7 Issues You Could Face When Selling Your Home Without a Real Estate Agent
Selling your Colorado Springs home is a process many homeowners dread. Your goal as a homeowner is to sell quickly and make as much money as possible. Selling your home without a real estate agent may seem like the best option but in reality, it could end up costing you more than you bargained for. Our world is changing fast and that included how we buy and sell products. The internet has made selling your home possible without an agent, but it doesn't mean it is the best option. Sites such as Zillow, Craigslist, and social media, have all been resources to make it possible to get your message out that your home is for sale. Social channels like Pinterest is a great idea generator for many "Do It Yourself" people. Trying to learn how to sell your home, look it up and you will find endless tools to show you how to "SAVE" money and do it yourself. With YouTube, you can watch videos to see exactly how to sell your home from start to finish. We can go into many reasons why this can be extremely successful but there are just as many reasons why it can become extremely costly and disastrous. It may seem like a good idea to sell your home without an experienced Colorado Springs real estate agent but here are seven dangers you could face.
7 Issues You Could Face When Selling Your Home Without an Agent
- Lack of Real Estate Knowledge- As a homeowner, you can take photos of our home and put them on any online resource to show your home is for sale. The issue is you are only capturing a small number of buyers using this method. Our team of experienced agents knows exactly how to get your home in front of the right buyers that will make an offer. Selling your own home means you will get all phone calls, questions and will need to draw up your own paperwork. Buyers agents will contact you on behalf of their clients asking questions that you may not be familiar with. If you can't answer the questions properly it could result in the loss of a sale. Losing potential buyers just prolongs the selling process which equates in time and money for you.
- Lack of Time- Time is money! If you are not a full-time real estate agent, then most likely you have a full-time job. This means you will be responsible for taking phone calls, scheduling showings, being available at the drop of a hat to show your home, and to also have your house show ready. It can be a lot to tackle. Hiring an agent means the agent takes most of this off your shoulders. All you have to do is make sure your home is show ready when you leave for work. If a potential buyer wants to see your home, your agent can show them without you messing with any details. If you decide to sell your own home and take this on, you could end up missing work which means missing out on money.
- Lack of Marketing Experience- Putting your home online to promote it is for sale is missing a huge number of potential buyers. Many buyers start their new home search online so that is a good place to start. However, that is as far as your reach will go. Many buyers like to go on the MLS to search for homes. This is the home search feature most agents use to show buyers what homes are available by not only them, but it includes other agent's homes as well. It is a shared network which means you get your home in front of more potential buyers. An experienced real estate team will also promote your home to existing home buyers, reach out to other agents and use their personal networking to get the home sold. In addition, an experienced agent knows the housing market and what your home can be sold for. If you price your home too high, it could sit for too long and could result in a lot of frustration. Marketing your home takes experience and without the housing industry experience, you could be waiting awhile to get your home sold.
- Managing Paperwork- Selling your home on your own still requires paperwork for both parties to sign to make any transaction final. Once the paperwork is signed you can't go back and add or delete. Making sure your paperwork is correct and legal is a huge liability. It is a liability you will take on 100% if you sell your home on your own. You can even hire a lawyer to draw up your paperwork which helps some, however, they are not experts in the real estate industry, so it could still cost you down the road. Also, if there is a hold up at the bank with the buyer's paperwork, the bank will not speak with you as the seller. They will speak to real estate agents because they legally can as the acting representative in the sell.
- Legal Issues You Are Unaware Of- There are many legal issues that could arise when selling your own home that you may not be aware of. To start, if you have a potential buyer, an agent will qualify them and ask to put earnest money down to protect the seller during the process. When you sell your home on your own, you have no legal way to obtain the same screening process or assurance. In this day and age scammers are fierce so you want to make sure you are not going to become the next victim during your home selling process. The paperwork and contracts needed to sell a home can become daunting. If you don't fill it out properly or have all the legal paperwork necessary, it could result in lawsuits or loss of the money for you as the seller.
- Added Stress- Selling a home is stressful in itself. Add to it, selling your home without an agent and it will take it up to a whole new level of stress. Keeping your schedule straight, taking phone calls, and not understanding why your home isn't selling could become too much. As a seller, you will be responsible for showing your own home. You may become frustrated during this process because most buyers fell awkward with the homeowner present. They don't feel they can speak freely about what they like and don't like about the home.
- Confusion With The Inspection Process- Choosing to sell your home on your own could result in confusion during the home inspection process. Our team has been in the housing industry for many years so we can assist the seller with any issues regarding inspections. Without the proper knowledge and expertise, the buyer could insist on the homeowner fixing and paying for repairs that should fall on the new homeowners. Without the proper knowledge on how to include this in existing paperwork or having an experienced agent to negotiate on your behalf, you could be left frustrated and spending more money than anticipated.
Selling Your Colorado Springs Home
Mike MacGuire
Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent
The MacGuire Team
6760 Corporate Dr
Ste 300
Colorado Springs, CO 80919
719-536-4324 or 719-660-6793
Mike@BuyWithMike.com
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