You may have many questions about the home selling process if you are in the market to sell your home. Even if you are tempted to list your home on your own, working with a real estate professional may be the better option for you. Knowing what real estate agents do will help you gain insight as to why you might hire one.
Additionally, you may want to consider hiring a Realtor, who holds a professional designation from the National Association of Realtors, Contact a Real Estate Agent to learn more.
Real Estate Agents: Why You Might Need One
A real estate agent can give you peace of mind and confidence throughout the selling process, just as you’d hire a licensed professional to do repairs to your home. These are 10 reasons why you may need a real estate agent when you are selling your house.
1. You can get help from a real estate agent with pricing your property to sell
The goal of the seller, in general, is to sell the home as quickly as possible at the best price, so they can move on to their next home. If you want your house to sell quickly, you need to ensure that your listing price is right. The value of your home is subject to a bit of subjectivity, but the homeowner often believes that he or she knows what it is worth. The real estate agent uses a more fact-based approach to determine a fair asking price for your home by pulling comparable recent home sales within a given radius.
Your real estate agent can be a valuable resource for setting a price for your home that is competitive in your area and without emotional attachment to or bias against it.
2. The company has experience in selling homes
You can gain valuable home selling knowledge that only an expert can provide, regardless of whether you have sold a home in the past or this is your first time. That does not mean tackling the process on your own is impossible. It’s a good idea to hire a professional to assist in a real estate transaction, since it’s likely to be one of your largest financial transactions.
3. The services of real estate agents are invaluable
At closing, you will be responsible for paying the commission to the agent represented by your listing. For Sale by Owner situations are largely a result of that factor alone. A few agents include some perks for their sellers at no additional costs, such as professional photography, a deep-cleaning service, staging assistance, and more. It is possible that none of these extras will cost you anything out of pocket, yet they may give your home that added edge when it comes to selling quickly.
4. You can sell your home faster with the help of real estate agents
Some sellers wonder whether home improvement projects should be tackled before listing their homes. You can get expert advice from a real estate agent before you invest a lot of money in a project that you are unsure will pay off in the long run.
5. The multiple listing service (MLS) is available only to real estate agents
There are many challenges with selling your home without a real estate agent, including the selection of the best method of distributing your listing to potential buyers. In order to get your listing in front of as many potential buyers as possible, advertising is a pay-for-play process, so selling your home on your own will require you to spend money up front.
Your home can have access to the MLS when you work with a real estate agent, which is considered to be the primary way of searching for the most current home listings by real estate agents. When buyers search for a home, they tend to focus on MLS listings.
Also read: The Best Real Estate Websites When Selling Your Home
6. A real estate agent has valuable connections
Having an agent provide access to valuable contacts in the real estate industry is another benefit of working with one. When it comes to getting the most out of your real estate agent, they can offer resources that can be superior to tackling the task alone. Your real estate agent might help you contact contractors who can fix up your house or simply share your listing with other agents in their office who may have interested buyers.
7. Their marketing services are professional
The process of marketing your home does not end with the listing. Many steps are involved. Your home is continuously marketed by real estate agents through their own websites, social media, videos, flyers, and through events like open houses or broker luncheons. Selling your home with a real estate agent may be a great idea just for that reason alone.
It is not only time-consuming to market your home yourself, but you may not have access to all of the tools that an agent has at his or her disposal.
8. A real estate agent takes the time so you do not have to
It takes a significant amount of time to sell a home, and most people lack this capability. From marketing your listing to scheduling showings and handling negotiations, managing the entire selling process will be difficult if you have a job or a family.
With a real estate agent on your side, all those things are taken care of for you, so you can focus on other things like making sure your home is in show-ready condition and finding a new place to live once your old one has sold.
9. The negotiation process is handled professionally by real estate agents
In the selling process, negotiating with potential buyers is one of the trickiest, yet most important aspects. You don’t have to relinquish any additional proceeds aside from agent commissions as a good real estate agent will negotiate professionally so your home is sold for the highest price possible. You can depend on real estate agents to look out for your best interests day in and day out since they handle negotiations every day.
10. A real estate agent can provide objective assistance
It is no secret that the purchase and sale of a home are emotional processes. The house you call home is much more than just four walls and a roof. It is a place where you have made memories and where you have taken care of your family.
A real estate agent with an objective mindset can help keep your emotions and stress at bay when you hear feedback from potential buyers – whether they dislike something about the house or yard, or maybe they like it but want a lower price – there must be a way to handle feedback from potential buyers.
When buying your next home, remember homeowners insurance when you’re on your way to selling your current home. Learn about the options you have for home insurance from Travelers. For a free home insurance quote, or to speak with your local independent agent, get started now.
Also read: How to Become a Real Estate Agent?
