John Varano

Prospective home buyers face a lot of choices during the buying process. Unfortunately, a lot of them have nothing to do with what kind of house they'd like to live in, how big of a kitchen they want, or how many bedrooms they'll need. That's because, for most of us, buying a house requires the help of a number of services and professionals that we aren't necessarily that familiar with or used to shopping for – including a home inspector, mortgage lender, real estate agent, appraiser, etc. Understanding what each does and who to trust can cause confusion for many buyers. In fact, a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors, found that nearly 30 percent of future home buyers do not feel knowledgeable about real-estate transactions, while another 22 percent said they don't understand the role played by various service providers. In other words, a lot of buyers know they'd like to own a house but aren't quite sure how to proceed. According to the survey, most of these home shoppers will lean on a real-estate agent for advice, guidance, and help finding affiliated services – with large majorities of respondents expressing a preference for working with professionals already affiliated with their agent's firm. Only family and friends ranked as highly as a source of real estate information.