Do You Really Need to List Your Home with a Realtor?

Once you have made the difficult decision to sell your home, you then have to decide whether to sell your home yourself, or to enlist the professional help of a realtor. As you can probably guess, there are both advantages and disadvantages to be had from choosing to sell your home on your own, and you should take the time to think about both before making a final decision.

Of course, the most obvious advantage to selling your home on your own is that you will be able to pocket more of the profits. You won’t have to worry about paying realtor fees, which can really add up if you aren’t careful. For some people this is the deciding factor for them, as they are interested in making as much profit from their home as they can, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the way you should go.

Another big advantage is that you dictate when you will hold an open house, and what days and times you will make the home available for potential buyers to peruse. This means that you can do this around your schedule, without having to jump through hoops to accommodate someone else’s. You also get to decide how, when, and where you want to advertise your home, which is another advantage that you don’t usually get with a realtor.

A realtor has many homes that he or she is trying to sell, and therefore has to divide his or her time and efforts among each, whereas if you are selling your own home, you will be able to put more time and attention into it. You will be much more motivated to sell your own home than the average realtor will be.

While all of the advantages listed above sound really great, there are also many disadvantages to selling your own home that you should consider as well. First off, you should know that real estate agents make good money typically because they are experienced, home selling professionals, and they know the ins and outs of the business much better than you do. They know how to charm potential buyers, how to run efficient open houses, and how to deal with all of the laws and regulations regarding real estate transactions. Do you have this same knowledge?

If you do decide to sell your own home, are you going to be willing to rearrange your life to meet the demands of potential buyers? If you are supposed to be at your child’s baseball game and a buyer calls wanting to see the home, are you going to be willing to cancel the game to show the house? Do you have good negotiating skills, and would you be able to convince a buyer that they should give you what you are asking for your home? If you find a buyer who has negative comments to make about your home, would you be able to keep your cool and hold your tongue? All of these are questions that you should think about before deciding to sell your own home.

There are advantages to both decisions; you just have to decide which is right for you.