It’s not so much a matter of should or shouldn’t. It’s more a matter of what will get you the best results. And, more importantly, which approach will let you keep your sanity. Most people decide to sell their home without a Realtor because they want to save money in commissions and they want to sell fast.
What many people find is that they can’t achieve either goal. If you’re considering selling your home without an agent, consider these reasons why selling your home yourself can be more trouble than it’s worth.
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You May Set the Wrong Sales Price
Realtors know how to do an in-depth Comparative Market Analysis. Besides that, they’re experts in the local real estate market. When you’re doing pricing yourself, you may not be sure if the house down the street is listed at a good sales price or not. You may not be sure how an appraiser will value the features of your home over those of your competition.
For example, you may think that you’ll get your money back on the new heat pump you installed last year. However, that type of update falls in the category of maintenance. Everyone expects that the home they purchase will have functioning heat and air, so that update won’t increase the value of your home.
If you set your price too high, your home will languish on the market. If you set the price too low, you won’t get the profit you’re looking for.
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You May Not Know Whether to Do Updates or Repairs
You may like your home just the way it is, or you may think you need to do some updates before putting your home on the market. How do you decide? You will get your money back for some types of repairs or updates. Others may be nice to have features, but you won’t get any return on your investment.
A professional Realtor will know what homebuyers are looking for in your area. They will also know what the homes you are competing with offer.
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You May Not Have Time to do Effective Marketing
Full-time Realtors sell homes for a living. They know that simply putting a sign in the yard and putting a listing on the internet isn’t going to sell a home for top dollar in a reasonable timeframe. Realtors know how to determine who the best prospects are for your home. They know how to reach out to those homebuyers, and they spend quite a bit of time and money marketing your home.
The more homebuyers who know that your home is for sale, the more people you will have looking at your home. That’s good from a sales perspective. But, it does mean that if you don’t have a Realtor, you will be responsible for showing your home. Very often, you won’t have the time to be present for each showing, or you will lose potential buyers because they can’t see your home on their schedule.
In addition, many people who want to sell their home themselves don’t typically set up a budget for marketing. With no effective promotion, you may find that few people will contact you to see your home.
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You May Not Be Familiar with the Offer Process
When buyers want to see your home, you’ll be putting in time and effort to show it to them, and then follow up with them to determine their level of interest. Screening potential buyers is an important task that your Realtor will handle for you.
Without a Realtor, you’ll need to ensure that the buyers you work with have the financial strength to finalize a deal. Many people are uncomfortable talking to a stranger about their financial situation. If you fall in that category, you may waste time working with people who couldn’t possibly purchase your home.
Sales contracts are legal documents, and you’ll need to be aware of the laws and regulations that govern an offer to purchase and a finalized sales contract. If you’re not familiar with the various types of legal contract terms and contingencies, and those that aren’t, you could find yourself in trouble. If you do sell yourself, be sure to have a real estate attorney assist you.
Once you have a final sales agreement, many things need to happen leading up to the “closing” or the time when ownership and money changes hands. You’ll need to keep a close eye on coordinating activities and meeting dates set out in the contract, which is another thing that a Realtor will do for you.
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You May Find It Difficult to Treat Your Sale as a Business Transaction
For most homeowners, selling their home brings up a range of emotions. Working with a Realtor gives you a buffer between what you are feeling and what you need to do to get your home sold.
For example, you’ll need to be sure you don’t react emotionally in a variety of situations, if:
- the buyer makes an offer well below your asking price
- during a showing, the buyer discusses a list of reasons why your home isn’t worth what you’re asking for it
- the inspector finds problems that you consider to be minor but the buyer considers major
- the buyer insists that your dining room chandelier is included in the sale and you were planning to take it with you
Actually, in that last example, you needed to exclude the chandelier in the contract if you wanted it for yourself. Otherwise, it’s considered part of the sale.
Is Selling Your Home Yourself Right For You?
That’s something only you can decide. At a minimum, if you decide to sell on your own, make sure you have a real estate attorney working with you so that you’re protected every step of the way. If you want to be among the top Davie homes for sale, you’ll need to make sure you do everything right!
If you do decide you’d like to hire Realtors in Broward County, please consider the Teri Arbogast Real Estate Team. Take a look at our Google reviews, and you’ll see that our clients have lots of good things to say. We’re very proud of our 5-star ratings on Google, Zillow, and other real estate review websites. We’d love to make you our next successful client! Call us at 954-242-8030 or send an email today.
