Selling Privately Vs. Listing with an Agent

July 27, 2016 | Selling Your Home

It’s the first question most sellers will mull over: should I hire a real estate agent?

In today’s do-it-yourself world, a lot of people are tempted to take on the real estate industry themselves. But is it really worth it?

Here are just a few things to take into consideration before you make your decision:

Cost

The biggest factor for most people is money. Why pay someone else for a job you (think) you can do yourself? The old saying is true: you get what you pay for. You may think you’ll save money by not paying an agent’s commission; but you could also lose out on money by not utilizing a professional’s selling, staging, and negotiating skills that can get you a better price.

Thinking about selling your home soon? Here are some more resources to help you get started:

Connections

The internet has become the easiest place for buying and selling; you can find pretty much anything online and gain more exposure than ever before. And while most buyers search for their next home online before anywhere else, real estate agents have a broader kind of network that sellers don’t: other agents! There’s nothing like trusted connections in the industry to bring in the exact buyer your property is suited for, which means a faster, easier sale.

Exposure

In addition to a network of other agents, professionals have access to information that other homeowners just don’t. With an agent, your property will get more exposure through listings on the MLS and promotions in magazines and other publications.

Experience

At the end of the day, it comes down to experience. The best strategies, negotiation tactics, and guidance will come from a professional with an outside opinion. Everybody is emotionally invested in their house – whether they realize it or not. Agents are trained negotiators and local specialists who can offer unbiased advice to work through what you think is best, and get you what is best.

When it comes down to it, it’s about having a bigger team working for you. The more the merrier, right?

There’s nothing to stop you from selling your home privately, but would that choice make you a fool? Let’s just say that you never know what you don’t know – and experience has its value.

Here are some thoughts:

1. The brush is very wide.

There’s no shortage of real estate agents out there, but it would be unrealistic to paint us all with the same brush. Talk to a few agents and you’ll see (pretty quickly) that there are a different approaches to the profession and that everyone brings something different to the table. I’ve always believed that before anything else, an agent should be able to prove his or her capabilities both philosophically and statistically.

2. It’s not a passive job.

I wish I could count the number of details that go into the process of selling a house, but there are too many. There’s value in knowing what needs to be done that the self-seller misses out on. From the first assessment of what’s required to prep a home for sale to the final negotiation of the selling agreement and staying on top of the closing details, I know what to do because it is my bread and butter.

3. Results matter.

At the end of the day, I doubt if you’re selling your home privately, you will ever have anything but full confidence that you’ll get the best price for it. On the other hand, I would challenge that confidence. After all, how many times do you have to sell a house above the asking price before you see it as a skill?

Thinking about selling your home? Give us a call at 416-788-1823 or email kim@kimkehoe.com today to get started!