buying your first home - what you should know

Three Ways Selling Your Home Yourself Could Cost You More Money

When it comes to selling a home, you are essentially at the mercy of the housing market. Fortunately, a real estate agent can help increase your odds of selling your home by utilizing their marketing skills and knowledge of the real estate market. For many sellers, paying someone to do something they feel like they can do is a waste of money. On average, a real estate agent gets about 6% commission when selling a home. Typically, this amount is split between the buyer's agent and the seller's agent. In an effort to save money, many homeowners will opt to save money by selling the house on their own. This can actually be a huge mistake. Here are some problems you may run into selling the home yourself.

Lack of Marketing Tools and Experience

Marketing is one of the biggest tools real estate agents use. In fact, about 33% of buyers find their homes through a real estate agent. Real estate agents use a number of paths to help get a home in front of a potential buyer. They may hold open houses, network with other agents, and place advertisements. This can take an enormous amount of time and money to ensure that your home gets in front of the right buyer. Holding open houses, staging the home, and offering virtual tours are all part of what a real estate agent can do for you. 

Increase in Liability

One of the perks of having a real estate agent in your corner during a sale is the amount of liability the real estate agent holds. When you are selling your home, there are certain aspects of the house that has to be disclosed to the buyer. If not, the sale could be reversed. You want to be extremely careful about how you describe the home. If you state that you have hardwood flooring and it turns out to be wood veneer, you could end up with a lawsuit. A real estate agent carries errors and omissions insurance that will help protect the buyer if something is not disclosed properly. This could save you lots of time and money fighting your case in court over a mistake. 

Lower Sale Price

When you go to sell your home, ideally you want the most money possible. By selling your home without a real estate agent, you are more likely to get less for the home than if you had a real estate agent representing you. In fact, you could end up making $39,000 less by selling it yourself. This is much more money that you would be giving up than the measly 6% commission you are trying to save yourself. 

For more information, contact Norchar or a similar company.


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