Who Should Be Selling Your Home?

Here are a few tips on who should be selling your home when you list.

Today we’re going to talk about who’s going to sell the house. You all know that I'm a Realtor, so why am I saying, “Who’s going to sell the house?” Some people try to sell their homes on their own, and I’m not going to lie to you, some of them are successful.

However, the difference between what you can get selling your home yourself and what you can get when you work with a Realtor is vast. Studies have shown that the number is between 6% and 10%. I favor that higher number for a couple of reasons.

First, I’ve had buyers who found a for-sale-by-owner home, and when we negotiated the price, we got everything my client wanted. Looking back on it, that seller could’ve made tens of thousands of dollars, but they were adamant about not working with a Realtor. They lost the commission they would have had to pay many times over. Penny-wise, but pound-foolish.

If you sell without a Realtor, it’ll cost you about 10% of the sales price.

Most for-sale-by-owner homes I see don’t market themselves well. Sometimes they just put a sign up in the yard. If the listing is online, the pictures might be upside down, or the description is lacking. Most people aren’t out there selling homes every day, so mistakes like this are common. They’ve been led to believe that they can do this themselves when they just can't. I know if I was selling a home anywhere outside of my own market, I’d use a local expert.

If you’re selecting among Realtors, you want a few key things. They have to have experience in the market and know how to price your home optimally. Your home might be in a general price bracket, but what’s their strategy to get your home to the top of that bracket? You also want someone who has great relationships with other Realtors. This is important because it’s easier to negotiate better deals with Realtors who are open to communication.

We’d love the chance to work with you. If you’re thinking about selling, call us at (815) 931-2279. We’d love to have that conversation with you.