I know what you’re thinking: “Well, of course he’s going to say that I should use an agent. He is an agent.” And point taken. But let me back up that suggestion with some specifics. At the end of this section, I’d also like to tell you the number one mistake I feel you can make when hiring an agent.
If you’ve already read my article regarding the prospect of selling your own home (as a “for sale by owner”), then you’ve already gained a taste for what you’ll be up against. If you haven’t, then I strongly urge you to. Here are some additional factors to consider:
What you’ll need to do (in addition to your everyday life) in order to sell your own home:
Buyers are out there 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, so you’ll need to make yourself available by phone, email, text messages—you name it. And, sadly, a lot of buyers won’t wait—even a minute—before moving on to see the next listing, so you’ll need to be prompt. Buyer’s agents will be even less forgiving, because they’re motivated to find their clients a new home and are accustomed to immediate responses from other Realtors.
Regarding buyers’ agents: If you sell your own home, you’ll need to be prepared to address agents representing buyers that may be interested in your home. And the first thing they’re going to want to discuss is their commission (which you won’t need to be worried about should you hire a Realtor). If you fail to offer a commission to those agents, chances are, they aren’t going to work for free and will move on to the next listing (one with an agent and therefor a commission). Beyond that, you’ll need to be prepared to negotiate with them.
Be prepared and willing to show your home: Buyers will contact you, requesting to see your home as soon as possible. Not only will you need to communicate with them in order to coordinate these events, but you’ll also need to make yourself available to show them around, or at least let them in and lock up when they leave (some buyers will prefer to be alone).
Produce marketing materials: In today’s world, if you’re going to sell a home in a timely manner and get premium dollar, you’ll need to take top-notch photographs, write compelling marketing copy and produce materials that you can place on the web, in your home and possibly a sign-mounted document holder. If you’re a particularly good and well-equipped photographer, you may take the photos yourself, but, otherwise, I would urge you to hire a professional. Great photography goes a long way toward getting your home sold.
Those are just a few of the things you’ll need to be prepared for, should you choose to sell your own home. But I urge you to take the time to meet with at least one or two Realtors to hear about some of the tools and methods that we have available to us that aren’t available to home owners. CLICK HERE if you’d like to make an appointment.
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