Why you won’t save money by selling on your own...

Deciding to buy or sell a home is a huge decision and should not be taken lightly. Not working with a professional real estate agent that has been specifically trained to cope with the ins-and-outs of this process can be costly and time consuming. Ultimately, there are a lot of advantages to bringing in a professional. Let’s briefly review a few of the pitfalls associated with selling your own house. First, you will likely not get the best price. People who are looking for a home with the “for sale by owner” tag are looking for a bargain, because they think that the commission will be costly and unnecessary. The reality is that an FSBO listing won’t be saving you money, because a seller who lists their own home will end up with the same amount of money that an agent would get them after everything is already said and done. Second, sellers notoriously think their home is more valuable than it may be, because the owner is too emotionally attached to their home. Buyers seeking to purchase a home are always trying to get the best buy. If you use an agent, you won’t be negotiating with the seller – the agent will.  In trying to close the deal, the agent will work with both parties to negotiate the best deal that they can. If this your first time buying a home, using an experienced agent will get you the best deal because you won’t have to become familiar with the financial and legal attributes involved in the sale. Since the agent has gained experienced, the agent will leverage the best deal. Third, there are potential legal ramifications involved in selling on your own. Perhaps the home has undisclosed mold issues, or there are unforeseen problems in the attic. The seller may not be aware of the problem, or may be trying to hide the problem. Real estate agents will disclose the potential issues; which will save Sellers and Buyers from costly financial harm or litigation. Real estate agents facilitate a legally and financially advantageous process. Finally, agents market your home for you. One of the best ways to get a higher price for the house is by actually marketing the house. Real estate agents have access to many more marketing streams, journals, and their own database, which enables them to gain maximum exposure for a property. Many real estate firms also offer tours to enable other agents to become familiar with all of the available inventory, while others advertise homes through open houses. A house that has been well marketed will have a lot of people trying to buy it. Even if a house has been vacant for a while, an open house will be held in order to increase traffic and attract buyers. All of these reasons are why we recommend that you hire a real estate professional to help you sell your property. Contributor James Link