Should You Sell Your Home Without the help of an Agent?

If you are thinking of selling you home without the help of an agent, think twice. Though FSBO ( For Sale By Owners) may lure you thinking you could save money on agent commission you have to take into consideration the challenges you’re going to face when you sell your home on your own.

Here are things to consider should you decide to sell your home on your own.

1. Buyer’s agents may ignore you.

Buyer’s agents may discourage their clients seeing your home. Many buyer’s agents think that dealing with a seller without professional representation involves hassle and risk. Many agents have experienced dealing with FSBO transactions where sellers did not pay full commission to the agent who brought the buyer, sellers who are unreasonable or difficult to deal with.

2. You have to price your home correctly

One common mistake FSBO sellers make is not pricing their home right, either they price it too high or low. You have to set the price of your home correctly and in order to do that, you have to do your research. You have to look for the sales trend in your neighborhood, the sales price of comparable homes, and more. It may take some time to figure out how to price your home but if you’re working with an agent, he/she can give you valuable information you can use to set the right price for your home.

3. You have to do all the sales and marketing responsibilities

Other than de-cluttering and cleaning your home. Other things you need to do to prepare your home for sale is to take photos of your home, write effective property descriptions, install a ‘for sale’ yard sign, list your property in the MLS, Craigslist and other advertising media. You will also find that you have pay for some services and hire people to help you in the selling process.

4. You cannot divide yourself

You may have a full time job and selling your home may get in the way of it. Can you divide yourself and rush from work when someone wants to view your home? And how can you know that these potential buyers are even qualified to buy a home?  It’s a lot of work and you have to prepare yourself, your daily routine will be interrupted and you have to make your home always presentable for home showings.

5. Negotiating is tricky

If you don’t have the sales experience, you might end up losing money especially if you are dealing with a buyer’s agent who has the better experience in negotiating real estate sales. You might not hold your emotion in check especially if the negotiation turns sour.

In a nutshell, there are so many things you have to do when you decide to sell your home without the help of a professional. Yes you can save commission but is it worth the hassle and stress you’re going to face if you handle the selling process by yourself? If you decide to do it alone, be sure you have the patient, time, and energy to handle all the things you have to do to sell your home.

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