If you have decided that now is the time to sell your home,
you might be thinking: should I hire a Real Estate Sales Representative
or do it alone. Have you ever considered repairing your own car? Anyone
can buy the tools and parts. However, most of us just do not have the
knowledge, training, experience or the expertise and commitment of time
to do the job properly. Besides, there are plenty of experienced
professionals to do the work for us.
If you are tempted to do it
yourself and "save" the real estate commissions this article will be of
great help to you in making your decision. Selling your home
is quite a complex procedure, involving large sums of money, stringent
legal requirements and the real potential for very costly mistakes. It
requires a tremendous depth of knowledge and experience, as well as
substantial amount of time to follow-up on every detail promptly and
properly.
Will you really "save" the real estate commission?
Most
buyers equate a "For Sale By Owner" sign with a "bargain." They assume
you will sell for a discount because you do not have to pay the real
estate commissions, and, as a result, they'll probably offer you less
than Fair Market Value. Negotiating your price upward to regain even a part of the anticipated commission savings will be difficult at best.
Do you have the time?
If
you do it alone, how much will you really save when you factor in the
considerable time you will have to invest? Without a Real Estate Sales
Representative's support, you are the one who will have to write and
pay for the ads to market your property, remain available day or night
for calls from prospects, run the open houses on weekends and show your
property on short notice, screen potential buyers, fill-out the paper
work and do the dozens of things required to sell a home. Do you really
have the time for all this? And what is your time worth - the time
spent away from your family and friends and work?
How will you reach potential buyers?
Do-it-yourselfers
are faced with the problem of how to market their home effectively. How
good are you at writing hard hitting advertisements that will stand out
from all the others and entice prospects to call you? Where should you
run these ads, when, and how often? Do you have the time and patience
to handle telephone inquiries? Are you prepared for the cost of
advertising - including a professional-looking "For Sale Sign?" Real
Estate sales people are experts in effective advertising and cover all
these costs as part of their service to you. Moreover, when you work
with a Real Estate Sales Representative, your home receives a
far-reaching market exposure through the Multiple Listing Service.
MLS® is a computer-based system that relays valuable information about
your home to a vast network of Real Estate Sales Representatives and
potential home buyers in your market area. Remember, the greater
exposure the greater the chances for a higher price. Also, most Real
Estate Sales Representatives work for real estate companies that have
their own websites or real estate online web portals which will feature
your listing; these websites are generating thousands of visitors a day.
Do you really know the true market value of your home?
Setting
a sales price is perhaps the most difficult and yet critical step in
the home-selling process. It requires extensive knowledge and training,
as well as access to sophisticated market-analysis developed over years
of experience. Do-it-yourselfers usually lack these resources and often
end up guessing at their asking price.
If you set your asking
price too high, many prospective buyers will be frightened off without
even seeing the property; too low and you will leave thousands of
dollars on the negotiating table needlessly. One of your Real Estate
Sales Representative's most important roles will be helping YOU decide
upon and negotiate a realistic asking price for your home that meets
your sales objectives.
Are you ready to "pre-screen" every prospect?
Do-it-yourselfers
are faced with the challenge of interviewing every person who responds
to their ads or "For Sale Sign." How do you go about this arduous task
without offending those who are clearly not serious or qualified buyers
- and yet protect your own interests and security? Do you have the
skills and experience to ask the right questions over the phone before
you let a prospect visit? How are you going to find out whether they
are really qualified to purchase in your home's asking price range?
Pre-screening
prospects is absolutely necessary to weed out the "looker" from serious
buyers. Your Real Estate Sales Representative knows how to do this
effectively, saving you many hours of time and quite a few headaches.
How are you at selling and negotiating?
Selling
real estate is considerably different from selling most other products
or services. Many do-it-yourselfers attempts to over-sell, smothering
the buyer with every detail and nuance about the property. Few
understand the subtle differences between a home's features and the
potential benefits to the buyer. Few know how to ask the right
questions and uncover the buyer's true needs and wants. Even fewer know
how to complete the sale successfully through firm, impartial
negotiation.
Real Estate Sales Representatives are skilled
intermediaries with considerable ability to market your home
successfully. Would you not feel a lot more comfortable knowing an
experienced Real Estate Sales Representative is on your team
negotiating the Highest Price Possible for your home?
Are you up-to-date on real estate laws?
Remember when you
bought your home and had to deal with all these papers thrust in front
of you for your signature? Well, selling your home is equally complex
from a contractual and legal standpoint. If you attempt to sell it
yourself, you will either have to prepare all your own legal documents
when an offer comes in, or translate the language in the offer
presented from the buyer. In the excitement of receiving an offer, are
you confident you will be able to recognize terms and conditions that
are not in your best interest, or worse, are legally risky? Real Estate
Sales Representatives know how to protect you from these potential
legal pitfalls, and will work to help ensure your interests are
properly protected.
Let a Real Estate Sales Representative help you sell your home.
Most
of those who sell their homes do so with the assistance of Real Estate
Sales Representatives. Of those that try to do it themselves, most
change their minds and end up going with a real estate professional,
because the process is too complex, too time consuming, and too
dangerous without the help of a professional. Working with a licensed
professional to sell your home, someone who is a member of a Real
Estate Association, entitles you to an exceptionally broad range of
services and benefits unavailable to do-it-yourselfers.