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Excellence in Real Estate

Use a REALTOR(R).

Some homeowners think that selling their own home will save money and give them an advantage over the Realtor-using majority. Before you start down this complicated path, here are a few reasons why using a real estate professional is important: 1) You will be drastically limiting your exposure to potential buyers, which means it can take between 10 and 15 times longer to sell your home. Houses that take a long time to sell usually sell for less because buyers believe there must be something wrong with them. 2) Most buyers find negotiating with sellers extremely awkward, and therefore avoid For Sale By Owner situations. 3) Most buyers use a Realtor in their home search, and most buyers' agents will typically not work with FSBOs because they will not be paid. This means you will have to offer a selling commission to attract buyer's agents, which will cut into your expected "savings." 4) Lack of negotiating experience can result in a lower selling price, or worse, a bungled contract and possible lawsuits. It is probably unwise to pit your negotiating skills against those of experienced professionals. 5) If you plan to use a lawyer to help you negotiate, your lawyer's fees could be considerably higher than a Realtor's commission. Unlike Realtors, lawyers do not get paid for proactively representing your best interests or mediating delicate situations. 6) You only pay a commission to your Realtor if they successfully sell your home at a price you are happy with.

Price your home realistically.

Sales statistics show that properties that are initially priced too high eventually sell for less than properties that were correctly priced in the first place. Also, over-priced houses can take many months or even years to sell, while properly priced houses can sell in a matter of weeks. Ask me to do a CMA (certified maket anaylsis) on your property. The average or median price will likely be very close to your home's true market value.

 

When selling your home, you should select a real estate agent who can expose your property to the biggest market to ensure the fastest sale at the best possible price. Ask me about the different ways to advertise your home. Good agents like me use the MLS, national and local promotion on the Internet, yard signs, mail postcards about your property, as well as ads in various newspapers and real estate publications.

Get everything in writing.

This is especially important during any kind of contract negotiation. Verbal commitments are hard to prove after the fact, so make sure that all the small details are added to the purchase contract. If the seller says you can have the curtains, make sure the contract says so!