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Yes you may be experienced in selling homes, but don’t quit on your agent yet, by
By Success Money
Selling home yourself may seem like the real deal, considering the tens of thousands of dollars you will be saving on real estate agent’s commission. A typical real estate agent’s commission ranges between 5% - 6%, so selling a property worth $300,000 through an agent will require you to pay between $15,000 - $18,000 in commission. Given the circumstance, you may decide to act as your own agent.
Yes, you may be experienced selling homes and have racked up savings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from sales, but do you have the expertise to go through all the legal requirements that come with selling? With this, the legal representative of the buyer may discourage the client from making an offer. This is why you need a real estate agent.
I will take you through several reasons you still need a real estate agent or a realtor in the current housing market.
REASONS YOU SHOULDN’T QUIT ON YOUR AGENT
Gone are the days when you could sell a home without being asked about certain details, such as the regulatory requirements. No thanks to real estate scams, clients have realized that buying a home from For Sale by Owner (FSBO) is risky. Selling houses is becoming more technical and legally bounded, which an FSBO might not be experts in. In totality, the risks outweigh the benefits.
SO, WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE A REAL ESTATE AGENT OVER FSBO TO SELL YOUR HOME? Agents Avoid Emotional Sales
The fact is selling a home can put you through stress, and you are likely to make a mistake when
emotions get caught up. An agent makes you less likely to make a mistake, such as overpricing your home, refusing to make a counter offer because you are offended, or accepting to sell for the cheap due to a deadline. You can list your home on popular sites, such as Zillow and Redfin, but it isn’t enough. If you don’t have a large network of agents, how do you intend selling? A smaller pool of buyers lowers your chances of getting cash for your property.
Agents follow up the process without exhibiting a sense of desperation. This is their job, and they are so good at it. When an FSBO seller repeatedly checks, the buyer gets the signal that the seller might accept their low offer. A good real estate agent has contact information and a network of people that can spread the word about your property. They have the resources to market your home after listing it on real estate sites.
Also, you might have to deal with the rejection every time a buyer reveals that they aren’t interested in buying anymore without an agent. It can be upsetting to hear negative comments about a property that you want to sell. An agent can stomach all that and put some positivity on the negative feedback. It’s more difficult for sellers to put their emotions in check when their property isn’t selling, but they can digest all that if they have an agent by their side. The agent can even explain better why the property isn’t attracting the right buyers.
TIME CONSTRAINTS
Time is always of the essence. An FSBO may not have the time to negotiate with clients every now and then. Can you rush home from your business or work whenever a potential buyer wants to have a glance at your home? In the end, you may not have the energy to be bustling around to market your home or meet up with buyers.
Real estate is a round-the-clock job. You may neither have time nor the energy to market and show buyers your home. An agent ticks all the boxes. They have all the time in the world and energy to move around and meet clients.
AGENTS HAVE LARGE NETWORKS
The probable reason your home isn’t getting qualified and enough buyers is because you don’t have a large network to spread the word about the availability of your home for sale. This could be the case regardless of your experience.
LEGAL PAPERWORK
Like I said, a lot of legal documents are involved in the buying of a home, and it needs to be expertly conducted. One of the most essential paperwork is the seller’s disclosure. A seller’s disclosure reveals any fact that affects the value of a property. A seller can be held liable for fraud or breach of contract if they don’t disclose this.
Unless you are an attorney, your agent will probably know more about disclosures than you do. The buyer could sue you if he/she finds any problem with the property. Agents have an error and omission insurance, so a buyer may not need to sue the seller even if they find out a fault with the property.
CONCLUSION
A real estate agent probably knows more than you do in all aspects of real estate transactions, particularly if it involves legal paperwork. As a seller, you definitely need them. Yes, you may be experienced selling homes, but don’t quit on your agent.
If you are having issues selling your property, don’t too worry. We have the resources to market your property and bring the right pool of buyers. All you have to do is contact one of our The Power Is Now agents to help you through.
References
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/071514/8-reasonsnot-sell-your-home-without-agent.asp
