Using a Realtor to Sell Your Home

When you sell your home yourself, it's known as "for sale by owner" (FSBO). With limited inventory and listings spending relatively little time on the market, selling your home yourself may seem like a way to save money. Acting as your own seller's agent sounds appealing, but here are some compelling reasons why you may want to reconsider.

1. Real Estate is a Full-Time Job

Can you rush home every time someone wants to see your home? Can you excuse yourself from a meeting every time your phone rings with a potential buyer? At the end of a long workday, do you have the energy to take advantage of every possible opportunity to market your home? Are you an expert in marketing homes?

Your answer to all of these questions is probably "no." A Real Estate Professional can answer "yes" to all of these questions. In 2021, Charter One Realty Agents represented more than 2,700 buyers and sellers in the Lowcountry, more than TWO TIMES the #2 ranked brokerage in MLS. This means your property would be in the hands of experienced professionals who regularly market and negotiate properties in the Lowcountry. We are the trusted and experienced choice for your investment.

2. Real Estate Agents Access Large Networks

Yes, you can list your home yourself on Zillow and Craigslist. But will that be enough? Even if you have a large personal or professional network, those people will likely have little interest in spreading the word that your house is for sale. A smaller pool of potential buyers means less demand for your property, which can translate into waiting longer to sell your home and possibly not getting as much money as your house is worth. In essence, you could be leaving money on the table. 

At Charter One Realty, our Real Estate Professionals have relationships with clients, other agents, and access to a network of the top realtors worldwide. Not only is your property exposed to the largest pool of potential buyers, but we also maximize the exposure of your property to motivated buyers looking to relocate. More than 100 client introductions are made daily worldwide within our network producing more than 1.3 million global transactions annually. You can feel confident that your property is receiving the maximum exposure and being promoted within a network of top brokerages worldwide.

3. Real Estate Agents Weed Out Unqualified Buyers

A Real Estate Professional knows how to determine whether someone who wants to view your house is a qualified buyer or just a dreamer or curious neighbor. For the untrained seller's agent, this can be a lot of work and a major interruption every time you have to put your life on hold, make your house look perfect, and show your home. A Real Estate Professional can limit those hassles to the showings most likely to result in a sale.

Charter One Realty Agents are trained and experienced in asking the questions that will determine the seriousness, qualification, and motivation of a prospect. Additionally, our agents can help the qualified and motivated prospect to the point of purchase. 

4. Negotiations Take Skill

You may have sales experience, but it's likely that you don't have specialized expertise in negotiating a home sale. Your buyer's agent has those skills, which means they are more likely to succeed in the negotiation, meaning less money in your pocket. Again, potentially leaving money on the table. 

 A Charter One Realty agent is an experienced selling agent who has already negotiated thousands of buys and sells. Additionally, our agents have their finger on the pulse of the market and know what's driving demand, which gives them an advantage by knowing what terms are worth negotiating for and which are worth letting the other party win.

Furthermore, our agents know the local customs for selling a home, such as whether the buyer or the seller typically pays fees such as transfer fees, transfer tases, and closing costs. Given the complexity of some of our neighborhoods in the Lowcountry, this is extremely important. 

5. Exposure to Legal Risks

The sale of a home is a significant transaction, and there is a lot of legal paperwork involved in the sale. It would be in your best interest to have an expert complete the paperwork. For example, an essential item is the seller disclosure, which discloses any fact that materially affects the value or desirability of the property. If not disclosed properly, a seller can potentially be held liable for fraud, negligence, or breach of contract.

A full-time real estate professional probably knows more about disclosure laws than you do. If you fail to disclose a hazard, nuisance, or defect—and the buyer comes back to you after moving in and finding a problem—the buyer could sue you. 

 

The Bottom Line

Don't leave money on the table. It's not an easy job to learn how to sell your house without a realtor—and selling your home will likely be one of the biggest transactions of your life. You can try to do it alone, thinking that you will save money, but hiring an agent has many advantages. Agents can get broader exposure for your property, help you negotiate a better deal, and dedicate more time to your sale. An agent brings expertise, which few FSBO sellers have, to a complex transaction with many potential financial and legal pitfalls.

Posted by Charter One Realty on
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