

The real estate agent is the single most important person who will be working for you, so that’s the position you should fill up first, immediately. Your real estate agent will help throughout the whole process, from finding the home that you want to buy to negotiating the terms of the purchase, all while answering all of your questions along the way. Just make sure that this real estate team member is an experienced person with a high level of interest and enthusiasm for helping you. Further ensure that he or she is someone that you naturally get along well with since you’re going to be be spending a large amount of time together during the whole process. Finally, your real estate agent is also a great resource for referrals to getting the other members of your team installed.

Team members such as your lender. Usually this will be a bank or other such financial institution. Be sure that you are assigned one single representative to work with, and not bounced around from one representative to another.

The appraiser and inspector are other key members, as you will absolutely need to know the fair market value for the home that you are buying. Now such information is going to be provided during the course of your interaction with the seller, but it’s always best to also have your own expert to go over the details from the perspective of your best interests!

Disclaimer: Be advised that such information as has been presented so far only constitutes mere opinion and should under no circumstances be misconstrued for professional advice of any kind whatsoever! Always consult those properly licensed and/or otherwise qualified when it comes to making business decisions of any financial importance.

Author Bio: Barbra I. Miller writes frequently on real estate topics for various online publications. Please visit SocialRealEstateNetwork.com for more great articles from industry insiders such as Isaac Toussie and others!

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: real estate, business, advice, property, property markets, realty