REPOST: Why You Shouldn't Mix Real Estate with Relatives

Mixing family and any kind of business is never encouraged. The same can be said for getting family member as your real estate agent. This article from Life Hacker explains why.

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If you're shopping for a home or selling your current one, it can be helpful to have a family member or friend of the family that's a real estate agent. However, if they don't specialize in your community or know your market, think twice about straining your relationship by asking them to work with you.

Over at US News Money, they offer up a few reasons why you may want to avoid asking relatives—or even just friends of friends—to be your agent, especially if you're selling. For one, they may not know the neighborhood, and beyond that, you don't want to endanger your relationship with them with something that's often stressful for everyone involved. Imagine how well that would go over at the dinner table for the holidays:

Unless your relative is a crackerjack full-time agent who specializes in your neighborhood, he or she is unlikely to do as good of a job as another agent. That can breed resentment, as well as derail your transaction.

... Finding a neighborhood expert is especially important in areas where moving a block can raise or lower the value of a home by $100,000. An agent who specializes in a neighborhood may also be in touch with buyers who are looking for a home just like yours or sellers who haven’t put their home on the market yet.

The guide also suggests keeping your distance from part time agents, as they may be slower to react to news about your home, or sales and listings in the area if you're on the hunt in a competitive market. That one might be a bit tougher though, many real estate agents also work other jobs, so take that one with a grain of salt. Either way, you can check out all of the tips at the link below.