I’m sorry… the real reasons you should use a Realtor!

I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I wrote a very sarcastic, not professional blog post this morning about why you should use a Realtor to sell your house. You see I was very busy this morning with a million things I needed to get done, I was over my head in paper work, I had a closing get rescheduled, I was mad at myself for publicly saying I’d write a blog on why to use a Realtor (because I know I’m too busy) and to be honest I was crabby that I should have to defend my profession. Now that I’ve reread my post, I know that I owe all of you an apology. I shouldn’t take my frustrations out on anyone, I should be happy to defend & promote my profession and its a legitimate question!

Just because I believe in my profession doesn’t mean that everyone does. It also doesn’t guarantee that everyone knows or understands what I do for my clients. So now I’ve consulted the world-wide web and am going to give you a more dignified view of why you should use a Realtor to sell your home!

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics (from Realtor.org)

• FSBOs accounted for only 10% of home sales in 2011.
• The typical FSBO home sold for $150,000 compared to $215,000 for agent-assisted home sales.

FSBO Methods Used to Market Home:

• Yard sign . . . . . . . . . . 44%
• Listing on Internet . . . 33%
• Friends/neighbors . . . .27%
• Open house . . . . . . . .19%
• Newspaper ad . . . . .  17%
• For-sale-by-owner Web site . .12%

Most Difficult Tasks for FSBO Sellers:

• Getting the right price . . . 12%
• Understanding and performing paperwork: 11%
• Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale: 6%
• Preparing/fixing up home for sale: 5%
• Selling within the planned length of time: 5%

Reasons to Use a Realtor to Sell Your Home (from Realtor.com)

When the time comes to sell your home, it seems like your To Do list is a mile long. The house has to be immaculate inside and out, the hoards of potential buyers are beating on your door, and the legal and financial details of the home sale process loom. Don’t be tempted to handle this situation by yourself; instead, make your life infinitely easier and use a Realtor to help you sell your home.

The lure of saving money is a strong one. Most Realtors charge between 5% and 7% on commission. As the seller, this comes out of your proceeds at closing. I know you’re doing the math right now, and thinking that there’s no way that using a Realtor is worth anywhere near this much money. However, it truly is worth every penny; here are the top 3 reasons why you should use a Realtor when selling your home.

1. The Security of Your Family and Home

You cannot put a value on the security of your family and home. You want your family to be safe in your home without having to worry. But remember when I mentioned the hoards of potential buyers for your home? If you sell your home yourself, you have to meet with each one of these buyers by yourself. The problem is you never know who these people really are. It’s horrific to consider, but it has happened where people have gone to a home on the premise of looking to purchase it and instead have committed a crime.

When you use a Realtor, you don’t have to meet with the potential buyers and thus expose yourself and your family to possible harm. Instead, each person that enters your home is accompanied by a licensed Realtor. This helps you twofold. First, because the person is in your home with a Realtor, you and your family don’t need to be there. This mitigates the risk of someone harming you while in your home. Secondly, the chance of someone committing a crime against your property, either through theft or vandalism, is drastically reduced by their Realtor being present.

2. The Value of Your Time

Let’s backup for the moment to a point I mentioned previously – the hassle of dealing with potential buyers. When you sell your home yourself, you’re the sole contact with potential buyers. If someone wants information, they contact you. This means your phone will be ringing constantly. And you can’t just ignore these calls; if you do, your house will take even longer to sell.

Even better – remember the part about keeping your house immaculate? When you sell your home yourself, this has to be true 100% of the time. People can and will pull up outside your home and demand to look inside at any time of the day or night. If you ask them to come back at a more convenient time, you could easily lose a sale.

But by using a Realtor, this hassle is saved and your time is reaffirmed to be as valuable as you and I both know that it is. Your Realtor handles all the phone calls, and is specially trained in how to answer these calls professionally without compromising the sale of your home. And your Realtor coordinates the showings with other Realtors, leaving you with specific times for the showings. This will allow you to relax and enjoy the time you have remaining in your home.

3. The Value of Peace of Mind for the Future

Selling a home is a complicated legal and financial prospect. Sure, you can buy generic forms to fill out for the Purchase Agreement and everything else needed. But what assurance do you have that they’re filled out in a way that protects you for the future? After all, you certainly don’t want to deal with a lawsuit five years from now with your buyer saying that you made an error in the paperwork on the transaction.

When you hire a Realtor, they shoulder this burden. Realtors are required to carry what’s known as Errors & Omissions insurance. This insurance protects you from such little errors. If there’s a problem, the insurance company is who works to resolve the situation, not you.

So don’t succumb to the lure of saving the commission money. Hiring a Realtor is the absolute best thing you can do as you prepare to sell your home.