Pros and Cons of Selling a House With and Without a Real Estate Agent

Selling a house can be a pretty challenging task. There are many things to take care of, such as googling things like “garage door installers near me” and replacing your garage door in order to raise the listing price. However, the most important decision you will probably need to make is whether or not to hire a real estate agent.

As with every important decision, you have to consider the pros and cons. On the one hand, a realtor can help you sell your property faster and at a better price. On the other hand, they will require you to pay a commission, which can be quite costly.

That is not all, though. The list of advantages and disadvantages of a realtor taking care of your selling process is much longer – and that is what we will talk about in this article!

Advantages of Hiring a Real Estate Agent

Hiring a real estate agent has quite a few advantages, such as making the process of selling a house a whole lot less time-consuming. Do you want to know what these advantages are? Then keep reading!

They Will Research the Market

The first thing that a good realtor will do is research the market and come up with an asking price for your home. This is a task you could try doing yourself, but it is time-consuming, and you may end up underpricing or overpricing your house.

They Will Take Care of Marketing

Did you know that a realtor can market and expose your property to thousands of potential buyers? After all, they can use their connections and resources to make sure that your home gets maximum exposure.

They Will Handle Negotiations

Another advantage of hiring a realtor is that they often have the experience and knowledge of what it takes to negotiate with potential buyers. Although there are many online resources that talk about how to negotiate, there is no substitute for decades of experience.

They Will Help with the Paperwork

When it comes to paperwork, an experienced realtor can be helpful in many ways. First of all, they can make sure that the documents are prepared correctly and filed on time. Second of all, they will be there to help at closing and handle the payment process.

Disadvantages of Hiring a Real Estate Agent

On the other hand, hiring a real estate agent does have quite a few disadvantages. If you want to be fully aware of what you are getting into, then it would be best if you looked into what these disadvantages are. Taking a look at the rest of this article should help you with that!

They Charge a Commission

One of the biggest disadvantages of using a realtor is that they charge a commission. It may not seem like much, but it can add up very quickly. For example, if your home sells for about $450,000, you could end up paying $14,500 in commissions.

They Have Their Own Agenda

If you want to hire a realtor, you need to bear in mind that they may have their own agenda. For example, if they think that your property could sell for more money if it had a new kitchen or a second bathroom, then they may push for this in spite of the fact that you may not want to spend the money on such things.

You May Lose the Option to Negotiate

Once you hire a realtor, you may lose the option to negotiate with potential buyers. As an experienced professional, they might insist on handling that task on your behalf. Because of that, if your realtor is not a great negotiator, you might miss out on a lot of money.

Tips for Hiring a Realtor

After reading about the pros and cons of hiring a realtor, you have to decide if it is worth it. If you think that it is going to end up being very beneficial, there are a few things you should ask the agent about before hiring them. Here is a list of potential questions!

How Do You Price a Home?

Do you know how realtors price homes? If not, here is how it is done. First, they check the prices of the properties in the area that were sold in the past couple of months. After they are done, they will take the ones that are similar to yours when it comes to their size, condition, and location. Then, they will calculate the average price based on what the buyers paid for these properties.

However, if your home is older than the other homes in the area and they choose to refer to the most recent sales, it might end up being overpriced or underpriced. To prevent that from happening, the agent will try to calculate the value of the property based solely on its main features, such as the number of rooms or the presence of a swimming pool.

Do You Have Experience Selling Homes Like Mine?

If you live in an area where there are many waterfront homes or historic properties, then it would be wise to find out if they have experience selling similar homes. If they do not, then it might be a good idea to hire someone else who has sold homes like yours.

After all, if they do not have that experience, then they will not know how to market them properly and how to effectively negotiate with potential buyers. As a result, you might miss out on large sums of money or be unable to sell your property in a timely manner.

In Conclusion

Hiring a real estate agent has its advantages. For example, they might help you handle the negotiations and take care of the paperwork. However, it does have its disadvantages, too. You might end up missing out on a large sum of money because of the commission and lose the option to negotiate, among other things.

In the end, making the final decision is up to you. If you want to sell the house as soon as possible and you are keen on paying for it, then hiring a real estate agent will probably be the better option.