Using a Real Estate Agent vs. Selling Privately

The first question a home seller must ask themselves is how do you plan to sell your home. Will you use the services of a realtor or try selling your home on your own? Both options have their pros and cons and should be thoroughly considered before deciding which method to use when selling your home.

Using a Real Estate Agent

Most people use a real estate agent to sell their home. The professional service of a Realtor allows the seller to be secure that their home is being well marketed to potential buyers. The realtor will advertise your home in all the media they have access to such as MLS listings, newspapers, their own website, and other places. Plus the realtor always has buyers contacting them to help find the home they want. Realtor.org is a great resource to find out all of what a professional Realtor provides to buyers and sellers.

The real estate agent will also be very well versed in the formalities and paperwork involved in a real estate transaction. This is not a difficult matter for a private seller to deal with on their own but it can be intimidating and could become a legal disaster if handled improperly.

The one drawback of using the professional services of a realtor is the cost. Real estate agencies charge a commission on the sale price of the home. This can amount to many thousands of dollars (often tens of thousands) and is often the prime motivator for home sellers to attempt a private sale.

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Selling Privately

Selling your home privately is an option worth consideration. It can be a very rewarding experience to sell your largest asset by yourself. The minor difficulties of the paperwork can be largely guided by your lawyer. Some realtors even offer a low fixed rate service to handle the paperwork for you, though it is still up to you to find the buyer.

Selling privately will save you from spending those commissions to a realtor, but it will still cost you some money. Though not that much. You should advertise your home for sale in local newspaper classifieds and buy and sell publications. Purchase "For Sale" signs and place them in front of your property. Hold an open house and have some "Open House" signs located at major intersections on the way to your home. This will drive some traffic to your home. If you are selling a very unique and high quality home, consider a local radio advertisement that runs throughout the day of your open house. This may cost anywhere from $500 to $1000 but can be well worth it. RealtyTree.ca has a more detailed article on how to sell your house privately.

In a very active housing market selling privately is much easier than when the market is slow. With many buyers looking for homes in a hot real estate market the seller is in a very good position and the services of a realtor are not necessary. When the real estate market is slow it becomes more difficult to find buyers and the services of a realtor may be the only reasonable way to make a sale, otherwise selling your own home could take a very long time.

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