During challenging times, like the current health crisis, it’s important to work with a real estate professional to guide you through selling your home. Some homeowners may contemplate selling their home on their own without getting an agent involved, known in the industry as For Sale By Owner (FSBO). It may seem like a great way to save money on a commission, but before you make a decision like that, it’s critical to understand why working with a REALTOR® is the better choice.

Safety 

Your safety should always be a priority. Unlike a FSBO, a REALTOR® follows proper protocols to protect your health. They manage this during open houses, controlling the number of people allowed in your home at one time to ensure proper sanitization during and after showings. They also have the technology to facilitate virtual tours for buyers who may not feel comfortable at first attending an open house or a private showing. REALTORS® are up-to-date with and follow the latest industry standards recommended by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Buyers can’t buy it if they can’t see it

One thing you might not be taking into account as a potential FSBO seller is just how available you’ll need to be to show your home. Are you willing and able to be available every time someone wants to look at your home? Potential buyers aren’t going to want to work around your convenience. A REALTOR®, however, doesn’t need to take a day off of work to show your home since this is their job.

 Attract more buyers with technology and a powerful online strategy

Even before COVID-19, the first step that nearly 85% of all buyers took when looking for a home was to search online. REALTORS® use social media as a marketing tool, and recognize that it’s an effective way to reach local buyers. REALTORS® are also actively engaged in driving traffic to their listings, and can list homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). To list a home on the MLS, a FSBO seller will have to pay an outside agency several hundred dollars, as well as cover the cost of the buyer’s agent fee. Listing with a REALTOR® means reaching more people online and offline. With a larger pool of buyers, you are more likely to receive multiple offers on your home.

Our listings include 4K HD Fusion™ photography and a 3-D Matterport virtual tour, appear on 100+ listing sites, and reach over 70,000 subscribers of our weekly newsletter. We also create custom Social Media ads for EVERY new listing. – Creig Northrop, founder and CEO of Northrop Realty

REALTORS® are trained negotiators

REALTORS® are trained to negotiate every aspect of a real estate transaction. They represent a seller and bring buyers to the table, and have the know-how to mediate the emotions felt by buyers who are making one of the largest purchases of their life.

If you decide to sell your home as a For Sale By Owner, here are just a few people you will need to know how to negotiate with:

• The buyer who wants the best possible deal
• The buyer’s agent who solely represents the best interest of the buyer including, possible closing cost concessions
• All inspectors who work for the buyer and will almost always find challenges with the house
• The appraiser if there is a question of value

Pre-qualified buyers

Finding a buyer to purchase your home is the first step but making sure they can afford to buy is just as important. It is almost impossible, as a FSBO, to be involved in the mortgage process of your buyer. A REALTOR® will be intimately aware of the progress being made toward a buyer’s mortgage commitment and will ask the appropriate questions to the buyer’s agent. A REALTOR® will not only keep you informed with the progress, but as someone who is working with lenders every day, they will know that the buyer will make it to the closing table.  

Avoid legal jeopardy

Selling a home is hard work, and it has become difficult, from a legal standpoint, for FSBOs to sell their home. Not only do you have to find and vet potential buyers, but once you’ve found that buyer, then the real headaches begin. Every detail must be attended to in order to get to closing, and there has been a dramatic increase in documentation with more mandatory disclosures and regulations required.

In the increasingly litigious world that we live in, a REALTOR® acts as a third-party to help sellers avoid legal issues while keeping the transaction moving forward. Make a mistake in the paperwork and you may find yourself facing not just the loss of the sale, but also potentially serious legal repercussions. There is still some paperwork to go through when working with a REALTOR®, but it’s a lot easier than trying to do it all yourself.

Price it correctly

The key factor in selling your home in a reasonable amount of time is pricing it correctly, which isn’t nearly as easy to do as you might think. Sure, you can go online and see what nearby homes have sold for, but are you comparing apples to apples? An experienced REALTOR® will be able to perform a detailed comparative market analysis which not only takes into account your home’s condition and any improvements you might have made but can generate an up-to-the-minute temperature reading of just how hot the market is for a home like yours.

The bottom line

If you’re willing to put in the work of listing, marketing, showing, selling, and closing on a home, and you don’t mind settling for what may well be a lower price, then a FSBO sale may be for you. However, by hiring a REALTOR®, you could not only net more money from the sale of your home, but sell your home faster, with legal details taken care of for you.

If you’d like to skip the headache and fast-forward straight to the happy ending, Northrop Realty is here to help. Connect with Creig Northrop today and discover how you can benefit from working with the best in the business.