Once you’ve decided to sell your home, your next decision is whether to hire a real estate agent or to try and sell it yourself. With agents on average charging a commission of between 5% and 6% of the selling price, you might believe that you will be better off by doing everything yourself. However, the truth is that you could end up in a much worse situation. Let’s find out why.
Hire a Real Estate Agent to Correctly Price Your Home
The listing price of the property could make or break any possible sale. Pricing a home correctly requires knowledge of local market conditions, the current state of the property market as a whole, and the house’s strong and weak points. If you hire an agent, your home’s selling price will be attractive not only to yourself but also to local buyers.
Agents Have a Wide Network Of Contacts
When you hire a real estate agent who has been working in the local market for several years, you automatically get access to their large network of potential buyers, other agents, and other agencies. They will immediately start spreading the word among these people.
An Experienced Agent Weeds Out Unqualified Buyers
When you hire a real estate agent, you also get access to their marketing skills. One of these skills is knowing what questions to ask a prospective buyer to determine whether they are serious about buying your home and have the money. This takes time and negotiating skills ,which are things most people don’t have in abundance.
Hire a Real Estate Agent to Handle Paperwork And Legal Aspects
There’s a lot of paperwork and potential legal pitfalls involved in selling a home. When you hire a real estate agent, they will take care of all that. Did you know that as the owner, you have the legal duty to disclose anything that could materially affect the desirability or value of your home? Failure to disclose a material defect, nuisance, or hazard can result in a lawsuit.
Unless you are an attorney, chances are that an experienced real estate agent will know much more about disclosure legislation than you ever will. That knowledge alone could be worth much more than the commission you have to pay.
Selling your home will most likely be one of the biggest business deals of your life. Don’t let it become a mess by failing to hire a real estate agent with the necessary skills and experience.
JBS Home Inspections provides inspections services to customers in the greater Boston area. Contact us to schedule an appointment.