Lately, home owners in America are increasingly exploring the options of selling their homes on their own. Well, this isn’t a bad fit other than the fact that selling your home all by yourself has its own disadvantages.
I understand the fact that you are trying to sell your home all by yourself because you want to be able to save money that would have been spent on real estate commissions. But then, before you attempt selling solo, it would interest you to know that doing so may cost you a lot of money than you would have spent paying real estate commissions.
Don’t take my words for it? Well, the following reason will convince you. Hopefully, you’ll get the hang of this and employ the services of professional real estate agents who will help you get a good deal for your property.
1. SELLING SOLO MEANS NEGOTIATING WITH MANY PEOPLE
Guess you must have heard the cliché “time is money” well, for homeowners who intend to take the FSBO route; attempting to sell solo means negotiating with lots of people who will waste your precious time. This is not surprising giving that all parties involved would be trying to get the best deals possible. First, there is the buyer who wants to get a mouth-watering deal; there is his agent who represents his best interest, followed by the buyer's attorney who resides in another region and an inspection company who are definitely looking to find something wrong with your property.
On your part, you also have your bank to negotiate with especially if it is a short sale. All these negotiations are not only nerve wrecking but also time wasting. Again, the time spent negotiating with all these parties might cost you quite a lot, in fact, more than you would have spent getting a reputable real estate agent to do your bidding.
2. HOMEOWNERS HAVE LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE THEIR PROPERTIES FOR SALE
So, you think you are ready to sell your home through FSBO, but have you thought about the pre-listing task you should follow before your house is listed for sale? Chances are that you may not even have any idea about this. Well, just to give you a heads up, you would have to pretty much do the following before your house can be listed for sale.
1. You must ensure that the floors and carpets of your home are properly cleaned by professionals
2. You would have to paint the rooms
3. Fix all damages
4. Declutter and
5. Replace all outdated light fittings
And while all these is a lot of work, they would cost you additional money which you may not readily have at the moment. So, why not allow real estate agents take the burden of all these off your shoulder? I’m sure doing so will save you a lot of cost.
3. HOMEOWNERS LACK THE FORESIGHT TO SCREEN POTENTIAL BUYERS
Agreed, you just might be good at a lot of things, but when it comes to screening potential buyers who are interested in your home, you have to agree that you know nothing about it. And this isn’t surprising, to say the least, especially considering the fact that you have no idea how buyers should be pre-approved or pre-qualified. As such, you will end up wasting valuable time with unqualified buyers.
Also, not knowing if a buyer is qualified to purchase a home is one major challenge most FSBOs tend to contend with. The reality is, the longer your house remains listed for sale, the more money you’ll end up spending. So, why not save this extra cash by employing the services of a licensed real estate agent?
4. MANY OWNERS FAIL TO ANSWER BUYERS' QUERIES EFFECTIVELY
Many times, potential buyers often make a lot of inquiries before investing in a property. Nevertheless, very few home owners are able to effectively answer buyers queries, those who can always do not have the time to fill their customers in on all they need to know about a property. More so, organizing inspections for potential buyers might become a Herculean task for many homeowners. What’s the implication? This means you may not be able to sell off your property quickly and may incur further cost to maintain it.
5. FSBOs SPEND MORE ON ADVERTISING
This is one of the many ways FSBOs are losing extra cash that would have probably been used for other investments. Your decision to take the FSBO route means you’ll have to spend money advertising your property to potential buyers and many times; this can be quite expensive, depending on what medium you’re using to advertise your property. But do you know you can save all this cost by employing the services of real estate agents? By employing the services of a real estate agent, you’ll save yourself the cost of having to advertise your property.
6. OWNERS ARE OBLIVIOUS TO THE CONCEPT OF “GOLDEN TIME”
Many homeowners who intend to tow the FSBO line have no understanding of the concept of golden time. As such they end up selling their property below their initial valuation. So, as a home owner who is interested in getting the best deals for your property, your best bet would be to let seasoned real estate agents do your bidding. This way, you’ll be able to earn more from your property.
7. HOMEOWNERS LACK BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF CONTRACT PROCEDURES
When it comes to selling your home, there is a whole lot of contract procedures you should get the hang of. Unfortunately, most FSBOs don’t have this understanding and end up entering contractual agreements that may hurt them in the long run. For many of them, this contractual agreement may cost you more than you can pay. That’s the more reason you need a real estate agent who can help you negotiate better contracts.
Conclusion
So, now you know why you need a qualified real estate agent to help you handle the sales of your property, but you don’t know how to go about getting one. That’s why we are here for you. Feel free to send us a message, and we would get in touch with you. With us on your team, you’ll definitely get a good deal for your property.