You can, if you choose, sell your house on your own – many people do. You’ll save the thousands of dollars you’d pay out for the agent’s commission, but is it really the best way? Would you ultimately make more money on the sale using an agent? If you’re not sure, consider these 7 ways hiring an agent is better than selling your house on your own in Ventura County.
1. Won’t Have to Learn New Stuff
If you’re a first-time home seller, you will likely have to learn all about conducting real estate transactions, with all the legalities, in order to do it successfully. And that means a lot of time and effort invested. But an agent already knows all this and has experience. With respect to mental effort, then, selling your house on your own in Ventura County may cost more.
2. Won’t Have to Handle Marketing
When you put your house on the market, you are entering a competitive arena with lots of other (often very stiff) competition. And this means that just sticking a for-sale sign in the front yard won’t cut it. You will do a bunch of other (often highly creative) marketing – if, that is, selling your house on your own is the goal. If you hire an agent, though, she will handle all those marketing tasks for you.
3. Won’t Have to Screen Buyers
A few buyers will be serious and motivated, but many more will be mere tire kickers. Do you really want to spend all those hours showing your home to all those people who really have no intention of buying? A good agent will screen buyers for you and separate the serious from the frivolous.
4. Will Get Pricing Guidance
Pricing correctly is probably your most effective marketing and sales tool. But if you’re selling your house on your own, you’ll have to study up on pricing and figure out how to price strategically. Both pricing too high and pricing too low can be just as deadly for a sale. When it comes to pricing, hiring an agent is better than selling your house on your own in Ventura County.
5. Will Get the Benefit of Market-Conditions Knowledge
Your agent will have her finger on the market’s pulse, keeping up with market fluctuations and what that means for pricing and marketing strategy. If selling your house on your own is your goal, you will have to dive into the average cost per square foot of similar houses, median and average sales prices, average days on the market, and list-to-sold price ratios. Or you can just let your agent deal with all that.
6. Will Get Negotiation Skills
One of the main reasons hiring an agent is better than selling your house on your own in Ventura County is that your agent will have tested negotiating skills. When you get an offer, that’s not necessarily the end of it. There will be a lot back-and-forth concerning price, repairs, and concessions. A good agent will know how to get you the best deal at this stage.
7. Won’t Have to Deal with the Mountain of Paperwork
A real estate deal is built on paperwork – lots and lots of it. Without an agent, you have to deal with all that paperwork on your own. And some of it, if handled incorrectly, can have enormously costly legal consequences. So do you want to risk that, or would rather hire an agent who knows what she is doing?
It should be apparent, then, that hiring an agent is better than selling your house on your own in Ventura County. It is easier and is likely to get you a better sale price. If that’s what you want, just contact us today! 805-232-8503