So, you want to sell your house, I mean YOU want to sell you house.  Interesting.  Let’s think about that a little bit more.  What are the reasons that you want to do all the work and not hire a trained REALTOR®?  Do you think you’ll save money?  Do you think that you’ll get paid more for your house?  Or do you think you’ll just do a better job?  Most qualified buyers prefer to work with a REALTOR® so that alone could deter the desired sale of a house being sold by its owner.  There are many myths going around that people believe about selling their house on their own.  We will discuss those myths along with facts that are often overlooked.

Myth #1:  People believe that most of the people who decide to sell their house by themselves are successful in doing so.  This is completely inaccurate.  The national average of houses that are successfully sold by their owner is 15%.  That definitely looks like a low chance of success.  Many of the 85% who do not succeed in selling their house choose to give up all together or they hire a REALTOR® who helps them actually sell their house.

Fact #1:  When an owner has decided to sell their house on their own, they tend to overprice it at the beginning.  This is generally because everybody thinks their house is worth more than it truly is.  They see what their neighbor’s house sold for and ‘know’ that their house is “way” better so it should sell for more money.  Sometimes, that could be the case, but not often.  Also, setting a too high price is dangerous.  It makes the seller lose negotiating leverage when it sits on the market for a long time.  When you hire a REALTOR® the house will usually be priced correctly, by looking at many more attributes than the selling price of the immediate neighbor’s house.  Also, the REALTOR® will not be emotionally invested in the house.

Myth #2:  Many people selling their house believe that showing their house will be easy.  Unless they work from home, this is definitely not the case.  Most people work during the day and are unavailable to show at 2pm on a Tuesday.  Showing houses is a major part of a REALTOR®’s job.  We chose this career because we enjoy showing houses when our buyers want to see them and are able to be there at that time.  Also, many potential buyers don’t want to look at a house with the owner there.  Think about it, would you want to seriously look at a house to buy with the owner hovering over you telling you that any issue isn’t an actual issue?  I mean, they lived with it, so it is no big deal. 

Fact #2:  Owners who are trying to sell their own house are generally doing it because they believe they will be saving money.  In fact, many of the people who are attracted to FSBO’s are low-ball buyers and unqualified buyers.  REALTOR®’s generally don’t work with unqualified buyers as they aren’t able to secure a loan and will not be able to actually buy the house.  Low-Ball Buyers are exactly what they seem, they come in with a ridiculous offer and occasionally the seller will accept the offer, especially if they have been on the market for a long time. This results in making less, not more, money. 

The biggest take-away from this is that if you think you’ll make more money selling your house on your own, you’re wrong. You won’t.  I’m not just telling you this, so you’ll hire me to sell your house. There are actual facts that support this.  Hiring a REALTOR® will allow you to sell your house at a higher price, have a ton less stress, have more showings, and be able to market your house in many more places.  As a REALTOR® I am able to put houses that I have listed into the MLS which most of the other websites pull information from.  Yes, you could put information on Zillow yourself, but that information is not always accurate, and the informed buyer will know that.  The MLS allows the REALTOR® to pull tax information and the information is checked. 

Another big difference between using a REALTOR® and selling yourself is that I, as a REALTOR®, am held to a Code of Ethics, where I must take a class on it every two years.  I am also an expert on all the contracts, which alone should make it worth using a REALTOR®. Many times, when there is a lawsuit related to Real Estate, the seller is the Defendant.  Wouldn’t you rather not assume that risk?  Again, that is in the job description of a REALTOR®.  Brokerages have lawyers who are experts on contract law, and we are covered by insurance specifically designed for these instances.  You may think that you can figure out the contract.  You might be right, but I have studied the contracts, especially when they are updated, which happens a lot.

I understand if you still decide to choose to sell your house on your own.  I have warned you about some of the issues that you might encounter.  I am here for you if you have any questions related to Real Estate, or just want to talk.  If you just want to discuss concerns regarding selling your house on your own, I won’t make you sign a contract or pay any fee.  My main goal is to educate the general public on the issues in Real Estate.  I have a great network, and if I do not know an answer, I’ll direct you in the right direction to find out, if I don’t find out for you myself.  I’ve just touched the surface on the debate of ‘Do I hire a REALTOR® or I can sell this house on my own.’  I’m sure I’ll write about this topic again in the future.  I hope you have a great day and let’s go see some houses.