There is and always will be discussions on whether a home owner should sell their home themselves or hire a realtor. Why pay a realtor to sell my home? What can a realtor do that I cannot? I can easily say, just hire an experienced realtor to sell your home. A FSBO can miss out on some great benefits by not hiring a professional.

From my experience, home owners who try to sell on their own, usually pay a realtor at some point during the process anyways. Either the home does not sell and they end up hiring an agent, or the buyer for the home is working with a realtor themselves. If this the case, that realtor negotiates a commission if he or she brings in that buyer. It is more common than not for a buyer to be working with a realtor. It is free for anyone to hire an agent to help them look for a home, plus they have access to the MLS through their realtor. Homes are bought and sold on the MLS. So, if you plan to list your home on your own, expect calls from realtors both trying to pick up your listing, or from an agent that has an interested buyer and is looking to get paid. So why not hire a realtor that will have your best interest in mind from the start?

How does a home owner plan to market a property without a Realtor? I see poorly advertised property all the time with FSBO. Realtors work with buyers, designers, contractors, and lenders. An agent knows what buyers are looking for. They specifically know what is selling and for how much. An experienced agent knows what’s important or not when beginning to list a property. What help sells the house for more money? A spotless de-cluttered home or new shelving in the garage?

You have choices when it comes to picking a realtor. There are independent brokerages out there who market and list property without charging the average 6% commission. There are agents who will list a home without a strategy. There are agents who will do what it takes to make you the most money they can, if that is important to you. Interview a few. Try to find an agent who is knowledgeable with marketing, and who is experienced with negotiating. There is nothing more important than negotiating when it comes to selling a home. Negotiating can easily make or break a deal. It can mean the difference between selling your home for tens of thousands of dollars more, or tens of thousands of dollars less. Most home owners who sell on their own just don’t have the negotiation experiences and can easily get taken advantage of.

I do know of some home owners who were able to sell on their own. But usually they knew the buyer ahead of time. Maybe you have had bad experience with an agent in the past. I get that. There are horrible realtors out there giving this industry a bad reputation. But like I said,  there are options. Explore your options. There might be an agent out there that impresses you. This is the agent that will help sell your home fast, and for more money. I have never had a client disappointed about that outcome!