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Is the cost of a real
estate agent’s commission worth it?
(read more)
85% of home buyers use a real estate agent; 75% of home
buyers use the internet to search for homes. After finding a home of interest,
they typically drive by to check out the neighborhood. The average home buyer
searches for eight weeks before purchasing a home.
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You’ve decided to move,
but you haven’t
decided whether to sell your house yourself or use a REALTOR®.
After all, you work hard for your money, and you want to keep
as much of it as you can, but you also want to make the sales
process as headache-free as possible. Is the cost of a real
estate agent’s commission worth it? Ask yourself these
questions to help with your decision:
Do I have the paperwork
that is legally required to sell my home?
If you know where to get a Tennessee Residential Property Condition
Disclosure, a Wood Destroying Insect Inspection Report, a Lead-Based
Paint Disclosure, and a contract reviewed by an attorney, then
you have cleared the first hurdle of selling a home. Of course,
a REALTOR® will have these required forms on hand and you
won’t have to figure it out for yourself.
How much will
advertising cost?
As an advertising major in college,
I can tell you that “they” (the
advertising gods) say that you have to run an ad six times
in order for your target market to
see it three times, in order for them to recall what it
says. If you run fewer ads than
that to save money, then you might as well not run them
at all since few people will see them and no one will remember
them anyway. A REALTOR® will offer various options
regarding the advertising of your home and will take care
of all the
copywriting, photography, graphic
design, placement and
purchase as part of their commission. Many buyers use the
internet to
start their search. Can you promote your home on the world
wide web by yourself?
Will I be available to show
my house when buyers want to tour it?
Most buyers want to see the house during daylight hours unless,
of course, they are relocating from Transylvania. Can you take
off work at anytime in order to meet a potential buyer at your
front door? A
real estate agent will take care of arranging
all showings whether you are there or not.
If I get an offer,
how do I know the buyers can obtain financing?
You’ve found buyers who want your house, but can they
actually afford it? How will you know? A REALTOR® will
get a pre-approval letter from the buyers’ mortgage
lender usually before they show any potential buyers available
properties.
This saves you time and worry.
How likely is it that I will
get a good offer?
Some buyers see a “For Sale
By Owner” sign and
think they can get the house for less because the owner
isn’t
paying a real estate agent commission. Buyers may also
be hesitant about working without an agent because this is likely
the largest
single investment they will ever make. Would you trust
the guy down the street that you just met with hundreds of thousands
of your dollars?
How long will it take to sell
my house myself?
No one knows for sure, but if I were a gambler, I’d
bet that a real estate agent knows more buyers than you
do.
What
happens if something goes wrong?
And it does…more
often than you may realize. Financing falls through, buyers
change their minds, negotiations stagnate.
A REALTOR® should know what to expect as the sale progresses
and is equipped to handle the problems that may arise.
You go
to a professional when you need medical care, legal advice,
investment information or education, so it seems logical
to consult a professional when it comes to the sale of your
home. It is your choice. Choose wisely.
Claudia Stallings
Coldwell Banker Wallace & Wallace
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