By T. Toomey
So, you decided to sell your home, now what? Do it yourself or hire someone? Think carefully. As your grandfather’s wise words echo in your ear, “you can’t beat a man at his trade.” You brush it off and ask yourself if you are truly up for the task to retain more of that hard-earned currency between your fingers. As you’re pondering, consider this:
How will I know how much my home is worth? You can price according to the Smith’s next door and by what popular websites say but is that your best guess? Realtors compare active listings, recently sold and expired homes comparable to yours to form the predictive values as to what the market will pay for your home. Accurately pricing your home is imperative when you first hit the market, as you gain the most visibility from buyers and realtors with buyers.
How will I market my home for the right buyers to find it? Will you add a yard sign and post it to your favorite social media site and call that an online presence? Next time you pass a FSBO sign, challenge yourself to write the phone number. Is your social media circle big enough to find your buyer? A Realtor will post it in the MLS, which rolls into tons of other sites in seconds. It’s quick, broad and targeted marking to the masses specifically for the target home shopping audience. Marketing starts with a yard sign and the MLS but it doesn’t end here, if you are the Realtor.
Do you know the process well enough to help your future buyer through the transaction? If you get a buyer, will you know what to do next (ex. contracts, repairs, inspections, closing, etc.)? Realtors maintain continuing education to know what to do & not to do. Your home is often your biggest investment, do you want to gamble with doing it wrong?
Do you have time? Time to design and order all the neighborhood mailouts. Time to research and call the same neighbors receiving the postcards. Time to design and pass out flyers? Time to answer the phone for curious (probably unqualified) buyers interested in seeing your home and may wonder if you will consider owner financing or investors that want to pay a portion of your homes market value. Do you want to donate your time to answer questions, schedule showings, and meet with potential buyers? Hiring a Realtor will let you gain control of your time.
Can you afford to do it yourself? Do you want to risk…leaving money on the table (inaccurate pricing), not finding a qualified buyer (limited marketing), not reaching your sales timeline to move on (extended days on market), costing yourself more money rather than saving it (due to extended holding costs for mortgage payments, utilities, yard maintenance, etc.) and wasting all that time??!!
Hiring a Realtor will help you move on to your next chapter of life! Ultimately you want to focus on your net profits and hire a professional to do all the steps to get there.
Keep life simple & Get’re SOLD!