With the widespread popularity and accessibility of real estate portal sites, it’s easier than ever before to sell your own home without a real estate professional. Selling “for sale by owner,” or FSBO, can save you money. However, there are some serious advantages to working with a seller's agent when selling your home.
Wider Exposure
Real estate is all about networking. Real estate agents are able to find and recommend other professionals like home inspectors, contractors or home stagers and will also have access to more buyers. When you hire a real estate agent to help sell your home, you get your listing in front of far more potential buyers than you would just by posting on a portal site. They might show the listing to people who aren’t browsing FSBO listings at all. Most successful real estate agents also have the experience and marketing know-how to make sure your home gets the best and brightest exposure through social media, open houses and more.
Professional Negotiation
Selling a home includes a lot of negotiation. Real estate agents who have a lot of experience in negotiation will have the skills and the savvy to manage and counter any offers from potential buyers. They also know how to talk to other agents. A qualified buyer is likely working with their own agent committed to their client’s needs. Therefore, you’ll be much better off if you have your own professional representation to help you navigate the transaction. Some home sales are quick and friendly, but some can get very complex and even contentious. You won’t want to face the possibility of aggressive price negotiations, bidding wars and other complications without a real estate agent on your side of the equation.
Selling is a Full-Time Job
Simply put: selling a home is a lot of work. It can be as demanding as a full-time job, and many FSBO sellers get overwhelmed. Staging your home, scheduling needed maintenance, hosting open houses and completing piles of paperwork are only a few of the tasks you’ll be facing without a real estate agent. If you hire a real estate agent to help you, you’ll make selling your home their full-time job. An agent can handle all the scheduling, marketing, negotiating and clerical details of the sale for you. Since they have so much experience, the process will not only be easier for you but likely a lot quicker than if you tried to do all the work on your own.
Saving money is always a worthy goal. However, there are some things it’s much better to hire a professional to help you with. Selling your home is a time-consuming and complex process that real estate agents have the training and experience to complete on your behalf.
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