BE SMART…When real estate markets are on the upswing, it’s common for sellers to get creative and look for new ways to turn a profit. Some cash-saving measures, like competitive pricing and high ROI renovations, are great tools for getting the most from a deal. Others, like selling without an agent, can turn into both costly and painful mistakes.
If you’re considering listing and selling your home without a licensed real estate professional, here are 4 modern hazards you should consider before you decide to go at it alone:
1. Passed up Profits
Even in some of today’s most humdrum housing markets, most neighborhoods are seeing big change. Inventory, interest rates, and a barrage of other factors are constantly altering the answer to the big question, “What’s the right price for my home?”
Fact: Homes sold using an agent sold for 20 percent more than those sold by the owner*.
To avoid making a major pricing blunder and missing out on potential profits, consult a local real estate professional who can develop a customized Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) for your property. Your agent has access and knows how to factor in both, the most up to public records data and has insight into important secret pricing influencers like new amenities or coming developments that may affect value competing properties that haven’t shown up publicly what it really takes to close a deal in your neighborhood.
*Data from the National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2012
2. Missed Deals, Plain and Simple
Response time is critical when it comes to accepting an offer and closing deals. Today’s buyers and agents expect a prompt response when they make an offer. If you’re trying to evaluate and respond to offers around a busy schedule or full-time job, you run the risk of missing out on the market’s most motivated buyers who can’t afford to waste time waiting for a deal to come together.
In addition to being dedicated to providing potential buyers a quick response, your agent can also be a lifesaver when it comes organizing offers in a way that’s easy to understand and evaluate.
3. The Self-Selling Time Suck
Time is money. And, while you may think you’ll save on your commission by selling solo, the fact is, going at it alone can cost you a lot of time. That eventually means more dollars spent and unnecessary time sacrificed.
Here’s a list of the most difficult tasks that soak up valuable time during the home selling process for owners who sold without an agent:
- understanding and performing the paperwork
- negotiating the right price
- prepping the home for sale
- working with buyer lenders
- attracting potential buyers
In most areas, not listing with an agent means you’re opting out of today’s biggest real estate tool for selling: the World Wide Web. In fact 90 percent of homebuyers used the Internet during their home search in 2012.
Without a savvy listing agent, your property won’t show up on the top sites where buyers search like Trulia.com or in your local Multiple Listing Service for other agents to find. Don’t brush off the millions house hunters shopping online. You could miss out on key qualified buyers who are ready to close.
Copyright © 2013 Trulia, Inc.