Benefits of Hiring a Realtor to Sell your Home

The process of selling a home can be overwhelming.  A full time, real estate professional is familiar with the process.   First you need to contact an agent to get an idea of the listing price of the home.  A comparative market analysis (CMA) is performed to give an estimated listing price.   You can also have a professional appraisal done, however if there are things that need to be fixed, repaired or touched up, this will not give you the price you would list at if those things were accomplished.

Then you will need to go through your home to prepare to list.  People live in their homes, therefore they are normally not in showing condition on a daily basis.  This is where we as real estate professionals come in.  We can go through your home with you to educate you on what needs to be painted, rearranged, repaired and touched up.   Please also see the page on pre-inspections for home sellers as this can be extremely helpful to know what is underlying that needs to be repaired or replaced.   A professional real estate agent will tell you what you need to hear to prepare your home for sale, not what you want to hear.

A real estate transaction can be complicated.  There are many forms that need to be filled out to list the home properly.  This is one of the biggest investments you have so it is important you are protected and informed.  An attorney is an important contact to make to ensure your home is deeded properly to the next owner and you are not liable to it in the future.  They will also protect you on the correct amounts you owe and are owed.  A knowledgeable guide through this complexity can help you avoid delays or costly mistakes.

The process of selling a home can be time consuming and emotional.  You may have many memories or favorite features that unfortunately may not be important to a buyer.  Realtors can provide objectivity.  Since a home symbolizes family, rest and security, selling a home can be very emotional in many ways. 

The marketing aspect can be costly and time consuming.  We have access to websites and marketing through our affiliations and profession that public does not.  This is due to memberships and holding our license.  It is important to have the most up to date marketing.  It is also important to realize we do not just place the home on the system and stick a sign in the yard.  The appropriate paperwork needs to be filled out, entered into the main system.  Top agents will enter it into many other websites.   Producing the marketing materials such as flyers, placing it in the home books, and tracking leads/traffic can be an ongoing task.  A true professional Realtor will market your home to buyers, other realtors and everyone they can.  It is a full time job that demands attention and organization.

Full time, professional Realtors are prepared to keep an eye on the market and can watch the competition.  Remember we have access through our Multiple Listing Service that allows us to have knowledge of all listed properties, no matter which company has the property listed.  We see what is called a “hotsheet” everyday in our email box.  This shows us the activity for new listings, price changes, closed homes, etc.  The full time professional will keep an eye on this more than just once a day, as our system updates when activity happens.

Another great reason to choose a full time real estate profession to sell your home is we have done it before.  Most people will buy and sell only a few homes in a lifetime, and usually with a few years in between.  Laws and regulations change constantly and Realtors are mandated to keep their education and knowledge current to keep their license.  That is why having an experienced agent that knows all of the elements involved will be of great value.