Many sellers rely on agents to help them to deal with the task of selling their home. If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, a real estate agent isn’t required. There are many advantages and disadvantages to selling your home as a “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO). Read on to discover the good and bad of selling your home on your own.
The Pros
Avoid Paying Commission
Real estate commission is the main reason that many sellers choose to go it alone. You’ll pay about 6% commission on the sale of your home between buyers and sellers agents. When figuring out the asking price for your property, this number that you’ll pay for a commission is included. This sale price also should be enough to pay off the remaining balance on the property. If you don’t have a lot of equity in your home, an FSBO may be your only option if you can’t afford the commission. Another option is to wait to sell your home until you have built up enough equity for the transaction to make sense for you.
You Can Find Other Resources To Help You Sell The Property
There are so many resources available to FSBOs in today’s market. Yards signs aren’t the only thing that sellers can use to get people interested in their property. Many websites and resources assist people taking the FSBO approach. You still may not be able to get your property listed everywhere if you’re not a real estate agent.
Cons
You Won’t Be Able To List The Property Fully
Only licensed real estate agents have access to the MLS, where buyers' agents and other websites pull available properties. Not having access to this can be a deterrent to the marketing of your home. You could miss out on getting many home showings that you otherwise would if your house was listed on the MLS.
There’s No One To Help You With Paperwork And Negotiations
Real estate agents certainly earn their commission. There is a lot of work in both selling and buying a home. If you hire an agent, he’ll be taking phone calls, sending off forms, and dealing with the negotiations on the property. An agent will also coordinate home showings and have the ability to show your property when you’re unavailable. If you go it alone, you won’t have that assistance and may be a bit overwhelmed during the selling process.
A real estate agent also understands the lingo better than someone who has been outside of the business. There are many advantages to paying his fee if you decide to hire him for the sale of your home.
About the Author
Kimberly Hering
Kimberly Hering's devotion to helping people achieve their real estate goals stems from her genuine enjoyment of the process. Whatever the task, Kimberly makes it her mission to get it done, however she can, without compromising her client's needs. Often, that means thinking outside the box. After working with Kimberly, clients describe her as being Trustworthy, Creative, Patient, Highly Skilled, Attentive to the Process and having a lot of Integrity.
After spending more than 15 successful years working on Wall Street, Kimberly transitioned into Real Estate, joining Alain Pinel Realtors, then moving to Zephyr, now Corcoran Global Living, in 2018. During her career on Wall Street, Kimberly was a Vice President working as an Institutional Equity Salesperson for Montgomery Securities for 10 years. She covered the top money managers throughout the US and Canada. She joined Jefferies & Co as a Senior Vice President managing the Western Region Institutional Sales group, while continuing to cover the top money managers.
Kimberly leverages her extensive experience selling equities to top money managers throughout the US and Canada, to successfully negotiating any Real Estate transaction seamlessly for her clients. Kimberly is well versed in Marin's neighborhoods, towns, cities, and education system.
Living in the Bay Area for 35 years, 25 years in Marin and having 2 sons in local Marin schools, Kimberly spends a lot of time volunteering in the community and serving on various local Boards. Kimberly has a collection of resources ranging from the best local breakfast spots to vetted contractors. With her reliable list of valuable resources, Real Estate experience and unsurpassed knowledge of Marin's many communities, Kimberly can guide her clients through every aspect of a Real Estate transaction seamlessly.
Relocating to Marin, downsizing, upsizing, first time home buying, final home purchase or sale, or a lot to build a dream home, no matter the undertaking, Kimberly works seamlessly until the job at hand is completed with 100% satisfaction.