When selling your home there is no decision more fraught than whether or not to work with a realtor. Selling a home with a realtor and selling a home on your own both come with pros and cons.
Pros and cons of working with a realtor:
- Pros: experience; marketing and staging know-how; connections to buyers, inspectors, and mortgage companies; they handle all the paperwork
- Cons: commissions and fees; less control over scheduling
Pros and cons of selling yourself:
- Pros: save money; can go faster because some buyers prefer working with owners instead of realtors; can price your home more competitively because you won’t “lose” money to a commission; more control over showing times
- Cons: more work to advertise and schedule showings; you have to do all your own paperwork; lack of connections
Deciding to sell your home on your own or to use a realtor can be a tricky decision. Some important things to keep in mind with this decision are your time, energy, and willingness to take risks. If you are comfortable spending your spare time and energy on marketing and selling your home if you are comfortable asking questions and figuring out paperwork along the way, then selling your own home might be for you. However, if you are already under a lot of stress or feel pressed for time and availability then you should probably hire a realtor.
There are a few niche real estate companies that will help you sell your own home. They will handle the paperwork and a few other details for a smaller commission. Sometimes this can be an advantageous situation for the seller. However, this can also end up leaving the seller handling things they don’t know how to handle.
If you do decide to go with a realtor the best way to find one is word of mouth. Good realtors will be:
- Accessible
- Reliable
- Good communicators
- Good negotiators
- Sociable
- Honest
Do you have a piece of property (house, lot, or land) you’d like to sell fast? Fill out our Sell Fast Form and get a cash offer within one hour of us viewing the property.
