Alright, here you are - on the precipice of some life-changing event, and you need to sell your house. You have the important choice of whether or not to use a realtor. It's not necessarily an easy choice, but there are some factors to consider that might sway you in one direction or the other.
Let's look at Pro's and Con's
Realtor Pro's:
-They pretty much handle the transaction for you. Selling is a daunting task. There's a mountain of paperwork to go through at the closing table, and several hurdles to get you there. They are with you every step of the way and talk you through those hurdles.
-They market the house for you. They list the house on the ever-mysterious MLS, where all the other agents can see it. Then they field all of the calls, let you know when someone is interested, and coordinate showings and open houses through you.
-They can get you the highest value for your house - at least for that moment on the market. Because the house is listed on the MLS, people who are serious and will spend more money for the streamlined experience will likely offer closer to listing price. Then if you have more than one potential buyer you can (hopefully) negotiate the price higher between them.
Realtor Con's:
-The fees. With agents involved in Colorado you can lose as much as 2.7 to 5.3% of the purchase price in fees. If you only work with a selling agent then they may take 2.7%. But then if you have a selling agent and a buying agent, that practically doubles. That's a pretty good chunk, which is a great reason realtors work so hard for you. You can also list with a Redfin agent for 1.5 to 2.5% depending on which package you choose. If you have little or no equity in your home these might not be feasible.
-The staging. Since the open houses are supposed to lure interested buyers, and the showings are supposed to seal the deal - the house should be inviting, clean, and uncluttered. Agents will recommend that personal items are removed, and that the house is professionally cleaned, and the online photos updated. Unfortunately, that means more funds for the cleaner and the photographer.
-The repairs. If you've ever bought or sold a house, you're probably familiar with the negotiation process. When the buyer orders an inspection the results will show the discrepancies - some big, and some small. The buyer might let the items go unfixed and ask you to lower the price. But the buyer could also just ask that you fix some things on the list. You could try to save money, and fix them through DIY projects. Otherwise, you could hire a handyman or a contractor.
Without A Realtor Pro's:
-(Lack of) Fees. When you cut out the realtor you cut out the fees, or at least a lot of them. You can list to sell yourself on sites like Zillow and Realtor.com with just an account. Sites like FSBO let you list your property for about $100, and post it on the MLS for about $400. Some people even have success posting on Facebook marketplace. Then others sell to real estate investors who want to offer cash for their house, and help to get through the process quickly. You can run a Google search for cash buyers, and request an offer through their website (cough, cough). Again, if you have little or no equity in the home this might be for you. We'll talk about creative financing in another post.
-(Lack of) Staging. Having a cleaner house is preferable for listing. But, people understand that when you want to sell a house quickly the decluttering process isn't your top priority. In that case you're probably in the process of moving and have boxes all over the place. The people that would look for an owner-listed house wouldn't expect the home to be spotless.
-(Lack of) Repairs. Along the same lines as cleanliness, anyone looking for owner-listed homes is probably ready to take on some maintenance. They're expecting to see a house that needs a little love and a little work. They'll likely take the house as-is and expect to get the work done at a fair rate or do it themselves. They can see the bones of the house and develop a plan for a facelift.
Without A Realtor Con's:
-Handling your own negotiations. Since you don't have agents trying to get you the best price possible it's up to you to do your own negotiating. Some investors will call, text, or email to make offers, and some you find through a website. It's up to you to decide if the person on the phone is pitching an offer that's agreeable to you. There are a lot of investors that like to reach out. You will receive a lot of messages. If you don't like the offers you have to be very good at saying no.
-Less marketing. Unless you pay for the MLS package, your home will only reach a select audience. You have to do the work to put your listing on different platforms and reach out to potential buyers that you find through those Google searches.
There you have it. There's good and less good down each path. I hope you found this even a tiny bit helpful in making your choice. Happy selling.
