When many people think of selling their home, one of their first questions is whether they need a real estate agent to help with the sale. With the amount of information on the internet, it can’t be too hard to figure out the process. Plus, there are businesses out there set up purely to help vendors sell their home without an agent…
It looks like a great way to save thousands of dollars on real estate agent fees. There’s a bigger picture though, and after you’ve read this article you’ll probably know the answer to the question, “Am I actually going to save any money?”
Let’s look at the pros and cons of selling your home yourself, and whether or not it’s a way to save money. You might be surprised at what you learn below! We’ll start with the benefit you may get from taking on the sale yourself.
Benefits of Selling Your Property Yourself
When people consider the benefits of doing it by themselves, it’s always centred around cost. They want to save on paying the real estate agent’s fees, and they think that by going it alone they will get all that extra money for themselves. They see dollars flowing into their back pocket!
You may end up saving money, if you market correctly, present the house properly, negotiate like a professional and are strategic with your pricing. It’s a lot of ‘ifs’, and often people actually would have ended up with more money in their back pocket if they had gone with a real estate agent! Here’s why.
The Disadvantages of Selling Privately
When it comes to the disadvantages of taking on the property sale yourselves, there’s a fair bit to take onboard. If you don’t overcome these obstacles, chances are you won’t be saving any money selling your home. You would have been better off going with a real estate agent.
Lack of real estate knowledge and pricing strategy
Particularly if this is your first time selling a home, the real estate world can be very intimidating. There’s a whole lot of legalese to get your head around, with different acronyms and jargon to learn.
Are you able to decide on an effective pricing strategy? Do you know whether a normal sale or an auction would best suit your home? Do you have strategies in place for if the home doesn’t sell in your desired timeframe?
Real estate agents do this all day and every day, they live and breathe it – so there’s nothing that can intimidate them and nothing that they would have to spend time researching and learning about. They will be able to answer your questions.
Presenting your Home
There are ways to present your home for sale that are cost-effective and have the maximum impact on the final price. Real estate agents know what it’s worth spending money on and have all the information on the best way to present your home to entice buyers.
Here’s the thing – you’re biased towards your home and see it in a different way than others might. An estate agent brings an outside perspective that can speak to the general buying public more broadly.
No Network of Tradespeople
There will probably always be something in a property that needs fixing before it goes on the market, from new tiles to fresh paint to mulch on the garden beds. Do you have the contacts to get these jobs done at industry prices? Real estate agents have networks of tradies and suppliers that they use regularly and know will do a good job at a great price. It could save you a lot of money, especially if there’s a bunch of work to be done on your home.
No Real Estate Network
If a real estate agent simply puts your property up on the main portals like realestate.com.au and waits for buyers to come to them, you wouldn’t think they were very good. But that’s exactly what you’ll do if you sell your property privately! The difference all comes down to a personal and professional network.
A good agent will have a massive network of colleagues and professionals that know them, trust them and refer their listings to interested buyers. They’ve built this up over their years in the business, creating a good name for themselves. They will also have a big following on social media, which allows them to exponentially reach more buyers, whether local, interstate or international.
Lack of Time
One of the biggest considerations is the amount of time you have on your hands. It is a huge time commitment that can feel like a full-time job. You become project manager for the whole process – do you have the capacity to balance that with your job, family and life? Plus learn all the ins-and-outs of how to actually price, market and sell the property?
Sell with the Brisbane Real Estate Professionals
If you’re looking to sell your home and want to bypass all the disadvantages of doing it yourself, get in touch with The Henry Wong Team®. We’ve been successfully selling real estate in Brisbane for many years now and have built up a large personal and professional network in the process. We love leveraging that network to get the best price on your home, in the shortest time possible.
Any questions? Get in touch with Henry today! He’d love to chat.
