Can I Sell My Home Without a Real Estate Agent?
In a world with youtube, DIY shows, and endless resources at our fingertips, selling your home without a real estate agent might seem like an easy task. I can see how you might think – “hey, let’s save money and try to sell our house without a realtor”. Understanding the true market value of your own home is no easy feat. So, trust me when I say – you’ll need a real estate agent to help you sell your home.
When you sell your home with a real estate agent, they act as your trusted advisor who has your back. Your real estate agent knows the current market conditions that are changing from week to week. Real estate agents work to assess the value of your home by analyzing recent sales to get a true understanding of the market based on factors like days on market, current interest rate, our own local buyers, and condition of homes that recently sold in the area that are being used as the “comp”.
Key Takeaways
- Selling your home without an agent takes a lot of time.
- Realtors know how to navigate every negotiation
- Selling your home with an agent reduces your exposure to legal risk.
- You miss out on tons of buyers by selling your home without an agent.
Selling your home without a real estate agent is a lot of work.
A for-sale-by-owner (or FSBO) transaction requires a tremendous amount of work; most adults are lucky to have their own work complete for the day and their family’s daily needs met. Could you imagine fielding calls from prospective buyers to set up showings, answering questions about utilities and title transfers, or negotiating home inspections in the middle of your workday? Or, perhaps you’re spending your day talking to the buyer’s lender to make sure they are a vetted buyer?
With personal and professional obligations seeming endless, some of the tedious tasks that your agent has to take on would be impossible for most people to juggle on tap of their day-to-day tasks. Not to mention, you’re trying to pack up your current home while still trying to find a new home. Unless you possess superhuman abilities, being your own realtor is a recipe for disaster, a huge headache, and a loss of net proceeds overall.
According to the NAR’s (National Association of Realtors) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, more than 90% of sellers worked with an agent. That same data shows that For Sale By Owner homes went for an average of $52,000 less than homes that were sold with Real Estate Professionals.
Fortunately, when you work with the experts at The Steve Laret Team, we make sure to teach you how to increase the value of your home before you list it. Our experts work to help guide you through the process so you can be sure that you’re getting top dollar for your home.
Real estate agents know how to negotiate.
You’re selling possibly one of your biggest life assets – don’t go into negotiations unrepresented by trying to sell your home without a real estate agent.
When you have a real estate agent by your side, you have expert guidance throughout the negotiation process. Your agent can assist you with weighing the pros and cons of each offer that is presented. They’ll also act as your trusted advisor when things come up as you’re under contract before you’re sitting down at the settlement table.
Many people are not aware that buyers and sellers have several hurdles to cross before they even get to that settlement day. To help you get an idea of what some of these hurdles are, I’ve listed a few below.
- Mortgage commitment received from the buyer’s lender
- Township, use and occupancy issues,
- Bank appraisal issues
- Seller property disclosures issues.
These are just a few of the many complications that I’ve seen come up in real estate transactions. Believe me, you want someone who knows how to navigate any stumbling block that may come up.
These things need to be fulfilled or negotiated and are time-sensitive because you definitely do not want to breach your contract. Plus, you also need to come up with all the contracts for the purchase and fill them out correctly. There’s also a world of disclosures to fill out that are required by law. Keep in mind, this can be 200-300 plus papers for each real estate transaction.
Selling your home without an agent opens you up to legal risk.
What does all the work that a real estate agent does mean for you? In short, less billable hours to a real estate attorney. Unless you are one yourself, your agent likely knows more about disclosure laws than you do. If you fail to disclose a hazard, nuisance, or defect on the property, the buyer can come back wanting legal recourse after they’ve found the problem.
Real estate agents can make mistakes, but we have errors and omissions insurance to protect ourselves. In fact, all real estate agents are required to carry professional liability insurance.These insurances also give the buyer recourse without going to the seller for damages.
According to the National Association of Realtors, 30% of home sales were delayed in October 2020. If you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into legally, don’t try to DIY your home sale by selling your home without a realtor. Opening yourself up to a potential lawsuit by breaching your contract timeline is the last thing you want to be doing.
Real estate agents have access to more buyers.
When you sell your home with a real estate agent, you have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is a service membership that we, as realtors, pay for. This is where we promote your listing to the masses to get you top dollar for your home.
Through our MLS membership, we set up your home showing and give you complete transparency and safety in the home showing process. You can get alerted when showings are booked and have as much of an active role as wish by following an app we help you set up, or you can just leave it all up to us – we follow your lead on this. The MLS system keeps all of the information about our vetted buyers organized so your house can be sold as quickly and for the most amount of money possible with as much ease as possible.
These are just a few of the reasons that selling your home with a real estate agent is reaching out to us on The Steve Laret Team is in your best interest. And, I’ll cheekily ask you – would you dare try cutting your own hair? I hope the answer to that is NO! Because we all know what a bad idea that is, but hair does grow back. If you screw up by selling your house without an agent, it doesn’t just grow back.
So, leave selling one of the biggest assets you have to the real estate professionals. We at the Steve Laret Team are humbled and honored to take that journey along with you. If you’re ready to sell, schedule a free consultation with us here.
