What the Post Misses about Real Estate Agents

It's about to get even tougher out there for first-time homebuyers in the Washington area

Sitting at the settlement table signing the thirtieth or so redundant document, my first-time buyer clients usually ask me why there is so much paperwork.

Easy. It’s because somebody — likely many somebodies — got screwed out of a lot of money by shady business practices. Behind nearly every form is the story of a buyer who lost their money, or  worse, their home.

Obviously, as a real estate agent I’m a little biased here, but this is why we have good agents. Real estate transactions are complicated and there are many, many points along the way where inexperienced or unaware buyers can find themselves on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in unexpected costs. And, worst case, they don’t even get the house.

Those outcomes are mercifully rare because that’s what buyer agents are here to do — protect their clients.

I’ll admit, when I started this newsletter, the goal was to not cross the streams of my work as a Realtor and my work as a writer. I enjoy doing both in large part because …