Say for example you get a house inspection and you find the septic system needs replacing (15-20K job, easy). Are you willing to negotiate with your friend to get that fixed? Agent could do that for you.
I may have used the term friend a little to loosely
Do you know how to see if there are any liens on the property or any issues with the title? An agent does.
isn't that an attorneys job?
Do you know if the house is priced fairly, according to comparable properties in the neighborhood? Do you know how to do that analysis? An agent does.
yes
Do you know how to determine if the property zoning allows further development (say an addition of an extra room or deck), or if the building of the original structure was done correctly? Were building permits pulled for it?
An agent could do that for you.
good point, but nothing has been added to the house since it was built I have lived next it my whole life, the deck that's on it is the same deck that was on it when the lady's boyfriend I'm purchasing the house from, blew his head off with a shot gun, back in 89 so yea that gonna get replaced definitely also going to be my brew deck. might name a brew after him
As OrdinaryAveGuy points out, you could do this all yourself....the questions are: Do you have time?
yes Are you sure you could do it correctly and in a comprehensive manner (given the seller is your friend?)
yes im a dick. Are you willing to drive a hard bargain with your friend?
Frankly, I'm sure your friend is a nice person
not really, but when you are talking about many thousands of dollars at stake, I would not trust them as far as I could throw them.
I don't that's why I'm asking questions and researching An agent can act as your intermediately and be the "bad guy" if need be.