So you’ve decided to sell your house. The next step is deciding how.
Here are some great things to consider when deciding if you should list your house with a Realtor or go at it alone.
The Pros of Realtors
Access to MLS And Maximum Buyer Exposure
The number one reason most homeowners successfully sell their homes with a Realtor is because of the selling power of the MLS. The MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is the database of all the homes on the market. 90% of all residential homes sold are listed in the MLS. When your home is listed in the MLS, it automatically gets listed on every Realtor’s website, and other popular sites that home buyers use to find homes like Realtor.com and Zillow.com. Additionally, Realtors that are helping their clients find the right home use a prospecting tool that automatically emails their buyers information about homes that meet their criteria. This means your home will be emailed to every active buyer that has said they want a house like yours. You can’t get this kind of targeted exposure anywhere else except through a licensed realtor.
They Help with Scary Paperwork
Legal forms, disclosures, contracts, and appraisals are just a few of the documents that can instantly become a nightmare for homeowners selling their houses. Having a realtor hold your hand through all of that can certainly bring a lot of peace of mind. On top of that, it could save time by doing it right the first time and avoid huge financial damages that might result from an oversight.
Better Listing Price and Negotiations
Experienced Realtors study the art of home evaluations and make sure they sell your home for the highest price. It’s in their best interest to do so. In fact studies have shown that homes sold with a Realtor get net nearly 6% higher prices. Realtors also have a sense of the current market conditions which means they have more confidence about when to accept an offer and when to wait. Making these decisions alone can be daunting.
Leverage their network
Listing your home is one piece of the puzzle. Lining up showings, appraisers, title attorneys, and the other players can be a lot to manage. Good realtors have a go-to trusted network ready to serve.
The Cons of Realtors
The cons of Realtors are less of a problem with people and more a problem with the way the industry works. Here are some of the downsides of hiring a Realtor.
6% commission
6% commission isn’t chump change. If you are selling your home for 200k and hire a traditional realtor, 12k goes to a Realtor. Imagine what you’d do with an extra 12k in your bank account and hiring a Realtor is a harder pill to swallow.
Being Just One of Many Clients.
When homeowners do sacrifice 6% commission they have high expectations. But the best realtors are in high demand and often spread thin with dozens of clients. This can be frustrating when you and your Realtor don’t share the same sense of urgency in selling your home.
They’re just one person.
The traditional Realtor model is very independent vs a team approach. Even though most Realtors work for larger Brokerage firms, they still work as individuals. This means that as a client you’ll be at the mercy of that individual Realtor’s strengths and weaknesses. The chances of one person being an expert marketer, negotiator, and highly organized are slim.
One Additional Thought
Because of the reasons above more and more homeowners are having this debate. It’s a frustrating decision to make.
On the one hand, hiring a Realtor seems like a safer bet. On the other selling your home yourself has never seemed easier with Zillow and dozens of other tools – not to mention what thousands in savings can do for you and your family.
I was tired of this being the only two options. Neither one seemed to really be in the best interest of the homeowner.
ReHive is a company I started as a result.
I’ve had other customers describe it as a “Best of both worlds” service because we charge less than half the fees of a traditional agent by passing on savings we’ve found in technology but we still get your home listed in the MLS, help you manage negotiations, contracts, and get you to closing.