6 Reasons Why Selling Your Home without an Agent Is a Mistake

There are many benefits to working with a real estate professional when selling your house. An expert who’s able to guide you through the listing and sale of your home helps save you time, stress, and money.

If you’re looking into selling your home, you may have considered going it alone, or what’s known as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO). Sure, this can sound like a thrifty idea—you may think you’re saving money by selling your home without an agent, but the opposite is true.

We want you to be successful in the sale of your home, so let’s go over some vital information you should have before setting off on a DIY adventure.

Let’s explore why selling your home without an agent is never ideal.

1. Your Safety Is a Priority

During this pandemic, your family’s safety comes first. When you FSBO, it’s challenging to control entry into your home.

A real estate professional will have the proper protocols in place to protect not only your belongings but your family’s health and well-being too. From regulating the number of people in your home at one time to ensuring proper sanitization during and after a showing, and even facilitating virtual tours for buyers, agents are equipped to follow the latest industry standards recommended by the National Association of Realtors and even the Centers for Disease Control.

2. A Powerful Online Strategy Is a Must to Attract a Buyer

Recent studies show that, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, at least half of buyers began their home search online. As a result, many real estate professionals have spent years developing a strong Internet and social media strategy to promote the sale of your house.

This means a professional will know what the market is looking for and how your property should be listed. Real estate professionals are keenly aware of what buyers are hungry for, and they are ready to develop a marketing strategy able to carry you through a successful closing.

3. There Are Too Many Negotiations

Here are just a few of the people you’ll need to negotiate with if you decide to FSBO:

• The buyer, who wants the best deal possible
• The buyer’s agent, who solely represents the best interest of the buyer
• The inspection companies, which work for the buyer and are hired to find challenges with the house
• The appraiser, if there is a question of value

As part of their training, agents are taught how to negotiate every aspect of the real estate transaction and how to mediate the emotions felt by buyers looking to make what is probably the largest purchase of their lives.

4. You Won’t Know if Your Purchaser Is Qualified for a Mortgage

Having a buyer who wants to purchase your house is the first step. Making sure they can afford to buy it is just as important.

An experienced agent or team usually maintains a list of trusted professionals whom they partner with to help your transaction move forward. These trusted professionals include mortgage brokers, attorneys, and more. They are selected as trusted professionals because they have positively demonstrated their expertise and honesty with the agent’s clients.

In addition to guiding you through the sale of your home, your licensed real estate professional is a great resource for you to network other services you will need professionally.

Click here to browse Spectrum REC’s list of trusted professionals who are ready to make the sale of your home as smooth as possible.

5. FSBOing Has Become More Difficult from a Legal Standpoint

The documentation involved in the selling process has increased dramatically as more and more disclosures and regulations have become mandatory. In an increasingly litigious society, the agent acts as a third-party to help the seller avoid legal jeopardy.

Selling your home without an agent compromises your ability to be adequately represented by a professional who is exclusively focused on your best interests.

6. You Net More Money When Using an Agent

Many homeowners believe they’ll save the real estate commission by selling on their own. Please realize that the main reason buyers look at FSBOs is that they also think they can save the real estate agent’s commission. The seller and buyer can’t both save the commission.

A study by Collateral Analytics revealed that FSBOs don’t save anything by forgoing the help of an agent. In some cases, the seller may even net less money from the sale. The study found the difference in price between an FSBO and an agent-listed home was an average of 6%. One of the main reasons for the price difference is effective exposure:

“Properties listed with a broker that is a member of the local MLS will be listed online with all other participating broker websites, marketing the home to a much larger buyer population. And those MLS properties generally offer compensation to agents who represent buyers, incentivizing them to show and sell the property and again potentially enlarging the buyer pool.”

The more buyers that view a home, the greater the chance a bidding war will take place. Selling your home without an agent means that you may have to juggle multiple offers, which can lead to a bidding war. It’s best to navigate a scenario like this with someone possessing a background in negotiations and a nuanced understanding of how to put the seller first.

Bottom Line

Before you take on the challenge of selling your home without an agent, reach out to a licensed real estate professional, who can make this transaction work for you. We specialize in property listings, and we know how to make your property shine.

Get in touch to speak with a member of our expert team. We’ll put you first every single time.