Why Not Sell Your Property Yourself?
by Kris Cole

This is a very legitimate question. Many real estate sales people become defensive when asked this question. They are quick to make statements like, "would you do brain surgery on yourself;" " Would you represent yourself in court;" or other ridiculous statements. Of course you wouldn't. In this case we are talking about a simple sale. How difficult could it be? Everyone has sold something successfully in their life time. Why should this be any different?

You are correct, this is a sale. However, it's not that simple.

First of all, your home is probably your largest asset. You want to maximize the amount of money you receive from the sale. Therefore, you want as much exposure to potential buyers as possible. Putting a sign in the front yard and advertising in the classifieds is probably not going to get you the maximum price for your property - but you never know.

So you do what I would have done, you call in a few real estate sales people and have each of them present a free Comparative Market Analysis. This gives you a rough estimate of the property's value. Now you know what price to advertise in the newspaper.

A few weeks go by, but you don't get any real prospects. You determine your property needs more marketing and exposure. So you decide to work with a REALTOR® to get listed in the MLS. How do you decide which agency to choose?
         
          Here are some questions you might want to ask the brokerage:

Are you going to do open houses?

Are you going to charge me more to negotiate the sale?

Are you going to handle all the paper work?

Are you going to pre-qualify all the leads so the sale doesn't fall apart at the closing table? (Many for sale by owners have horror stories about selling their home only to have the whole deal fall apart at closing - often it has to do with the financing.)

Are you going to actively promote my property to other sales people and other brokerages?

What commission pay out are you offering to other offices? (See below)

Are you going to advertise my property in the newspaper?

Are you advertising other properties in the newspaper to generate call ins?

Are you going to charge me for advertising?

Do you have in-house financing?

Are you a lender?

Can you offer bridge loans? A bridge loan allows a buyer to take a short term loan out against his home to purchase another property.

Are you going to send fliers to my neighbors to generate leads?

Do you have a presence on the Internet to generate interest?

Will my sales person feature my home on his Internet Web Page?

Is my sales representative a REALTOR® or a real estate sales person? (There is a very big difference)

How many sales people work for your brokerage? You want as many people working for you as possible.

Will my house be caravanned?

Does my broker have a magazine such as Showcase of Homes?

What commission pay out is being offered on the MLS to cooperating brokerages? You want to make sure the brokerage has your house listed as a 3% payout to cooperating brokerages. When you are competing with similar properties in the same price range, you want to make sure that cooperating brokerages are as motivated to sell your property as they are the homes you're in competition with. Often 5% commissions are advertised on MLS as a 2.5% payout  to cooperating brokerages instead of 3% payout.

Whether or not you list with a Realtor is up to you. However, please keep safety in mind. Good REALTOR®s qualify their buyers before ever showing them a property. We make a copy of their driver's license and get other information in the pre-qualifying process. I can't think of anything more dangerous than allowing a complete stranger to enter your home. If you elect to sell your home without a professional, PLEASE take precautions such as getting their driver's license number. Not to scare anybody, but here are a few news clippings:

Real Estate Agent Raped While Showing Off House - Denver News - ABC
At Death's Door - Dallas Morning News - WFAA
 Real estate agent raped - WCNC - Carolinas' News Connection
 Homebuyer Poser-Robber Captured In Florida - Realty Times
Realtor's Murder Reminds Practitioners To Be Careful Out There - Realty Times

One final point.

If you sell your home FSBO, you will probably hear some version of the following phrase "since you didn't use a REALTOR®, you need to drop the sales price 6 %." In the end, you could end up doing a bunch of extra work and not saving any money.

Professional Athletes, celebrities, and many CEOs have agents negotiate their salaries. These people know that an experienced professional is going to net more money for them, even after commission, than they would net by themselves. Shouldn't you provide yourself with the same benefits when selling one of your largest assets.

If you are located in the Central Florida area and are considering the sale of your home, please keep Dana & I in mind. We would like a chance to earn your business. You can learn more about us by clicking on accomplishments.

Sincerely

Kris Cole

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Kris Cole & Dana Cole are both registered REALTORS® and work for
Watson Realty Corp. REALTORS®
7015 C.R. 46 A
Lake Mary, FL 32746

**Kris Cole, Dana Cole & Watson Realty Corp. REALTORS® can not guarantee the accuracy of the information listed on this web site. Many of the links are operated by other parties independent from us.