Should you sell your home on your own or list it with a real estate agent? Here are a few factors to consider before making your decision.
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Making the decision to sell your home is a big one. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of two very different home selling methods: Hiring an agent to help you versus selling your home on your own.
1. Contracts. As agents, we are trained on and are required to continually train to keep up with all of the contact information and paperwork necessary in a real estate transaction. If you are selling your home on your own, you could easily miss something important that could be extremely costly. Speaking of costly, you will also need an attorney to review your contracts. You don’t want to find yourself in legal trouble down the road, especially with such a large financial asset at stake.
2. Marketing. This is a big subject in real estate. I am unsure what a FSBO seller would do here. Maybe they could create a cool flyer, but how much exposure are they really going to get for the property? We have a team that manages Facebook ads and targets people who are the best fit for your home. We have access to the MLS, and pay for your home to be listed on multiple syndicated website. If you are not part of the MLS, you will not have access to many of those websites. We pay for a home staging consultation, professional photography, and more. These are expenses that would really pile up for you if you didn’t hire an agent. Additionally, think about the sheer amount of time that has to be spent to do this properly. We schedule open houses, streamline your showings, and stay in constant contact with prospects. A single person with no real estate background can’t do this.
FSBO homes severely lack in marketing exposure.
3. Pricing. If you make a mistake pricing your home, it can be very costly. An overpriced home tends to sit on the market and gain a stigma that something is wrong with it. If you price too low, you can leave a lot of money on the table and bring down the value of other homes in your neighborhood. Don’t rely on a friend or a random website to price your home. Call one of our agents up to get an accurate price today.
If you or someone you know is thinking about selling a home in the next year, please feel free to reach out and give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you soon.