- Selling
your home with or without an agent?
- Is there a
right answer?
- BY YOLANDA
KENNEDY
There is so
much discussion today about selling your home with or without
an agent and for good reason. The commission runs in the thousands
and with the stock market and job market, saving that money is
necessary. But are you making a decision that will help or hurt
your finances?
Selling your
home with an agent is necessary in certain situations. If you
are not able to be objective about the sell of your home trying
to selling your home yourself may actually cost you time and
money.
If you are
relocating and the home will be vacant even if family lives close
by, that is risky business. With an agent they are responsible
for the property and a good agent will go through the home on
a regular bases to make sure everything is ok. The agent will
be present during the inspections for the buyer and can give
you informed feedback about the status. In cases that you can't
get back to the state for the settlement (closing) you can sign
a limited power of attorney and the agent will sit in your place
at the closing and send you the check.
So as you see
an agent may be worth the money depending on your situation when
you are ready to sell. Now if you are willing to trade some of
your time for the commission then you are in business. In order
to save money on anything you have to be willing to go an extra
step, but the rewards are great. Don't be fooled. There is some
work involved and putting your home on a web site is only step
one. You have to be willing to market your home and market it
consistently. Develop a marketing plan for your home so as time
goes on you are still keeping your home in front of potential
buyers.
Marketing your
home is the key to selling it and if you have to think about
it, that is how many things are sold. There are a few things
you must decide on before you move forward with selling your
home yourself. The first thing you want to ask yourself is, you
willing to put in the time? Time is required to make the flyers,
set up your web site, take the pictures, and return calls from
buyers and agents. We are not talking about hours but you need
to set a side a few minutes daily to follow up.
Next you have
to decide what times you will make the house available for showing,
if you are or are not having an open house and what (if any)
commission you are going to pay. When someone puts an offer in
on your home you have to accept or counter the offer. If there
is a problem with any of the inspections you will have to decide
how to handle it with the buyers. Oh wait; these are things you
need to decide on with an agent any way.
The truth is
there isn't a right answer. It depends on you and your situation
but if you are willing to put some effort into it. Can you sell
your home yourself and save thousands? Yes. Is it worth the little
extra work? Yes. Will the attorney or Title Company handling
settlement for a small fee handle the seller side also which
is mostly tax and mortgage payoffs information? Yes.
© Copyright
2002 Yolanda Kennedy
_______________________________________
Author:
Yolanda Kennedy
is a mother, wife, friend and neighbor who believes education
is the key to building the life you want for your family. She
publishes www.UnitedHomesByOwner.com where you can list
Your Home For free and learn how to market your home effectively.
Send an email to sign up for her free newsletter at addme@UnitedHomesByOwner.com |
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