{"id":15206,"date":"2020-03-25T13:55:04","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T20:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=15206"},"modified":"2020-03-25T13:55:04","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T20:55:04","slug":"buyer-real-estate-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-real-estate-team\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Time Home Buying 101: Do I Hire a Real Estate Team or Single Agent?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve made the decision: It\u2019s time to start shopping for your first home<\/a>. It\u2019s an exciting time! Now you need to find a real estate agent.<\/p>\n

When you start looking, you discover that not only is there a huge pool of single agents to choose from, there are real estate teams as well. So which is better \u2014 hiring a single agent or hiring a real estate team to help you with your first home purchase?<\/p>\n

Both a single agent and a team will help guide you through the process, but your experience working with a team could be different than working with a single agent. Here\u2019s what you should know about working with a real estate team as a first-time homebuyer.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Source: (Eye for Ebony \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The agent model<\/h2>\n

Working with a single or solo agent is pretty self-explanatory \u2014 you have one agent, one point of contact who will take care of your needs directly.<\/p>\n

A solo agent will usually set up an initial meeting with you to go over your homebuying goals and list of wants and needs. They will find homes for you to look at using the MLS<\/a> and will send you those homes for review.<\/p>\n

Usually, they will accompany you to open houses<\/a> and chat with the listing agent (if they\u2019re present). If they don\u2019t attend open houses with you, they\u2019ll be personally available to make offers on your behalf if you view a house that you love.<\/p>\n

Single agents work closely and personally with buyers from start to finish in the homebuying process. \u201cIf you\u2019re nervous about the process, having a solo agent who has their finger on the pulse of everything, there\u2019s value there,\u201d explains Princeton, New Jersey-based agent Christopher Norton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The team model<\/h2>\n

With a real estate team, the process is a little different. All the duties listed above that a single agent would do themselves are divided up among team members.<\/p>\n

Real estate teams consist of two or more agents who work on clients\u2019 behalf, and often include support staff to help with administrative work. Teams often also include buyer\u2019s agents and listing agents who function separately.<\/p>\n

Other duties of a real estate team that are split up among members can include:<\/p>\n