Hire a REALTOR® or Not?
Reason #1: We can sell homes for more money.
In fact, most sellers net more money in their pocket, even after they pay the agent’s commission.
The typical home in 2016 sold by an agent sold for 25% more than the typical For-Sale-by-Owner. On a $500,000 home, that's a difference of $125,000!
That doesn't mean every agent is going to sell your home for more money. But the numbers do show agents typically sell homes for more money.
In fact, many sellers actually make money hiring a REALTOR® to sell their home. Here are a couple of real life examples:
● Brandon had his home on the market. He wasn’t getting much activity. The buyers who did look at it were not serious.
They showed little interest in buying the home and made lowball offers. He listed his home with an agent for 5% more.
Three weeks later, he received an offer from a buyer willing to pay full price. He actually ended up with more money in his pocket, even after paying the real estate agent’s commission.
● Jimmy & Kaye had their home on the market. It wasn’t selling. After a few months, they hired a real estate agent and increased the price by 10%.
A few months later, the home sold for 97% of list price. They actually made more money, even after paying the real estate commission.
Do these stories happen every day? No. Does this happen to every For-Sale-by-Owner that hires a real estate agent? No.
But, they happen more often than not. In most cases, the agent can sell the home for more money than the seller could sell it for on their own.
Reason #2: The whole process is easier when you hire a real estate agent.
Let me give you a concrete example. I talked to a title company manager who handles both For-Sale-by-Owner closings and real estate agent closings.
He told me when a For-Sale-by-Owner sells their home, it takes about 30-45 days for the two parties to sign off on the sale contract.
He said sometimes they don't even sign it until they sit down for the closing. When a property is sold by a real estate agent, the sales contract is usually signed in 45 hours.
Why does this matter to you?
Have you ever heard of "Buyer's Remorse?" It's what happens when a buyer makes a decision to buy your home, only to immediately begin questioning their decision.
It doesn't matter if the decision was good or bad. I've seen buyers get buyer's remorse when they were stealing homes. They still question it. And, sometimes they freak out and change their mind.
If you have a signed contract, you can hold them to it. If not, they may walk away, and you have to sell your home all over again.
This isn't to say that you can't sell your home yourself.
You probably can. But, unless you have sold a lot of homes yourself, then you probably aren't set up as well as a professional real estate agent is. Does that make sense?
Reason #3: A good real estate agent can save 80-100 hours of your time.
That is because we handle all of the work for you. We are experts at financing, loan conditions, home inspections, surveys, title work, termite inspections, appraisals, negotiating, etc.
Some people have estimated there are 189-213 different things an agent does to sell a home.
That list is shorter or longer, depending on the property. I haven't familiarized myself with every item on that list. But, I do know from personal experience selling a home does take a lot of time.
Reason #4: We solve problems.
This is the most important thing a REALTOR® can do for you. After all, just because a buyer is interested in your house does not mean they will actually be able to complete the purchase.
Here is a story that illustrates this perfectly.
A seller put her home on the market. The perfect buyer came along and made a full price offer for the home.
The seller and the buyer signed a contract, and the buyer started working on financing. The buyer ran into a problem with the financing and cancelled the contract.
The seller told the story to an agent. It turns out the problem the buyer had was completely solvable. However, the seller didn't know how to solve it. As a result, the buyer couldn't obtain financing to buy the home.
The agent is confident if they had been involved in the sale, the buyer WOULD have obtained financing and bought the home.
Unfortunately, the seller had to put the home back on the market. It took another 5 months to sell. The seller had to pay an additional 5 months’ worth of mortgage payments, property tax payments, and homeowner's insurance premiums.
In addition, she had to maintain the lawn, pay the electric bill, and take care of the property.
This reminds me of the old story of the importance of "Knowing Where to Tap."
Have you ever heard the story? Here’s the short version: A huge steamship boiler system was not working properly. The steamship captain hired a top boiler expert to fix it.
The expert asked a few questions and inspected the boiler room. He looked at the pipes that twisted and turned every which way and listened to the boiler and all of the machinery.
He studied the problem, reached into his tools, and grabbed a small hammer. He gently tapped one valve and "Voila" the problem was fixed. He sent a bill for $1,000 to the owner of the steamship.
When the owner saw the $1,000 invoice he was mad as a hornet's nest!
He called the expert and confronted him about the bill. "You were only there for 15 minutes! How dare you charge me $1,000!” he said. The expert heard him out and told him he would send a new bill.
The owner received another bill the next day. The bill was itemized as follows:
Tapping the valve: $4.50
Knowing where to tap: $995.50
Total: $1,000.00
Specialized Knowledge is one of the most valuable resources in the world.
Fortunately, for you, I have specialized knowledge. I know how to sell homes for more money. I know precisely where to "tap the valve" and to solve any problems that come up.
In fact, you will usually make more money when you hire me to sell your house.
I know that sounds crazy. But it’s true. The fact I can sell your home for more money is usually enough to pay my commission.
Here is how you make money hiring me. I save you countless hours chasing down surveys, handling inspections, etc.
What is your time worth?
If it isn't worth anything, you should sell your home yourself. But, I know that isn't the case. Your time isn't worthless!
I know from personal experience most homeowners are successful, hardworking individuals.
You have probably spent many hours becoming skilled at your profession. I am sure you have considerable "specialized knowledge" in your area of expertise. An outsider might look at what you do and think it's easy. It's not. You know it and I know it.
Run the numbers. Consider the valuable insight I’ve shared with you. When you are ready to hire a highly skilled, professional REALTOR®, give me a call. I'll be glad to help you.
When you are ready to have me do all of the work required to sell your home, contact me. I’ll help you take the first critical step: Determining your home’s true value. With that number in hand, we’ll be ready to talk about listing and selling your home. And you will be able to make well-informed decisions.