Many people can and do successfully sell
their homes on their own without the help of a realtor and
the expenses of sales commissions to the Broker.
If you are the kind of person that enjoys
selling cars by running ads in the newspaper you will
probably want to attempt selling your home the same way.
A few words of practical warning however
are in order.
- Are you prepared to write a contract
and open escrow?
- Are you prepared for home, and
termite inspections, and walk throughs?
- Are you ready to open your home up to
complete strangers and literally let them walk around in
your house and look in your closets and bathrooms?
- Can you keep your emotions in check
when dealing with a buyer who offers you $50,000 less
than your asking price?
- Are you ready - and I mean absolutely
ready to open up the flood gates to absolutely every
Real Estate agent in your area to stop by and introduce
themselves to you?
Real Estate agents are true professionals
that watch their given territory like Hawks watch mice in a
field. They can read your FSBO signs, and your Open House
ads in the newspaper too! They’ll likely come right into
your open house, and look the place over before they
introduce themselves to you. They’ll want to know if you are
willing to offer courtesy to agents? Translation; if I bring
you a buyer, will you pay me a 3% commission? Many of these
agents will actually have motivated buyers who are actually
to the point psychologically where they are ready to write a
contract. Unfortunately for the FSBO seller, you’ll never
get to meet this buyer if you are unwilling to pay a
commission. On the other hand, if you are in no hurry to
sell, and can deal with all the aforementioned issues FSBO
is a good choice.
Listing has a cost for sure which will be
negotiated when the contract is written. Simply put, you get
what you pay for. Real Estate agents are real pro’s. Good
ones are tenatious as heck and will get your house sold with
the minimum of headaches, and minimum amount of time.
A real estate agent is a tool, not a
necessity. But if you ever attempted to work on a car for
example without the proper tools, you may have looked back
and said, “I wish I would have never even started that
project.”
On the other hand it would have been
cheaper and less expensive to have just taken it to a
qualified mechanic or repair station in the first place. So
it is with a good Realtor. They have the training and the
proper tools at their disposal to get the job done and their
commissions are well earned and deserved.
Desert Showcase
