Why You Should Use a REALTOR® to Sell Your Home

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Real Estate

With advances in technology making resources readily available online, many people find themselves wondering, when the time comes, if they should just sell their home themselves with no involvement from a REALTOR®. These sales are called "for sale by owner" (FSBO), and represented only 8% of sales for the past 2 years in a row per NAR. There's a reason that percentage is so low, and why the majority of sellers choose to enlist the help of a licensed professional. See below for our reasons on why you absolutely should use a REALTOR® when you want to sell your home!

They will price it right from the start. Many people put sentimental value into their home, which unfortunately doesn't translate well when trying to price it to sell. A REALTOR® will price your home based on similar home sales in the same area, and will suggest fair pricing that will make it less likely that the home will sit on the market with no offers due to being overpriced.

They will handle the paperwork. Between disclosures, contracts, and legal documents, there is a lot of paperwork that goes with selling a home. Some documents, like the seller's disclosure, are not allowed to be filled out by your agent, but they are still a great resource to answer any questions you may have while filling them out. Agents will also be the ones to read through offers/contracts and determine if anything was filled out incorrectly or needs to be amended before it can be signed.

They will market it better. Some of the most powerful real estate marketing tools are only accessible to REALTORS®. For instance, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a conglomerate system that contains information on thousands of listings and allows for specific search criteria to aid buyers in finding exactly what they're looking for. Agents will also know what form of advertising will work best to sell your particular home, whether it be traditional print, digital, and so on. Successful transactions, more often that not, are due to REALTORS®  being well connected and having contacts in the business. Often, they will let other agents know directly about the listing, leading to a "co-op" sale in which an interested buyer is brought in by another agent. This results to a win-win for everyone!

Considering selling a home in the Austin areaContact us today for expert advice on Austin real estate.