Naturally real estate agents will tell you that you are not qualified to sell your own home. They say you are too emotionally invested. Of course, they would say that given their livelihood rests on them selling it for you, so their reasoning is motivated by protecting their job.
Not so long ago, car dealers said the same thing, but now we happily sell our own cars using the internet.
There is no doubt that agents had their day in the sun. That was when we were not able to list our properties on the leading property portals, and so had to rely on them to do that, to get marketing exposure for our property. And boy did we pay for that, with commissions up to 3 percent of the sales price of our home. But those days are well and truly past now, and vendors have access to all the same property portals that a traditional agent has, through commission-free real estate companies like buyMyplace, so let’s look at five good reasons why you are best placed to sell your own property.
You are selling one property. Your property. Agents have several listings at once and are trying to sell each with equal emphasis. Your property is not the most important on their books unless it is the most expensive and they will score a huge commission. You only have one motivator – to sell your property at the best possible price. You can choose when you have open for inspections and won’t need to be limited to a quick 30 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. With research, you can set the price you want, or if you are in a hurry, can even discount the property and still save money. Without the burden of paying a huge commission, you may choose to adjust the price, or also have additional negotiating power, knowing you are not going to automatically lose an additional 3 percent to an agent. It is very empowering to be in control.
Agents will tell you no-one knows local real estate like they do, but doing some research and by looking at current properties on the market in your area, and researching recent sold prices on property portals; you can have this same knowledge. The added advantage you have over agents is that no-one knows your property like you do. You know the cost of electricity and can point out the sunniest spot in the garden, how easy the house is to maintain, or best coffee shop nearby. Buyers love to hear these details, as it helps them to picture themselves in your property. We have had vendors schedule open houses at sunset so potential buyers can soak up incredible views, or serve coffee on the balcony so that they can bask in the chilled ambience of a home. Only you know these details about your home.
The costs you need to pay an agent upon the successful sale of your property can vary, between 1.8 and 3 percent of the sale price. Some agents may have a lower commission but add in marketing costs for photography and advertising. On a $600,000 home, this could be almost $20,000 you need to pay out. That is a lot of money that no doubt you could use in a thousand better ways. When it comes to an urgent sale, some of our vendors have reported splitting the amount that would have been payable in commission with buyers, resulting in a win for all parties. On the other hand, you can sell at the listed price and pocket tens of thousands of extra dollars. Your choice. But a great saving, whatever way you look at it.
Agents say that buyers don’t like looking at a home when the owner is present, but our vendors report quite the opposite. As long as you give buyers some privacy to look around without being in their faces, buyers love the chance to ask questions about the property and get an immediate response. Many of our vendors manage open for inspections by giving a quick outline of the house layout, and advising buyers; they will be at the front door if they have questions. They tell us that invariably the buyers do have queries, whether it is about recent renovations or traffic noise, but they find that the more engaged buyers are, the easier it is to undertake negotiations.
Negotiating is not the big mystery agents want you to believe it is. It is just a conversation about money. It gives you an opportunity to be honest about your needs and provides buyers with the chance to be honest about theirs. Our vendors have reported this part of the process is far less combative than it is using agents as a go-between. Because buyers and vendors have met at open for inspections, there is often a rapport established between them, making it a pleasant and friendly experience. That said, we understand talking money is uncomfortable for some sellers, so we also offer professional negotiating for you if required when it comes to crunch time.