Can Arizona homeowners and investors sell their homes without using a real estate agent? More importantly, if they can, should they? Property owners and investors make these decisions every day. While there are certainly advantages to neglecting the assistance of a real estate agent, those trying to save money will find that it could end up costing them a lot more than they anticipated.
While selling a house without a realtor can be a valuable option for some, a DIY approach can result in costly mistakes and a lot of time wasted for others. In this article, CT Homes will explore the pros and cons of selling a house without a realtor so that homeowners can choose how they’d prefer to navigate the real estate market.
How to Sell a House Without a Realtor
Many seriously underestimate the cost of a reliable real estate agent. The price of an agent includes marketing, showings, negotiating, paperwork, and managing the closing process. These items cost money and take up a lot of time. Sometimes real estate agents have entire teams that work underneath them to perform these tasks. Those who may own multiple properties or make a living in property investment typically prefer a realtor to expedite the real estate process as they handle other components of property management. Taking on these obligations can be pretty overwhelming for those interested in selling a house without a realtor, but isn’t impossible.
When homeowners wish to sell a house without a realtor, they list their home as a “For Sale By Owner” listing. The seller will then prepare their home to be market-ready for touring potential buyers. Independent sellers are responsible for promoting their listing, scheduling open houses, identifying and qualifying potential buyers, and handling the real estate transaction. Perhaps you are fully capable of selling a home yourself. Those with extensive real estate education should have a solid foundation to start, but that doesn’t mean it’s best or saves money at the end of the day.
Pros and Cons of Selling a House Without a Realtor
Advantages of Selling a House Without a Realtor
While selling a house without a realtor has its fair share of challenges, the task is not impossible. If the homeowner can take the time and expend the resources needed to get the property sold legally, then it’s an option worth exploring. Let’s review some of the most obvious benefits of selling a house without a realtor.
Pricing Control
When selling a house without a realtor, sellers can guarantee that the final price for the property is the value they want. Realtors will always suggest a price they feel is fair, which might be different than what the homeowner feels is adequate. Sellers can negotiate a price on their terms and have direct communication with prospective buyers without a realtor.
Skip Real Estate Commissions
Every real estate investor or seller looks for ways to save money throughout the real estate experience. One of the most common areas to save on a real estate transaction is closing costs. Reducing, or eliminating, some of the fees will have a sizable impact on your bottom line if you choose to sell a house without a realtor.
Product Awareness
When selling anything, having a firm knowledge of the product is critical for success. Who knows more about a home than the person living in it? When selling a house without a realtor, homeowners can spruce and improve the space in ways they know would help. Additionally, homeowners are the individuals best equipped for answering any questions buyers might have about the property, neighborhood, and surrounding areas.
Disadvantages of Selling a House Without a Realtor
For every easy sale completed without a real estate agent, nine others are an issue. If you can’t generate interest or don’t know the specific language on a real estate contract, you will create larger and avoidable problems. Issues are preventable by hiring a professional. Here are five reasons you may not want to sell a house without a realtor.
Advertising
Some properties will almost sell themselves, and a real estate agent doesn’t have to do too much. However, if you can’t generate interest in your property, it is difficult to get desired selling price. One of the biggest roles a good agent performs is getting eyeballs to the home. They leverage the MLS and instantly get the word out to thousands of agents in real-time. Every good agent has a defined marketing strategy that generates interest and creates a buzz with their extensive experience in the field.
Overselling
You can have the best pictures and descriptions of the property, but it is not enough to get it sold. At the showing, you need to find a balance between being a salesperson and being the owner. If you sell too hard, buyers become hesitant to move forward. A professional agent understands the rhythm of a showing and knows how to provide information appealingly while still helping. A good agent can attract buyers on the fence and get them eager to move forward.
Legalities
There is a lot that can go wrong in any real estate transaction. The glue that holds everything together is the contract. If you sell your property on your own, you had better be an expert in every line of it to prevent anything going wrong. Experienced real estate agents can pick the contract apart, ask for credits and addendums and finalize it cleanly. You can argue that the largest benefit of using a real estate agent is their knowledge of the contract and real estate law.
Pricing
As much as you think you know the market, your real estate agent likely knows more. If you find a quality local agent, they understand every recent sale and current listing. They can use the MLS to find information and rationale behind every transaction and use that to price your property. As the owner, you are probably biased and think your property is superior to others on the market. This leads you to price higher than you should, decreasing buyer interest which eventually results in a price drop. You are always better off listening to a professional and price properly, right from the start.
Time
Everything from marketing to showings to negotiation is time-consuming. If you choose the wrong offer you are forced to start the process from the beginning and additional time is wasted. Whatever perceived savings you think you gain by not using an agent your time is almost always better spent on other areas. Since you are not an expert you will be forced to find answers to most questions, wasting even more time. Your time is the precious commodity you have. Spend it in areas that give you the biggest return.
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