For Sellers: Weighing InDo It Yourself vs. Hiring a Realtor® "Money talks," and I hear what it's saying. Some homeowners would rather try to sell their homes on their own rather than pay a Realtor to help them. That's understandable…but only logical if the value gained by doing it yourself exceeds the value of the services and outcome achieved by a qualified Realtor®. Other homeowners may decide that going it alone is not an option because they simply do not have time to deal with everything involved, and/or they lack the knowledge and experience to price, market and show their home effectively and then see all aspects of the contract through to closing. Following are some factors to take into consideration when trying to decide whether to try to sell you home yourself or list it with a Realtor.® The Commission
Commissions are negotiable. That's the
bottom line. Realtors®
work for companies under the supervision of
a Real Estate Broker (for example, I work
for Keller Williams under the supervision of
our managing Broker, George Sayers). I
am fairly free to negotiate my rates with my
clients as I see fit. Naturally, all agents
and Brokers try to stay in the same general
ballpark when setting/negotiating their
fees...as do professionals in most every
other line of work. Some Realtors now are
offering a "menu" of services, or
"unbundled" services; each level of service
corresponding to a different rate. Understand also, that the fee a Realtor earns for his/her work, which usually spans a number of weeks or possibly months, is split between this Realtor, his/her Broker and also the Realtor on the other side of the transaction. That is, unless the listing Realtor is lucky enough to find the buyer also. Most often, though, when a property is listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) it is another Realtor working with a Buyer, who "brings the Buyer" to the home for sale...The MLS is in fact the enactment of an agreement amongst area Realtors® to co-operate (and share commissions) when selling real estate on behalf of our respective Sellers. In this way, with the enormous exposure and cooperation, homes have a much better chance of selling quicker. When a seller agrees to list with an agent and have his/her home entered in the MLS, the listing agent is agreeing to split his/her commission and the seller is in essence benefiting from the work of several, possibly hundreds of Realtors (because hundreds of Realtors are looking at the MLS daily, in search of homes for their Buyers). If the listing agent is lucky enough to find a Buyer for the property before any other Realtor does, then often times he/she will give the Seller a discount, because now he/she does not have to split the fee with another agent. Pricing the Home CorrectlyThis is undoubtedly the most important factor involved in selling a home. A good Realtor® knows the current market and can put together a "comparable market analysis" using "active listings," pending sales, recent sales and expired listings in your area to get a good idea of the price at which your home should sell in a reasonable time. You want to receive top dollar, but you must be careful not to price your home so high that potential buyers begin to look past you, believing they can find something comparable or even better at a more reasonable price. There are several factors to consider when setting the price and it's always to your greatest advantage to do it right the first time! Realtors® have the most recent data and incidental information at their fingertips, software programs for putting together CMA's and possibly the advantage of having visited some of these homes along the way (this allows added insight for comparison purposes).
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Knowledge
and Experience
Selling a home efficiently and
effectively takes a lot of work. Not
everyone has the time, patience and stamina
to deal with this in addition to
fulfilling other daily obligations. Your
Realtor® is
not only trained, but obligated by the Code
of Ethics to work hard for you and your best
interests, even when the going gets tough.