There are probably a lot of questions running through your head right now if you're considering selling your home. You could save money by selling your home on your own, but there are many good arguments for hiring a real estate agent instead. Real estate agents can be helpful, so it's important to know what they do and why you might need one.
Hiring a real estate agent is similar to hiring a licensed professional to fix up your home; it will give you peace of mind and confidence while selling your home. If you're thinking about selling your home, consider these reasons in favor of working with a real estate agent.
As a seller, your primary objective is probably to get the most money out of the sale of your home as soon as possible. However, making sure your house is fairly priced in the market is crucial if you want to sell it quickly. As the owner, you may feel confident in your ability to determine your home's value, but it's likely that some degree of subjectivity is involved. A real estate agent's method is more fact-based and entails gathering data on recently sold homes in the same area as yours and comparing them to your own in order to arrive at a reasonable asking price. If your real estate agent is objective and does not have any personal feelings about your home, they will be able to help you determine a fair asking price that will attract buyers.
Whether this is your first time selling a home or you've done it before, working with a real estate agent is a great way to learn the ins and outs of the process. However, this does not mean that going it alone is not a viable option. However, given that a real estate transaction is likely to be one of the largest financial transactions you'll ever make1, it's probably best to leave the particulars to a professional to help ensure everything goes smoothly.
A seller's real estate commission is typically paid at the closing. Simply put, this is the driving force behind the vast majority of "For Sale by Owner" listings. Many real estate agents, however, provide free bonuses to their sellers, such as the services of a professional photographer to take stunning photographs of the home, a thorough cleaning, staging assistance, and more. Some of these enhancements may even be free of charge but can have a significant impact on how quickly your home sells.
A common dilemma for homeowners getting ready to sell is deciding which maintenance and repair tasks to tackle first. Before you spend a lot of money on a home improvement project that may or may not pay off when you go to sell, a real estate agent can give you advice to help you make a well-informed decision.
Getting your home listing in front of potential buyers is a major challenge when you're trying to sell your house without a real estate agent. It will cost you money up front to advertise your home for sale so that as many people as possible will see it if you plan to sell it on your own. When you hire a real estate agent, they will be able to access the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is the main tool used to find available homes for sale. Most homebuyers begin their search by perusing the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Working with a real estate agent is advantageous because of the agent's connections within the market. Your real estate agent may be able to provide you with superior resources to those you would find if you were to go it alone, such as referrals to professionals who can help with home repairs or the distribution of your listing to other agents in their office who may have clients who are interested in it.
A listing is just the first step in a multi-step process of promoting your home. There is a lot more work involved. Realtors will constantly promote your home through their own online channels, social media, videos, flyers, and in-person activities like open houses and broker lunches. You may want to hire a real estate agent just for that reason. Not only is it time-consuming to market your home on your own, but you may not have access to all of the tools that a real estate agent does.
In the same vein, most people do not have the time necessary to devote to the sale of their home. It can be difficult to handle everything involved in selling a home on top of a full-time job or family responsibilities. By hiring a real estate agent, you can free up your time and energy to focus on other matters, such as keeping your home in show-ready condition and searching for a new residence once your current one sells.
The ability to successfully negotiate with prospective buyers is a crucial but challenging part of any sale. A competent real estate agent will negotiate on your behalf and exert every effort to obtain the highest possible selling price for your home, leaving you with as much of the sale's proceeds as possible after deducting their fees. You can trust that your real estate agent will look out for your best interests during negotiations because they do this every day.
Truth be told, selling a home can be a very harrowing experience. There's more to your home than meets the eye; it's where you raised your family and where you made memories that will last a lifetime. If you're selling your home, hearing feedback from potential buyers can be a bitter pill to swallow. Whether they don't like certain features of the house or the yard, or if they do like the house but offer a lower price, having an objective real estate agent can help you keep your emotions in check.