Selling Up – Estate Agent or Private Sale?

What benefits do you really get when you use the services of a professional estate agent? Why don't more people just sell their own homes? What makes it worth four percent of the sale price of my home to have someone list it for me? These are some of the questions that you may be asking yourself if you are thinking about selling your home. If you have ever experienced having an estate agent list your home, only to have it sell the first day that it is on the market, you really get an understanding for these questions. 

There are two ways to look at the above circumstance. You paid the estate agent to do very little, as they did not have to spend hours working with clients, showing the home, advertising and doing open houses, or you can take this as a positive and say that the agent did such a great job promoting your home for you that it sold immediately and the additional work saved you valuable time and money.

It is possible to sell a home yourself, but estate agents have access to the multiple listing service, which provides the information on your home to millions of people. This listing service is available primarily for estate agents to use.

You also get advertising in a variety of real estate magazines and online sources. Your home will get lots more exposure when you choose to work with an experienced and professional agent that specialises in your home market place. 

Another benefit of working with agents is that you don't have to be available twenty four seven to take inquiry phone calls, home viewings and open houses. Your time is valuable so you will want balance out how much time you are likely to spend on showing your home.

Some people have managed to sell their home successfully using only simple local newspaper listings, though this is not a common outcome. There are many ways to go about selling your home. Buyers typically prefer to work with professionals when it comes time for making offers and actually making the home purchase. If you need a fast sale then you might want to consider selling to a cash homebuying company, who can in many cases complete the sale within seven days.

With all of the pros and cons at hand, you will want to decide whether you are interested in selling your home using a variety of for sale by owner services or whether you are going to hire a professional estate agency to represent your interests. Either way the sale of your home can be a relatively painless experience. The key to succeeding no matter which direction you choose to go is a high level of preparation. Prepare your home, your marketing, your advertising, and your paperwork plan for when the inevitable offers begin to roll in. The sale of your home is a major life change, and with just a bit of forethought it can be simple and effective.