Investment & Financial Articles
Title: Selling your home with or without an agent? Is there a right answer?
Author: Yolanda Kennedy
Article:
There is so much discussion today about selling your home with
or without an agent and for good reason. The commission runs in
the thousands and with the stock market and job market, saving
that money is necessary. But are you making a decision that will
help or hurt your finances?
Selling your home with an agent is necessary in certain
situations. If you are not able to be objective about the sell
of your home trying to selling your home yourself may actually
cost you time and money.
If you are relocating and the home will be vacant even if family
lives close by, that is risky business. With an agent they are
responsible for the property and a good agent will go through
the home on a regular bases to make sure everything is ok. The
agent will be present during the inspections for the buyer and
can give you informed feedback about the status. In cases that
you can't get back to the state for the settlement (closing) you
can sign a limited power of attorney and the agent will sit in
your place at the closing and send you the check.
So as you see an agent may be worth the money depending on your
situation when you are ready to sell. Now if you are willing to
trade some of your time for the commission then you are in
business. In order to save money on anything you have to be
willing to go an extra step, but the rewards are great. Don't be
fooled. There is some work involved and putting your home on a
web site is only step one. You have to be willing to market your
home and market it consistently. Develop a marketing plan for
your home so as time goes on you are still keeping your home in
front of potential buyers.
Marketing your home is the key to selling it and if you have to
think about it, that is how many things are sold. There are a
few things you must decide on before you move forward with
selling your home yourself. The first thing you want to ask
yourself is, you willing to put in the time? Time is required to
make the flyers, set up your web site, take the pictures, and
return calls from buyers and agents. We are not talking about
hours but you need to set a side a few minutes daily to follow
up.
Next you have to decide what times you will make the house
available for showing, if you are or are not having an open
house and what (if any) commission you are going to pay. When
someone puts an offer in on your home you have to accept or
counter the offer. If there is a problem with any of the
inspections you will have to decide how to handle it with the
buyers. Oh wait; these are things you need to decide on with an
agent any way.
The truth is there isn't a right answer. It depends on you and
your situation but if you are willing to put some effort into
it. Can you sell your home yourself and save thousands? Yes. Is
it worth the little extra work? Yes. Will the attorney or Title
Company handling settlement for a small fee handle the seller
side also which is mostly tax and mortgage payoffs information?
Yes.
About the author:
Yolanda Kennedy is a mother, wife, friend and neighbor who
believes education is the key to building the life you want for
your family. She publishes www.UnitedHomesByOwner.com where you
can list Your Home For free and learn how to market your home
effectively. Send an email to sign up for her free newsletter at
addme@UnitedHomesByOwner.com
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