Pitfalls and Problems of For Sale By Owner Home Sales

For some home owners, selling a home without the help of a real estate agent is a tempting way to save money. Unfortunately, there are some pitfalls to the for sale by owner model. Understanding these pitfalls can help home owners to decide for themselves whether they want to sell their home with or without the help of a real estate professional.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Pricing Problems

Real estate agents are specially trained to price homes properly. They use a model that compares like homes in a neighbourhood or a community. After evaluating the prices of comparable properties, real estate agents can determine approximately how much home buyers will expect to pay for each specific property. Most home owners don't have the expertise or knowledge to price their own home. The inclination for many home owners is to assume that their home is worth much more than its market value. Sentimental attachments can make it hard to judge what others will pay for a home.

Selling At A Lower Price

The biggest reason why most people consider selling a home on their own is to avoid paying the real estate commissions to an agent. Ironically, figures from a number of reports show that homeowners that have sold their homes on their own have received a much lower price on average than others that have used an agent. In many cases you can end up getting less for your home by selling it on your own than by using the knowledge and expertise of a real estate agent.

A home that is priced improperly can drive away buyers before they ever show up. Buyers who look through listings will seek out homes that seem like a "good deal." The longer a home sits on the market, the more difficult it becomes to sell even if the price is adjusted to fit the value of the home.

Understanding All Of The Logistics

Selling a home can be an extremely complicated process. That is why real estate agents are constantly being updated and trained and why real estate lawyers need to be consulted before a transaction can be considered legal. If you don't dot all of your "i"s and cross all of your "t"s, the sale can turn into a legal fiasco where the buyer, seller or both parties get hurt in the process.

Understanding All Of The Logistics

Selling a home can be an extremely complicated process. That is why real estate agents are constantly being updated and trained and why real estate lawyers need to be consulted before a transaction can be considered legal. If you don't dot all of your "i"s and cross all of your "t"s, the sale can turn into a legal fiasco where the buyer, seller or both parties get hurt in the process.

Marketing Misfortunes

Marketing a home for sale is not as simple as a homeowner might think. There's a lot of thought that goes into the wording of a listing, the pictures that are posted and which listing websites that are utilized. Real estate professionals have access to online listing sources that many home owners do not. Homeowners who decide to sell their home without the help of a real estate professional could find themselves struggling to get the word out about their home. This can make the sale take longer than necessary, and may result in the homeowner getting less money when the house finally does sell.

Paperwork Predicaments

Paperwork gets complicated during a home sale. Failure to disclose something about the house or failure to fill out a form properly can stall the home selling process, and may even cause the entire deal to fall apart. Homeowners who want to ensure that they're doing it correctly must work with a real estate professional or someone who is very familiar with the industry.

Instinct Issues

Many real estate professionals spend years honing their instincts. They understand the ups and downs of the market and often know what it takes to successfully sell a home in the various communities where they work. Homeowners may not have these instincts. While it is possible to sell a home even without the experience and expertise of a real estate professional, the process is often harder, more work intensive and more frustrating for the homeowner.

Work With a Real Estate Professional

When the time comes to sell your Coventry Hills home, it's important to work with a real estate professional. Your real estate agent will have knowledge about pricing, marketing and paperwork that will help make the transaction a smooth one. For more information about hiring a real estate professional to sell your home, contact a reputable agent in your area.

How Does That Work

It all comes down to exposure and advertising. Anyone that is selling goods or services needs to promote their product and get it in front of as many people as possible. If this isn't done, the service or product simply isn't going to sell.

The same holds true for a home. You need to show your home to people that are interested in buying a new property. When you connect with a real estate agent, your home can be featured in listings that are sent out to all of the other agents across Calgary. Your home will be shown on real estate websites so that people that are browsing for a new home on the Internet will see yours.

The Value Real Estate Agents Bring to a Home Purchase

Real estate agents are trained to market homes. They know how to write listings and have access to all of the sites where local homes are listed for sale. In addition, real estate agents understand the complex paperwork that homeowners encounter when selling their house.

Homeowners who choose not to work with a real estate agent when selling their house may find that they are able to bring in more money from the home sale, but they may also lose out on big opportunities to get help from an expert.

It's an interesting concept of selling your own home to save on commissions, that's for sure, but you're going to have to spend a lot of time working with it. No matter what else you do, you simply cannot market your home properly without having it on the listings. Many people that have tried to sell their home on their own only end up going to a real estate agent in the end after suffering through the frustration of trying to sell a home that very few people even knew was for sale.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.