DECIDING TO SELL YOUR HOME
The time has come to sell your home. Now you must decide how to sell it. A majority of sellers take the simplest route, hiring a Real Estate broker to sell the property for them. But a growing number are choosing to sell on their own. There are pros and cons attributed to each method, as we will see. The fact that you are reading this book indicates that you have either decided, or are at least contemplating acting on your own behalf. Right now, the first order of business is to decide whether or not you have the time and/or inclination to sell your home on your own. It does require time and effort, but it need not interfere much with your normal routine, if done right, and planned well.
Using a Broker removes much of the stress of selling the home, but it comes at a high cost. While the Realtor commission might only be a mere 5% of the selling price, that can actually represent as much as 100% of the equity proceeds. For example, if your home sells for $100,000 and you have 20% equity ($20,000) and your Broker fee is 5% ($5,000), that fee will cost you 25% of your proceeds. That's a lot! By selling on your own, that $5,000 stays in your pocket, less some minor costs for advertising your own home.
A Broker will remove the stress of negotiations - seldom do they allow buyer and seller to come together. On the other hand, the Broker's negotiation and/or people skills may not do as well by you as you might do on your own. Many Brokers discourage potential buyers before the buyer ever makes an offer. They do this, inadvertently, because they do not know exactly what the seller will or will not accept. By selling on your own, you will meet with all potential buyers, and not lose out on a good offer simply because a "third party" did not fully understand the offer, or your needs.
As an example, I presented an offer to a Broker on a property she had listed. Upon seeing the offer, she immediately stated that the seller would not even consider such creative techniques, and not to waste everyone's time. I had to insist she present the offer. Not only did the seller accept, he even made further concessions during negotiations. Had I not insisted on having my offer presented, that seller would not have had a buyer that day. This is not all that unusual - in my years of real estate investing, I have met many Realtors who tried to discourage offers I made, simply because they did not believe it was viable.
Selling without the aid of a Broker requires more effort on your part. Without the advice of a good broker, you may not know how best to present your property. You will have to advertise it yourself, talk face-to-face with buyers and negotiate, and learn how to do all those necessary, pesky tasks, such as providing Title Insurance, securing an escrow agent and so on.
This book has been designed to help you overcome these little problems. You will learn the best methods of advertising, how to word your ads, how to prepare and show your home, how to provide Title Insurance, set up escrow, close and everything else in between. But you will still have to do all the work.
Coming Next: Determining a Fair Price
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