Why you need a real estate agent
Let’s face it, selling a home without a real estate agent is just plain risky, jeopardize time, money, and most importantly, an advantageous outcome. In reality, a listing agent brings more to the table than most homeowners realize in terms of these eight invaluable benefits agents offer.
1. Knowledge
What you don’t know can absolutely hurt you, and it can come back to bite you even worse.
A real estate agent’s knowledge is priceless.
Agents know what the internet doesn’t tell consumers, and they can provide insight that consumers can’t get online, and know how to make sense of the data and the entire selling process so that sellers and their home are fully prepared before hitting the market.
2. Time
Everyone’s time is valuable, but do sellers truly have time to attempt to play the real estate agent role? Are sellers available to show their home in a safe manner, and is it accessible on a moment’s notice?
How will sellers handle showings when they are on vacation for a week and there are cash buyers in town?
Can you say lost opportunity?
Do sellers have the time to devote to scheduling and managing showing appointments? What about feedback? Do sellers know what questions to ask and the best way to reach agents to elicit a response?
Are they able to aptly respond to agent and buyer questions, concerns and objections in a manner that will help overcome the hesitation to move forward?
3. Presentation
Image is everything when it comes to real estate. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and the same goes for putting a property up for sale.
Are seller able to stage it or bring in someone who can? What about professional photography, drone, video and 3D? Are they able to orchestrate photo and video shoots with ease and know who to contact? What about photo styling and having an eye for how a space will translate on camera?
4. Marketing
How are sellers going to market their property? Do they know who the buyer demographic is for their home and/or neighborhood? How do sellers reach buyers?
Do sellers have access to predictive analytics or know how to strategically promote the listing to other agents in the community and on social media?
5. Negotiation experience
So the sellers received an offer. Now what? How do they respond? What do they look for in that purchase agreement?
In this hot seller’s market that many are experiencing right now, are sellers prepared to take multiple offers and bidding war to get the best deal?
What terms and conditions could be disadvantageous to the sellers? What costs should or shouldn’t they incur? Do they know how to negotiate to keep the buyer in the game versus walking away?
6. Inspection and repair know-how
This is one of the most difficult parts of a real estate transaction, even for real estate professionals. Do sellers know what inspections they should expect?
How should they handle items that are flagged as needing repair or replacement by an inspector? What kinds of repairs are usually done by a seller?
If sellers don’t know better, they could find themselves making an improvement, not a repair on their home for a new buyer.
7. Transaction management
Who is going to be handling the closing? What items should they be following up on? How will they handle challenges like the property not appraising for the contract sales price or the deal potentially derailing due to home inspection issues?
8. Closing
What condition are sellers expected to leave the home in? How do they handle unexpected, last-minute issues that may arise: the movers damage the home when moving belongings out, the air conditioner is on the fritz, or worse yet, the moving crew doesn’t show up when they are supposed to?
Selling a home without an agent is like throwing caution to the wind along with the commission.
In the long run, seller will end up paying more money than if they would have used an agent to protect their interests and help them justify their home’s value in the first place.
Thinking of selling or renting you property? If yes, please click the below button to contact one of our consultant and they will be happy to assist you in your inquiry.
