Using a Realtor vs. FSBO
I already know what you are thinking and you are right. Of course the realtor is going to say its better to use a realtor. What I want to do with this post is explain the reasoning behind why I believe it is better to use a realtor as opposed to selling your home For Sale By Owner.
First of all let me tell you the situation in which selling your home for sale by owner is best option for you. If you answer YES to most of these questions then you should consider selling your home FSBO.
1. If you are not in a hurry to sell.
2. Real Estate market is favoring sellers (Sellers Market)
3. You want to save the 6% commission a Realtor would charge.
4. You have a Real Estate attorney who will protect you through all the legal issues you may encounter while selling your home.
5. You already have a potential buyer for your home.
6. You are willing and able to detach yourself emotionally from your home.
7. You are willing and able to put forth the time and effort required to market you home. This includes answering phone calls, showing your house, designing advertisements, learning the real estate process, etc.
8. You have your own website to market your property with.
Selling your home FSBO may be a bad idea if any of these conditions apply to you. I don’t mean to discourage you from selling your home FSBO. I am just trying to present the facts about selling your home.
1. You need sell your home or property in a short time frame.
2. You are not good at handling high tension situation or have trouble handling rejection or complications that may arise.
3. You do not have the correct information to correctly price your home: As you already know overpricing your home only delays the sale of your home, at the same time under-pricing your home may negate any gains you may have made by not paying an agents commission.
4. You are uncomfortable negotiating.
5. You are unaware or don’t have proper representation when it comes to legal issues that may arise during the sell of your home.
Now that you have an idea as to weather or not you need a real estate agent I am going to cover some of the reasons why I believe you need a real estate agent to represent you through the process of buying or selling property.
A real estate agent like me knows the market and can help you determine the right price for your home. I preview hundreds of homes in our local area and can help you price your home to SELL. When you list with me, I will show you comparable homes that are currently listed as well as comparable homes that have sold. This will give you a clear idea of what your home is worth. You also need to remember that real estate agent have a reason to make sure your home sells for the highest price possible. Our commission is based on your sells price. We make more money when your home sells for more money.
Another reason you want to use a real estate agent is because of all the resources we have to locate potential buyers for your property. Just a few that I feel I should mention are the MLS, Board Tour, Real Estate magazines, Real Estate Website (You are here) Other Agents, Professional Signage, Classified ads, and many many more. Basically a real estate agent can do everything a FSBO can do plus so much more. If you had to catch a fish (a buyer) in a pond (The Market) would you rather use a fishing pole (FSBO) or a fishing net (A Realtor). Realtors have many more options available to them for advertising and selling your home. This gives them a much bigger net then someone trying to sell by themselfs. More potential buyers mean you have a better chance of finding that needle in a haystack buyer for your home. Why would you want to limit that amount of potential buyers for your home?
A good agent will also pre qualify buyers for your home. This will help to avoid potential problems with buyers who can’t actually afford your home. You would be surprise with how many buyers there are that are making offers and getting the hopes up of sellers just to let them down because they haven’t been pre qualified with a lender and cannot afford a home.
Another benefit to using a real estate agent is we are trained in negotiating and we will not get emotional during the negotiating process. According to the National Association of Realtors sellers that use an agent average 9% more for the sale of there homes then people who sale FSBO.
Agents also save sellers time by working behind the scenes to sell your home. For every hour you see your agent he or she is probably spending 3 or 4 hours behind the scenes ensuring your home will sell.
If you are thinking about selling your home call me for a free no obligation comparative market analysis of your home. I am even willing to do this over the phone if you would like. The market in Cedar City is changing rapidly, we are rapidly shifting from a sellers market to a buyers market. You need a real estate agent who can do what it takes to get your home sold for the most money in the least amount of time. I feel like I am that agent and I would love to help you if you want to give me the chance.
