by Francis Jock

Created on: November 10, 2008

If you are new home buyer, you may want to think carefully about the advantages and disadvantages of foregoing the services of a real estate broker. At first glance, it may look like a great way to save money by eliminating the broker's fees from the cost of purchasing a home. After all, how hard can it be find your dream home, make a purchase offer, arrange financing, close the deal and move-in? This article takes a look at the answers to those questions and provides some insight to the answers that new and experienced home buyers may find helpful.

A good place to begin might be by considering the current condition of the real estate market. The imploding of the real estate market has changed the rules of the real estate game, perhaps for a very long time. In many parts of the country, home sellers, lending institutions, home buyers and sellers alike are being crushed by the problems created by the unforeseen problems created by the sub-prime mortgage mess. For the unwary, or perhaps ignorant, home buyer, this has created a risky situation.

In many cities across the nation Home for Sale signs are popping up with seemingly good opportunities for home buyers and real estate investors. However, many of these homes could turn out to be a dangerous and potentially expensive morass of legal and financial complications. This can be the case if the home has been foreclosed by a mortgage lender that may be in severe financial duress as a result of its past mortgage lending practices. A real estate broker serves as the captain of the ship as they guide the home buyer through these treacherous waters. With every deal, he or she places their name, reputation and even their ability to conduct business on the line in order to facilitate the purchasing process.

Any real estate broker worth their salt stake their business future on their ability to match home buyers with their dream home, resolving legal and financial problems, and completing numerous and oftentimes confusing purchasing documents and tax forms without error. They are also invaluable advisors when it comes to counseling clients if the process becomes complicated and negotiating with other savvy agents or brokers when so-called "deal breakers" rear their head. An experienced home buyer may not need their assistance, but more often than not, real estate broker can be a buyer's best friend and even a confidant during those uncertain times.

Fortunately for the new home buyer, there are plenty of real estate brokers

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