The purchase of a home is one of the most complex, high-risk, and expensive transactions most people will ever go through. Yet, approximately half of the home buyers go to the closing table without an advocate by their side. Research conducted by the "National Association of REALTORS" shows that many buyers do not understand the importance of having an advocate. Without someone representing their interests, how will these buyers ever know if they found the right home at the right price?

If you are an unrepresented buyer, here are ten GOOD reasons why you should hire a REALTOR:

1. Realtors are Real Estate Specialists. Not all real estate professionals are created equally. There are approximately 2.3 million licensed real estate professionals, but only members of the National Association of Realtors can call themselves Realtors. This association of about 750,000 brokers and agents provides a "Code of Ethics" to standardize professional behavior, and it offers advanced educational opportunities to its members, enabling them to offer accredited sub-specialties such as buyer's representation.

2. Realtors Lower Your Risk. When you have a Realtor as an advocate, you share some of the risk of home buying with your agent. Otherwise, it's buyer beware. If you have a Realtor as your advocate, he or she will make recommendations that will assure that you are buying a home that is safe, environmentally sound and priced fairly according to the current marketplace.

3. Realtors Work For You At Their Own Risk. Can you name another profession that will go to work for you on a contingency basis? Or without a contract? You don't typically pay for any services up front with an agent and that is because agents are paid on the back end by the sellers' proceeds. That means that you or the seller have no out-of-pocket expenses. Therefore, it is in your agent's best interest to work quickly, diligently, and use all of his or her resources to help you meet your goals, or there is no payday. But, don't be surprised if your agent asks for a "commitment" from you in the form of a contract. Wouldn't you do the same if your time and money were on the line?

4. Realtors Understand The Current Market. Real estate professionals have invaluable house-by-house, street-by-street, and market-by-market experience which can't be learned overnight. Realtors who have weathered the pendulum swing between buyer's markets and seller's markets know that the real estate market can turn abruptly. Rising and falling interest rates affect the number of available homes for sale and their prices within weeks or days. All it takes is the entrance or exit of a major employer, and hundreds of homes in a neighborhood can be affected. As neighborhood experts, experienced brokers can help you with home buying strategies and proposals that will get the right house at the best price and terms.

5.Realtors Have Inventory. Do you want to find a home quickly? With a Realtor by your side, you will. Over four-fifths of existing homes for sale are represented by real estate brokers. So are 70 percent of NEW home builders and their products. Realtors cooperate with each other through the "Multiple Listing Service (MLS)" that allows them to share their current inventory of listings with each other. Your agent can also show you homes outside of the MLS inventory, including for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) homes and new builder homes. However, no Realtor can be expected to show you this unqualified inventory without a representation agreement that assures him or her of being paid at closing.

6.Realtors Have Information You Don't Have. MLS data entry can take from one to 10 days, depending on the listing agent, his or her broker, and the rules and technology of the MLS. By the time the home is posted on the internet, it could already be sold. And, if you shop on the internet you may not be seeing the most current inventory. That's why clever agents network with each other. Many homes are bought and sold this way without a sign even going up on the property! If you want to be the buyer positioned to make first and best offers on these desirable properties hire an agent and be prepared to go under contract for their services. If a agent hears of a home for sale that has not yet been listed, whom do you think he or she will tell first - you, or the buyer who is committed to them by contract? Again, commitment works both ways.

7.Realtors Understand The Complexity Of The Transaction. Less than a decade ago a home could be bought with a two-page contract. Now, consumer-mandated seller's disclosures, environmental and structural reports, and other legal documents have turned the home transfer into a potential minefield. Realtors work with contracts daily, and can fully understand which points are harmful and/or beneficial to you. From helping you to make a reasonable offer, to providing for the discovery and disclosure of material facts, your agent can also correctly interpret information for you.

8.Realtors Work For You..And The Transaction. Your agent not only represents your interests but also works on behalf of the transaction. Does that seem like a conflict of interest? It isn't. Buyers and Sellers are natural adversaries. You want to buy for the least price, and the seller wants the most. Agents must be skilled negotiators to keep pride, ignorance, or stubbornness from getting in the way of a fair deal for both sides. As the buyer, remember that you are the one in control. You can instruct your agent how far to go in negotiations on your behalf. One day, you'll be glad your agent helped you keep your cool when the seller refused to leave that old chandelier.

9.Realtors Offer Flexible Services. Realtors' services are somewhat negotiable. New ideas are coming to the real estate industry which will allow the consumer to pick and choose real estate services based on what brokers offer in the marketplace. Some offer only full-service brokerage services. Others offer menu services and are paid accordingly.

10.Realtors Are Homeowner Advocates. Do you like the idea of deducting your mortgage interest from your income tax? Paying no capital gains when you sell your home, up to $250,000 if you are single and $500,000 if you are married after living in the home for only two years? If so, you can thank the ONLY lobbying group in the nation that looks out for the interests of homeowners - The National Association of Realtors. Every year, the Realtor PAC perches on Capitol Hill and swoops down on legislators who try to overturn these generous government-sponsored homeowner benefits. The result is well worth it. These initiatives keep housing more affordable and make them better investments, enabling more buyers than ever before to move into a home of their own. Thanks in part to Realtors, more than 67 percent of the population are enjoying the benefits of owning a home. So, keep in mind every time you put a Realtor to work, you are also working to keep your homeowner benefits in place.