To Sell on Your Own or Hire an Agent ?
This is a question many individuals ask themselves when contemplating selling their home.
There are several factors that at first would appear to be advantages to selling your own home. The most obvious would be to save the commission and either pocket more money or be able to sell at a reduced price.
In reality do you really know the market and the current trends affecting the market ? Will you underprice your property and loose money or overprice so drastically that you drive away real prospects ?
Most people feel that they know their house better than any agent ever will and therefore feel that they can represent it better than anyone else. This is a good point, but you must also remember that you are emotionally involved with the house and it's sale. Being familiar and emotionally tied to your property can spell big trouble and emotional upset. You may not be able to see or understand the faults of the home, thus taking needless offense to legitimate concerns that arise. Yes, they will point flaws out to you and in some cases make terrible remarks !
Most sellers are defensive of their home (lifestyle) and loose objectivity. Some buyers think they are being savvy and will intentionally pick your house apart. Their mentality is to make you feel "lucky" that they are interested despite the obvious imperfections. How will you handle this ? An agent is an objective third party who regularly deals with this kind of buyer.
Time is another important issue to consider. In reality how much time will you be able to devote to showing your property ? Most prospective buyers want to view properties during "working hours". Can you afford to postpone showings until it will work with your schedule ? This is an agents job. While you continue with your daily routine, agents are "working" showing properties at the times convenient for buyers.
How are you going to attract buyers ? The For Sale by Owner sign is generally not enough. Do you have the funds and know where to direct these funds to gain the most attention ? How often should you advertise and what should you say ? On average the very least an office will spend on advertising / promotion of properties will be around $30,000 per year. Can you afford to market your property effectively ?
Safety is another issue that must be addressed. When you have a showing can you arranged to have someone else present ? The prospective buyers will be complete strangers roaming around your home. A good agent will screen buyers prior to showings and eliminate any who can't meet the financial obligations, thus deterring the dreamers and lookers. Agents will qualify prospects financially as well as find out what their wants and actual needs are. In addition the agent will be present for showings. This helps to eliminate uncomfortable situations.
In reality how well will you really handle scrutiny, critical comments, and objections that buyers make ? Will you have the nerve to ask prospects to wipe their feet at the door, leave the dog alone, not smoke, leave personal items alone, to control their children, etc. ? These are all items that agents deal with regularly. The agent works as a third party buffer, thus not offending the prospective buyers.
Most FSBO are worn down after only a few showings. Afterall these lookers will be checking out closets, garages, cabinets, basements and any other spot "guests" would normally not see. It can be very disheartening to hear critical mutters.
Will you hire an attorney to do your paperwork or are you comfortable trying to fill out contracts correctly ? Once again an agent is accustomed to writing up contracts and following through with the many details to bring the transaction to a close.
So the big decision is if you are up to the task of selling your home yourself or hiring an agent to work for you. Only you can make this important decision