A few people who were looking at my listings lately have houses to sell but do not want to pay the commission (at least not in full), trying to sell themselves. After all, how hard can it be, what does a broker really do for the money?
Of course they can luck out and I am the last who would not applaud that, after all they are then able to buy again.
Nevertheless most do not sell. Here is why:
-pricing: they are getting a CMA from an agent. And in most cases those CMAs hold rather accurate numbers. But those sellers think, they need room to bargain and add 20K to the CMA result, pricing themselves out. The competition, priced according to their brokers, gets the offers. Note: correctly priced homes get mostly close to asking offers. Of course the is the occasional lowball but over all offers honor correct market value.
-photos: people want to see great pictures. We are all spoiled with quality, not so in RE pics. Today I saw what I call a "drunk house", build on a road that gently slopes the house is tilted in the picture and looks like it will fall over. Wrong time of day to take pictures, house is bland and pale, overexposed. Rooms look long and narrow, 35mm do not always cut it...
-furnishing: a good staging consultation works wonders. People tend to put furniture along walls, looks boring and makes rooms long and narrow, or leaves huge empty spots where something should be to make for a better composure.
-amount of information: I can get that the house has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, it is in the headline, no need to indulge in this again in the description. There is surely more to say about your house...
- showings: the owners always "give away the house", not money wise but information wise. Why would you enter into a long personal talk with potential buyers, telling them that you really HAVE to sell because you have to tend to a sick parent across the continent, have a new job 2000 miles away and have to start next week, can't stand your neighbor.... One would not believe what detrimental information people volunteer to a complete stranger who might turn it around and take advantage of it with a low offer.
-disclosures: when in doubt, disclose. But how many home owners think of the roof leak from 2 years ago that was fixed as something that needs to be disclosed? They open themselves up to huge liability.
There is so much more to a good listing agent then just entering your home into MLS. Meet with a few and listen to what they can present. If your house can be sold represented within 3 months and you pay a commission, it might be cheaper and less stressful that keeping your home on the market for 2 years, chasing the market down.
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