Buying property in Florida requires more than contacting the seller or your real estate agent. To get the most value for your money, it helps to know the many ways you can protect yourself as a buyer. For the first-time home buyer, one can get very excited looking through public listings and trying to negotiate with the real estate agent or the seller himself. But without professional advice, there are many ways that additional costs can easily add up. These are costs that the new home buyer may not incur until the final transaction or closing.

First of all, it helps to know that there are different agent relationships in Florida. There are transaction brokers that are there to facilitate a transaction without loyalty to the seller or the agent. Then there are the seller’s agents whose primary role is to obtain the highest price for the seller, as well as protect the seller’s interests and facilitate a quick sale. The third-agent relationship is a buyer’s agent but works in a listing office. This clearly has a conflict of interest because they can take into account the interest of the buyer but, since he / she is working in a listing office, said buyer’s agent is also obliged to protect the interests of the listing office.

These options do not really take into account the interests of the entire buyer. However, for a first time home buyer, doing it on your own can present surprises like hidden costs in terms of repairs or closing costs passed on to the buyer. There are many other surprises that a new buyer may not realize, and the best thing to do is have an agent whose interests are entirely for your protection as a buyer. By having a buyer’s agent, you have the peace of mind of having a professional who knows the right questions to ask the seller or seller’s agent, who knows how to negotiate, and ultimately determine the correct value of the buyer’s money.

For example, what is the current trend of the real estate market in the area? Are repairs needed and what is the best way to negotiate repairs? When was the last time the roof was changed? Is there no previous repair that still has a record of a violation?

These are just a few of the many other problems that can arise for first-time buyers. It helps to have a real estate professional, an agent whose sole motive is to protect the home buyer.