Have you been pondering selling your house yourself, without the assistance of a realtor? We in the industry call this a “for sale by owner” tactic, or FSBO, with some homeowners taking this route to avoid paying real estate agent commissions. While this may indeed save money, it’s imperative to remember that the process is far from easy – it involves a heck of a lot more than simply digging a few holes in your front yard and sticking a “For Sale” sign in them.
In this blog, we’re going to dive into the fundamental differences between managing your own listing and hiring a professional real estate entity like The Malakai Sparks Group, specifically focusing on why those key differences may have you thinking twice about going at this alone. To begin with, many homeowners believe they can definitely do this on their own, whether they’re trying to save money or are looking for greater control over the process, but what typically ends up happening is that these sellers experience more stress than those that hire an agent.
Additionally, a good number of homeowners who choose to sell their property without a realtor struggle to set a price for the house, ultimately affecting the goal of getting the most money for it.
The Malakai Sparks Group Fun Fact: One of the biggest reasons why “for sale by owner” sales fail has to do with a skewed asking price for the home.
You see, without the guidance of a competent real estate agent or appraiser, pricing a home correctly can be extremely challenging, to say the least; the endgame should be to receive multiple offers from different interested parties, which puts the seller in the driver’s seat with regard to negotiations. Yet when the price is set too high, fewer buyers will show interest and the sale will take much longer.
The Four Common Challenges
Here are the four typical obstacles homeowners face when selling a house on their own:
Marketing Efforts – While you can, indeed, list your home online without much effort, everyone else can, too. What good marketing ensures is that the listing is actually noticed – and noticed by buyers that represent an ideal fit for what the property has to offer. Sure, an agent can and will list a home online, as well, but he or she will also get the word out across a network of agents working for buyers in the area using the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and other established online real estate sites, in addition to their own website, which can be a prospective buyer magnet.
The Paperwork Factor – Selling a home yields an abundance of paperwork most people aren’t even prepared for (take it from us). If you have never sold a home before, some of it can be difficult to understand and complete, if not downright intimidating. A real estate agent brings the training to comprehend all the “legalese” and explain it to you, and, as a bonus, he or she can remove this unnecessary stressor from the selling process.
All in a Day’s “Hard Work” – The bottom line? Selling a home is hard work, and many homeowners underestimate how long the selling process actually takes. From getting the home ready for sale and showing it to prospective buyers to the closing process, selling a house takes much longer than most people think, and homeowners may, in turn, set unreasonable deadlines for themselves while inevitably falling short.
The Preparation and Fixing Stages – Before you can even post your “Home for Sale” ad, you will need to make any necessary repairs to the house and then enter the staging process – an essential step many homeowners overlook when selling on their own. Prospective buyers make their first judgments about a property based on the photos posted with the ad, and if the images don’t suggest a clean and beautiful space, they will keep on scrolling.
Breaking it Down
At this point, you should have a better understanding of what goes into this whole process, and that selling a home takes a lot of hard work – and that to save money, some homeowners go about it all on their own. There are pros and cons to selling a home without a professional real estate agent, and it ultimately comes down to the fact that only you can weigh those options and decide which is best for you and your property.
Let’s now break down the reasons it’s better not to go at it alone when taking into consideration the following factors: price for the home, marketing for the home, time, negotiations and legal help.
Price – Through a realtor, you generally see more money from a sale of a home.
Marketing – A realtor boasts access to the Multiple Listing Service where thousands of buyers can look at your home; on the flip side of that coin, do-it-yourself sellers cannot get their homes on the MLS and have to pay out of pocket to market their property.
Time – A realtor dictates his/her time and energy with regard to selling the home, hosting open houses and providing walk-throughs; with the FSBO approach, sellers usually can’t find the time to show the home to all interested parties.
Negotiations – Realtors become the middleman between buyer’s agents, escrow representatives and title companies; FSBO sellers must do all negotiations themselves.
Legal Help – A good realtor knows the legal ins and outs of a home’s sale; DIY sellers who don’t know the legal parts of what goes into a home sale could be sued.
For more information about why you should consider taking the professional route when it comes time to sell your home, contact The Malakai Sparks Group.
