Lead generation skills aren't the only advantage that a real estate agent can bring to your house selling partnership. Established relationships with online and offline marketing professionals and real estate bankers are another plus that areal estate agent brings to the table.

Stop wasting time, work with an experienced real estate agent to get your house of the market

Real estate agents are well versed in mortgage negotiations. Although reputable agents don't cross sell to bankers to get more commissions and side deals, they know who the top lenders are. Highly experienced lenders know which financial institutions are the most solvent.

You won't have to guess about which documents you need to complete the closing process, pay for house listings and marketing efforts. A real estate agent will make the time to walk you through the house marketing, house staging, open house and buyer negotiation steps.

They know the competitive house prices in areas where you are most interested in buying a house. Pricing your house smartly is just one benefit that this knowledge offers. Access to data to know the range of prices to offer on a new house is a second benefit that competitive pricing information that you get from a real estate agent gains you.

Three key ways that a realtor can get your house off the market

As great as those advantages are, they aren't the only major ways that a real estate agent can help sell your house faster. Here are three key ways that a realtor can get your house off the market fast:

• Instant reports on other houses that are for sale near your house (With this instant access not only will you know how to price your house, you'll also know how many other houses are on the market in the area.)
• Hands on advice on what you need to do to stage your house without having to move out while prospects walk through your home (For example, a real estate agent can tell you which house wall colors help houses to sale faster.)
• Ability to work with other realtors to help market your house (Another realtor that your agent knows might know house hunters who are looking for a house just like yours.)

Selling your house fast isn't the only benefit that partnering with a real estate agent gives

Getting your house off the market fast is the difference between you yielding a profit from the sale of your house and being forced to sale your house at a loss. You could sale your house on your own, giving yourself the chance to keep the commissions that you would have to pay a real estate agent.

But, you'd lose access to databases, research information and established relationships with lenders and other realtors, the very relationships that can help you price your house right the first time. You'd also forfeit the chance to search for another house that meets your changing dwelling needs.

Taking ownership of an older house could save you thousands of dollars. In fact,ticket prices on houses built during the 1940s are generally half the ticket price on modern homes. Think of buying an older house the way that you approach buying a used car. As with a used car, because the house has experienced wear and tear, you won’t be asked to pay top dollar to move into the home.

Age could provide you significant cost savings

Pick an older home that’s not located in an area that’s overseen by a homeowners association and you could save thousands of dollars a year. Other ways that buying an older house could save you thousands of dollars are in structural maintenance costs.

Houses built around World War II were built to endure hard blasts. Punch a wall in a house that was built during the 1940s and you could break your hand. On the other hand, you could tear a hole in a house built during the 1980s or later if you accidentally jam the end of a broom handle against the wall.

Walls of houses built in the 1940s were made of cement. Modern homes may be constructed with fiberboard or plasterboard panels. Fiberboard and plasterboard are thinner than cement walls. You may have heard a relative or friend refer to the walls as being “paper thin”.

As a note of caution, get walls of older houses you’re thinking of buying inspected. Many walls in houses built during the 1940s were made with asbestos cement. To save money on an older home also ensure that the house is well ventilated.

Making the most out of buying older houses

If you don’t, you could buy a house that, although durable, is not well insulated or ventilated.Poor ventilation can cause a house to feel uncomfortably warm during summer months and far too cool when it gets cold outside. Also, make sure that the older house you want to buy has central air conditioning.

Of course,if you spend a lot of time outdoors, central air may not be a priority. To keep your older home cool during summer without turning on central air, close the doors to rooms that you are not using. Place chairs and sofas near windows and vents. And use window air conditioners and efficient floor fans.

You may love the privacy that you’ll gain with an older home, as older houses are generally not designed with open floor plans. Each room may have a separate archway or door. Houses in older neighborhoods tend to have a similar floor plan.Depending on when you grew up, you may recall how your parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents homes’ were laid out the same.

After you get an older house that you want to buy inspected, you can always modernize the home. For example, you could install solar panels in the house. Upgrade the insulation and knock down walls and create an open floor plan to give the home a more spacious look and feel.