To become a real estate broker in Lebanon requires no experience or qualifications but simply the decision to be one. As a result, some house buyers overlook the benefits of hiring a professional broker based on the incorrect assumption they are a dishonest intermediary whose only aim in commission. While brokers aren't a necessity (you can do the job yourself), they will help you save time and energy in the search for a home. They know the home-buying process inside out and will carefully explain each step to you, present options, and informing you when hiring other experts (inspectors, lawyers) is worthwhile. Good brokers also have useful contacts among property inspectors, lawyers, insurance agents, and government officials, all of which is to your advantage.

SELECTING YOUR BROKER
Friends, parents, or business associates can all be a source for referrals. However, don't just ask for their names; find out why they are recommending a particular broker. Professionals in related fields such as financial, tax, and law can also be good broker referral source, you should make your own inquiries. Ask him/her to produce a list of every property the brokerage has sold in recent months. That way you will be able to see how many properties he has sold and listed in your target neighborhood(s). Eliminate brokers who are focused outside your area and those who have no geographical focus. Check for the property type (simple, deluxe, super deluxe, etc) that has been sold. This will tell you whether the broker works on the kind of property you intend to buy. Furthermore, see if he handles property in your price range. A broker who deals in much more or less expensive property than you expect to buy may not be the right agent for you. Anyone who declines to show such information may be trying to hide either a lack of sales or unhappy clients. One common mistake is thinking that working with more than one broker will be much better. Things don't work that way in the real world. You will probably get confused with so many suggestions and it will end up being more difficult to find your dream house. Furthermore, if a broker finds out that you are dealing with another one at the same time, he may not focus on your demand properly.

COMMISSION
Real estate brokerage is an all or nothing business. As a rule, brokers are paid commission only when a property is sold. Commission is calculated as a percentage of the sale price. In Lebanon, it is usually five percent with the sellers and the buyers paying 2.5 percent each. The commission covers the cost of ads and employees engaged in the research. It does not cover registration expenses although brokerage firms provide all the help the buyer needs while registering the new house. Commission is not usually negotiable if you are dealing with a well-known firm.

BUYING WITHOUT A BROKER
You may not need a broker because developers may be your friends, or friends of your parents, neighbors, or work colleagues. In such cases, neither the developer nor the buyer pays commission. While some homebuyers have successfully purchased their homes without a broker, others have made big blunders. Using a broker may make a lot of sense for beginners. Beyond the actual job of finding the property, they perform additional tasks such as negotiating, estimating the market value, checking the legal aspects, and helping coordinate property inspections, facilitating registration procedures, etc. All these tasks need to be done whether there is a broker or not. The money paid in commission is not a guarantee that nothing will go wrong, but the services of a professional broker make it much less likely. Using a newspaper advert to buy a fridge that doesn't work is a nuisance. Buying a home full of problems could be a disaster.