Originaly posted on The Sugarloaf Blog
Let's face it, there are For Sale By Owner signs every where you look. I can't help but wonder why a home owner would try to sell, what is his or her largest investment without professional help. It just doesn't make sense, does it?
I called a for sale by owner property owner one day and was asking about the property and trying to find out why they were selling as a for sale by owner. The response from the property owner was amazing. The response I got back was, "Why do I need an agent? All I need is an offer that looks good to me. Once I have that, we can take it to an escrow company and they'll handle everything!" WOW!
If that's all it takes, then what are all of those disclosures that we require our buyers and sellers to fill out? If that's all there is to it, what was used to set the price? Is the seller sure that the property is going to appraise?
Let's take a look at some of the reasons why a buyer or seller should use a Realtor such as The Tim Wood Group when buying or selling a property.
People complain that a Realtoris being paid too much money when all he has to do is put the house in the MLS. After all, once it's in the MLS, the home will sell itself, right? WRONG! The property must be priced right in order for the other agents in the valley to notice it. In order to price the home correctly, your Realtor must know the inventory. Not just what is currently listed, but what has sold in your neighborhood. Knowing what isn't selling in your neighborhood and knowing why the property isn't selling is extremely important.
Setting the price is just the first step. Most for sale by owners in Big Bear put a sign in front of the house, waste their money on an advertisement in the local paper, and maybe, and I mean just maybe figure out that they can place the property on Craig's List. That's a good start, but it really takes much more than that in marketing. Craig's list is OK, but there are many more great Internet sites that the property needs to be listed besides the Multiple Listing Service. Your Realtor is going to know the best places to market the property and he is not going to be wasting time and money advertising your home where it won't produce results.
You're Realtor has priced the property correctly, has done some great marketing, and now you have an offer. As a for sale by owner, how many homes have you sold? How many purchase contracts have you negotiated? Some how, I would imagine that your Realtor has negotiated many purchase contracts and this is where his or her experience is going to shine. He'll know what pitfalls to be looking out for and he'll make sure that your best interests are being covered.
In most cases, the buyer is going to want a home inspection and you can bet there will be a repair request after that. As a for sale by owner, what are YOU going to do about it? Do you as the for sale by owner know the two things that are required of the seller to sell a house in California? How much experience do you have in negotiating the repair request? Are you going to just say NO and lose the deal? Are you going to do everything the buyer asks for because you are afraid to lose the deal? If you had a Realtor representing you, he's going to have the experience to handle this and make sure that you only do what is necessary to keep the deal together and sell the house.
Disclosures are a big thing! Knowing what disclosures are required and making sure that they are filled out is correctly is very important. As a for sale by owner, you may not know what forms are required and what forms are going to protect you if you wind up in court over an issue with the house. You can bet that your Realtor is going to know what forms to use. He's also going to make sure that they are filled out correctly, protecting you in the event something comes up down the road and you end up before a judge.
As the seller, you may be paying 6% to sell your house in Big Bear. Did you know that 3% of that money goes to the buyers side of the deal? Don't you think that the 3% that you are paying your Realtor is well worth what he has done for you? He's done the research, he knows the market so he knew what price to list your home so that it would sell in a buyers market. Your Realtor knew where and how to market the home to give your home maximum exposure. You're Realtor had the experience and knowledge to negotiate the offer once it arrived and got you the best price possible. Your Realtor negotiated the repair request, made sure the escrow stayed on tract, worked with the lender, and made sure the deal closed on time. Isn't that worth the 3% that you're going to pay?
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