Should I Sell My Home Myself?
More than likely, if you live in the general Boulder County or Denver Metro area of Colorado you have been hearing for a year or more how tight the real estate market is. Listing shortages and frustrated Buyers seem to name the game in many neighborhoods and price ranges. For sellers this is good news in terms of quick cloisngs and higher sales prices. For Buyers it makes it that much more important to hire a skilled agent experienced in how to negotiate and get your offer accepted in a multiple offer situation. But what about Sellers? Wouldn't now be a good time for them to just stick out a FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sign in the yard and save themselves the professional Realtor® fee?
Well, the reality is that some of you do it yourselfers actually could and will sell your home on your own. The vast majority of you who try however, will eventually (after wasting precious time and money) end up hiring a professional Realtor® to represent you after trying on your own does not work. This article will not dissuade those of you who will forge ahead and beat the odds. And kudos to you on your success! However, had you used a professional Realtor® you would, according to research, have likely sold for a higher price, after all, it is our profession (NAR). If money and time are not of interest to you and you thrive on the satisfaction of being a do it yourselfer then read no further. Still undecided as to whether selling your home without an agent is in your best interest, please read on.
In the past several months I've hepled several clients sell their home in multiple offer situations. One family sold their home in the Boulder suburb of Louisville, CO a very hot market. Based on my professional market analysis and market conditions, we listed their home for $45K higher than their purchase price from just 2 years prior. Within 48 hours of listing they received 5 offers and ultimately sold the home for an additional $21K above asking price. If these sellers had chosen to sell on their own, sans professional representation, there is a good chance they would have sold for multiple, tens of thousands of dollars cheaper.
How would that happen? They most likely would've based their listing price on inconsistent and inaccuate sources for current market value including public tax records or sites like Zillow. They may even have just priced it a few thousand above what they purchased it for. They may have been pleased to receive full asking price (which again was likely already set too low) from a buyer who had representation from a professional (who has the job of getting the property at the lowest possible sale price for their client). If they had received multiple offers they may not have know how to choose the best offer (many factors, dates, lender choice, home, inspection and appraisal contingencies, other agent's skill etc) are all factors that I, as a professional, pay close attention to when advising and consulting with my clients. The highest price offer is not always the better one and many deals in today's market never make it to closing. I vet all the offers for my clients. My job is to make sure you make to the closing table.
FSBO's often don't get multiple offers as 40% of the time they conduct their negotiations with one party whom they already know (NAR). I had a friend who recently sold his own place as a FSBO, negotiating with only one person starting with a conservative list price and therefore conservative sale price. In my example above, if those sellers had chosen to work with only one buyer they would've missed out on the additional $21K that the multiple offers brought in. That folks, is a lot of money to leave on the table.
If you have been considering the sale of your home, it is a very good time to be a seller. If you have been trying to sell on your own and are not having the results you had hoped for, please call me today and I will give you the professional service to get your home sold quickly and for top dollar.
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