Are you asking “should I sell my house by myself”? Good question! Home seller are torn between paying a real estate agent commission or going “for sale by owner.” Opinions vary widely. Not surprisingly, the National Association of Realtors unobjectively claims you make more and sell faster by paying hefty commissions (why is it only realtors say this?). I dare one realtor to show me a study not engineered by NAR.
Property sellers across the U.S. sell their house directly to the buyer or on sites like ForSaleByOwner, FSBO, Redfin, and Craig’s List without paying a dime in commission. There’s advantages and disadvantages to each approach. To make the right decision, it’s important to know yourself and your sale goals. Learn the pros and cons FSBO without a realtor paying real estate agent commission!
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Pros of Managing Your Own Home Sale!
Selling by yourself means you don’t have a realtor acting on your behalf. Here are the top reasons you should “sell my house by myself”:
Save 6% Realtor Commission. The major reason property sells go “for sale by owner” is to save thousands for a realtor. Imagine this: you sell a house for $150,000 – the realtors get nearly $10,000 of that sale. Did they do anything you could have done for $10,000? Arranging showings . . . sorting through offers . . . looking up comps online . . .You can do all these things without paying a dime to a realtor.
Realtors will pitch you: “I will list your house on the MLS to get maximum exposure” to justify their exorbitant fees. They won’t tell you about flat-fee listing. Flat-fee listing is when the seller and real estate broker accept a “flat fee” rather than sales commission list a property on the MLS. This can be low as a couple hundred dollars. All of the exposure at a ONE PERCENT of the cost? Sign me up!
The Internet: Anyone Can Learn About Real Estate! The days when you needed to hire someone to know what your house is worth are long gone (for like 20 years now). The main reason a realtor even exists is because knowledge of real estate sales before the internet wasn’t widely known. Now, all you have to do is cruise Redfin or Zillow to learn what properties are worth. A realtor’s “local expertise” is completely unnecessary: you can go online, look at sales, pictures of comparable comps, see how long properties sat on the market – just like a realtor can. This isn’t rocket science. This isn’t brain surgery. In fact, you know your house better than anyone.
I actually read the other day a realtor claimed that “pricing a property correctly is an art!” and that’s why you should pay him 6%. So pricing lower than competing sales is “an art”? Knowing that if you price too high nobody will buy something? Something in better condition sellers for more than worse condition? This is common sense – not an art.
Control The Selling Process. Do you want to set the price, schedule showings, pick the highest offer? Don’t let a realtor tell you what to do. You control the entire process, even the sale negotiations, by selling your house by yourself. Here’s the truth: agents have a vested interest in selling before the listing agreement expires. Once that agreement expires, they get paid nothing. Your motivation is to sell on your own time frame at a price you choose. When selling yourself, you don’t have to worry if someone has your best interests at heart.
Price Aggressively With Commission Savings. If you’re looking for a fast sale without losing too much, not paying a realtor is a great option. Use these savings to price “below” market to generate massive interest in your property. Lots of interest means lots of offers. Call for “highest and best” to extra every last cent out of the sale. The extra savings also could allow you to pay for closing costs for a buyer.
Bad Agents. There are A LOT of bad real estate agents. The incompetence is surprising. It feels like everyone couldn’t get another job, so they became realtors. We get calls every day from people trying to sell their house, even though they hired a realtor. We ask “didn’t you pay someone 6% commission to do this for you?” Spend about 10 minutes looking at listing photographs online. The “Iphone” pictures are hilarious. Properties are often priced so high, there isn’t a chance it will sell. Unscrupulous realtors promise a high price, get you to sign a listing agreement, and then just bring you a lower offer “this was the best that came in”! Once you sign the listing agreement, you’re on the hook.
Here are some ways you will know you’ve hired a bad agent: (1) they don’t respond to phone calls, e-mails, and text messages promptl, (2) refuses a performance clause (i.e. not showing requirements or making you pay commissions even if you find the buyer), (3) online complaints; (4) insists on high commission, (5) unclear advice, (6) doesn’t understand how different kinds of sales (i.e. short sales, foreclosurers, cash vs. conventional) impact sales values, (7) no concrete knowledge about current market; (8) doesn’t inquire about financing for potential buyers, (9) wants you to show the house for them.
Selling Your House Doesn’t Have to Be Hard. Agents claim “you need to pay me because selling your house is a lot of work”! That isn’t true. Selling your house can be quite easy to a cash buyer like House Heroes. If you want a fair cash offer give us a call (954) 676-1846. We buy “as-is” so you don’t do any work. Of course, because we buy as-is fast for cash, you would get more by fixing everything yourself and waiting to get 100s of offers. Still, it’s a complete mischaracterization to suggest a home sale has to be an “enormous” undertaking.
Cons of Selling a Home by Yourself.
If you are seeking to extract every last dollar from your home sale, this may be quite a bit of work. In these scenarios, you might consider by 6% of your sales commission to a real estate (I guess . . .). In theory, a realtor should be proactive about the sale in terms of marketing it (though most just “post and pray” i.e. list on the MLS and that’s the end of their effort). Here are some reasons hiring a realtor may be a good idea.
Emotional attachment. Objectivity is difficult if you’re emotionally attached to the property. You might be offended by low offer or not make the right concessions. On the other hand, you might turn away a high offer because you don’t like to picture the buyer living in your long time residence. You might also have a tough time rejecting an offer of pregnant woman (a common occurrence) or a struggling couple that is less than a competing offer. A real estate agent can be a “neutral party” to keep your feelings in check.
Time Consumption. When holding out for top dollar, real estate sales can be very time consuming. Hundreds of showings, phone calls, managing offers. This can be a lot of work, and if you’re busy, you could drop the ball. Don’t have any time to commit to making the sale happen? One of the main services a realtor offers you is their time.
Lack of marketing resources. Real estate agents have access to a multitude of marketing resources to help your home reach target buyers. Agents can post homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which allows other local agents to access property information to share with their buyers, and will usually develop an entire marketing campaign specifically designed to sell your house, such as custom collateral, online marketing, social media promotion, open houses, access to professional home stagers, photography, virtual tours and more.
Not Taking the Time To Understand the Market. As discussed above, anyone can learn about the real estate market with the world wide web. That said, perhaps you don’t have the time, willingness, or ability to figure out local market prices (though, if you’re able to read this blog, I’m guessing you do). If you’re not able to make an accurate value estimation, then paying a realtor for assistance can be worth it. There are risks if you list at the wrong prices . . . Price too high and you’re property will sit on the market and perhaps never sell . . . Price too low and you could sell for less than you deserve. Whether it’s you or the realtor, someone needs to look up recent market sales.
When deciding whether to sell your house by yourself, consider your strengths, weaknesses, and goals. There is no “one size fits all” rule.
We Buy Houses (Including Rental Properties!)
Call Us (954) 676-1846 Send Text or Fill Out This Form For Your FAIR Offer.
