If you are thinking about selling your home, you might have thought, “Do I need a Realtor to sell my home”? I want to give you enough information so that you will be able to answer this question by the end of this article. There are various reasons people may ask this question, but I want to focus on just a few of the reasons people ask “Can I sell my home myself”? There are many things to take into account but here are the four main topics to consider.
- Cost – Save Money
The first thing that comes to most people’s mind when considering using a Realtor is… Commission. Yes, selling your home yourself might save you some commission costs but you will end up spending the money elsewhere. First off, when you are selling you home without the assistance of a Realtor you might still end up paying commission. If a buyer likes your home and they are working with a Realtor then you will end up paying a partial commission to that agent if you sell to that buyer. Yes, you may still end up paying commission to sell your home yourself.
Another consideration should be, “How much will I Spend on Advertising” when selling my home myself. You will have to find ways to market and advertise your home. All of this advertising will cost quite a bit of money. When you list with “Nova Star Real Estate” you don’t pay a penny of any marketing and advertising.
When you decide to talk to a Realtor about listing your home, be prepared. Make a list of important question to ask. One of these should be, “Are there any other fees I will pay you other than the commission”? Almost every company charges a type of “Hidden Charge” or “Administrative Fee”. Nova Star NEVER charges anything except the agreed upon commission.
Check out my Realtor Interview Questionnaire.
- Exposure
Continuing with our pervious thought… using a Realtor will benefit you by the amount of exposure your home will get. My real estate company owns its own marketing company “Nova Star News”. Nova Star News mailed out over 50,000 pieces of marketing material in 2017 to advertise and sell our listing.
Nova Star also has a powerful online presence as well. We utilize Social Media for advertising our listings. We put together video and picture slide show ads on “Facebook” and get 3,000-6,000 hits on each ad.
“For Sale By Owner” homes only make up about 7% of homes sales each year. The biggest reason for this is the amount of exposure your home gets when using a Realtor by far surpasses the exposure a For Sale By Owner gets. The truth is that any buyers working with an agent may not even see your property in the listings. Realtors can also get extra exposure for your property because they have many clients and other contacts that they have already networked with. An outstanding Realtor will be able to market your home and reach 1,000’s of potential buyers.
- Paperwork
Maybe you haven’t thought this far into the process yet but there is plenty of paperwork that you will need to fill out correctly to have a legal contract and real estate transaction. Realtors have to take classes to become a licensed agent. The classes go over all of the paperwork involved in a real estate transaction. Realtors also take “Continuing Education” classes every year to keep up to date on the current laws and changes to the documents. Realtors handle transactions daily and know every document that is needed in a transaction and they will be able to help you understand them and help you fill them out correctly. For someone that wants to try to sell their home themselves this is one of the most overlooked areas of a real estate transaction. Make sure you know every step and every document required before you decide to sell your home yourself.
- Experience and Expertise
Realtors do this every single day. They have seen every situation and been through every process from both the buyer’s side and seller’s side. They are experts in negotiating. One thing to keep in mind is that negotiating the price isn’t the only negotiating that happens in a real estate transaction. There are other parts of the sale that come into play, Time of Possession, Closing Day, Closing Costs, Non-Fixture items that could convey, inspection repairs and many more. it might be nice to have someone fighting these fights for you especially someone that has done it 100’s of times before.
You might not be convinced that using a Realtor will benefit you far more than it would cost you, so here is my advice… If you are still on the fence or even if you think you would never use a Realtor, at least call one up and ask a few question. Find a local Realtor and set up a time for them to meet with you, just be honest up front and let them know that you are not sure that you want to use a Realtor and that you have a few questions. My company even offers a FREE, NO obligation “Home Value Consultation”. Just click the link and fill out a short form and we will be happy to talk with you or feel free to give us a call.
If you have any questions leave me a comment on here and I will be sure to answer your questions quickly.
For more tips on selling your home check out my articles “How to Sell Your Home For More” and “How to Sell Your Home Fast”.
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