Selling your home without an agent may seem like the best idea. It actually is if you are looking to save thousands of dollars, but not as great as advertised by some FSBO gurus. I see a lot of people bargaining to use the Realtor® or Realtist arguing that a 5% or 6% on a single transaction is a lot. Given the size of this fee (5% to 6% that’s $12,500 to $15,000 on a $250,000 property) on a single transaction, acting out alone may seem like a good idea, after all, you’ll be saving thousands of dollars, but you may want to reconsider and I will tell you why.
Here are some of the reasons why you should reconsider;
Realtors have loads of experience and expertise.
This is a complicated industry full of acronyms and jargon that may not make sense to the ordinary you! On the other hand, Realtor® or Realtist are professionally trained to speak this language fluently.
In addition to that, I am quite sure that by now you are familiar with the fact that real estate transactions involve a lot of paperwork that more often than not tends to be technical. Realtor® or Realtist have the expertise required to help you prepare a deal that will bag you that money! That they will do while also helping you avoid costly delays and mistakes that can mess up your deal.
Getting into the MLS is a Big Deal for Sellers
Have you ever heard the saying that in real estate ‘MLS is the holy grail of home listings?’ once a home is put up on the MLS, it gets sent to dozens of online websites and finally into the buyer’s hands through their agent. That in itself might not seem like a big deal, after all the market is tight with no new homes which means buyers will still flood your listing. But imagine a situation where it’s a buyer’s market, having the home put up on the MLS serves as a goldmine where you are sure that your listing will get an influx of traffic in showings and open houses.
Gaining access to MLS is not easy. You must be a licensed agent in the state to list a home. Therefore, when you list as an FSBO, you’ll be forced to shell out a flat fee or a commission to a broker to have access. This means you are paying for not using an agent which explains why the 2019 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers revealed that 89% of sellers listed on MLS ad worked with an agent to sell their home.
Want to Get More Cash… Use Realtor® or Realtist
What’s the primary reason why people prefer selling their homes without an agent? Well to save cash on commission. There’s a problem though…. Statistics say you won’t!
Typically, an FSBO home will sell for about $200,000 whereas an agent-assisted home sale might go to a high of $280,000 and that’s according to data from the NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
To explain this, one agent explains, “Those ‘A’ buyers are in town for the weekend for a few days to buy a house, or they’re under contract to sell their home and they’ve got to find one,” she adds. “They’re never going to buy for sale by owner, and those are the highest paying buyers.”
Another agrees to say, “One of my past clients is trying to do a for sale by owner,” Jones says. “And the main reason they said is they’re trying to save a few bucks, which is ironic because the people who want to buy for sale by owners are usually pretty cheap.”
Honestly, You Never Want To Be an Amateur at The Negotiating Table!
Let’s be honest about one thing, it is highly likely that this will be your first major sale of purchase. You’ve never done this before and in my opinion, a Realtor® or Realtist will have an upper hand during the negotiation phase. They are professionally trained for these kinds of things. Without an experienced agent by your side you’ll be walking into the negotiation table handicapped. Even in instances where the negotiations might seem to go on smoothly, remember, the agent’s job is to get the price of home to where the buyer wants- they have no responsibility whatsoever to the seller.
How do you Price Your Home Without Realtor® or Realtist
There is something you should know about agents and that is when they decide to narrow in on a price, they usually do it because they have access to comparable home sales and some key information about the neighborhood which may go as far back as decades of years. Selling without pricing data is like throwing a dart in the dark and this could make or break a listing.
The danger of selling a home without a Realtor® or Realtist is that you may overprice a home and that’s the worst thing you could ever do to your listing. Overpriced homes tend to stay on the market longer because they do not meet the buyer’s search criteria.
While you may argue that with an online calculator you can get all the estimates you are looking for, in most cases they tend to be inaccurate, but Realtor® or Realtist can accurately evaluate a home physically and give you the correct price tag.
And Marketing… That’s a Different game!
Let’s be real about one thing, listing a home up on a website won’t sell it! People often think that the home selling process is automatic where one puts a home up for sale and expects buyers to come flooding in! They don’t. And this is where marketing comes in.
You have to note that there is a difference between marketing a home and selling a home. To get a top dollar for the home, you have to market it which is where a Realtor® or Realtist will help you.
When they market, Realtor® or Realtist makes sure that your home gets the exposure in the best places with the best angles. Real estate agents, because of their exposure to the market and experience, know what most buyers are attracted to and know what resources to pull together for your good. They are also able to quickly recognize the highlight of the home and what features make the home pop out in order to sell the home fast.
Thats a good reason to work with Realtor® or Realtist.
Why use a Realtor® or Realtist, well, that’s a no-brainer! Sellers who think they can outsmart the market by selling the home on their own are missing so many opportunities and advantages of using a licensed Realtor® or Realtist. The monetary advantages of not using an agent are non-existent.
Sources
https://www.homelight.com/blog/why-use-a-real-estate-agent/
https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/why-you-should-use-realtor/
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/mortgages/what-is-a-realtist
