After you have decided to sell your home, the first decision you will probably make is whether or not to hire a real estate agent to assist you with the sale.For those who try to sell their houses privately, the most common reason is they believe they will end up with more money in their pockets after the sale if they don’t have to pay a real estate agent any commission, which can range between 3% and 6% of the selling price.However, most people do sell their homes with the help of a real estate agent because there are several potential disadvantages of selling privately:
Potential Disadvantages of Selling Privately:
You may have to spend a lot of time and resources marketing your home by yourself.You will be responsible for arranging all advertisings and conducting all showings and negotiations with potential buyers.
It is usually harder to get as high a price when selling privately as you could get by listing with a real estate agent.
Potential buyers may not be as open with you about their concerns as they would be with a real estate agent.Potential buyers’ issues affecting the marketability of your home may remain ignored.
It usually takes longer to sell a home privately than it would take by listing with a real estate agent.
If you are not using an agent, buyers tend to want a “discount” off the selling price because they know that you will not have to pay real estate commissions.
If a potential buyer uses an agent, you may end up having to pay that agent a real estate commission anyways.
