Toni Arney

What’s the most important benefit of selling your home without a professional Realtor? It usually comes down to one main reason – Profit. However, the thing most people don’t understand is that the seller is not paying an individual agent the full commission just for “selling your home.” The commission is split between the services of the Broker, the selling agent, the marketing and the buyers agent. These are the very things that get your home sold quickly!

The National Association of Realtors has determined that on average, homes sold “For Sale by Owner” sell for less money than those listed with a Realtor. Often times the seller does not price their home correctly. Also buyers feel that a seller that is avoiding paying real estate commissions should take the difference off the price. So, you likely won’t walk away with any more than if you had used a Realtor, and yet you will have paid for everything out of pocket and suffered the inconvenience of scheduling, showing and verifying the qualifications of each and every potential buyer.

If you want to lower your risk, you need to hire a Realtor. When you have a Realtor as an advocate, you share the risk of the transaction with your agent. Otherwise, it’s buyer and seller beware! Incredibly, many states do not have laws or regulatory bodies in place that protect homebuyers in many situations. If you have a Realtor as your advocate, that person will guide you to buying or selling a home that is safe, environmentally sound and priced fairly according to the current marketplace. By hiring a Realtor you are lowering your risk of ending up in court. Did you know that there is a day set aside at the Johnson County Court House to hear real estate court proceedings?

Realtors work for you at their own risk. Can you name another profession that will work for you on a contingency basis? Even attorneys charge by the hour. You don’t pay for any services up front with a Realtor because agents are paid at closing through lender proceeds. When you think about it, that’s an incredible endorsement that a lender is willing to finance your brokerage fees. That means you and the seller have no out-of-pocket expenses. Therefore, it’s in your agent’s best interest to work quickly, diligently, and use all resources to help you meet your goals, or there is no payday. But don’t be surprised if your agent asks for a commitment from you in the form of a contract. Wouldn’t you do the same if your time and money were on the line?

Realtors understand the market. Real estate professionals have invaluable resources that translate into experience which cannot be learned overnight. Rising and falling interest rates affect the number of available homes and thus the number of potential buyers and sellers. All it takes is changes in the existence of a major employer, and hundreds of homes in a neighborhood can be affected. As neighborhood experts, experienced brokers and agents will help you with buying and selling strategies and proposals that will get you the best price and terms.

Realtors know the inventory. Do you want to find a home quickly? With a Realtor by your side over four-fifths of existing homes in the United States are represented by real estate brokers. So are 70 percent of new home builders and their products, according to NewHomeNetwork.com Realtors cooperate with each other through an organization called the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that allows them to share their current inventory with each other. Your agent can also show you homes outside of the MLS inventory, including “For Sale by Owner” homes, new builder homes, and even expired listings and soon to be on the market. Again, Realtors have information and resources you don’t have.

Realtors understand difficult transactions. Less than a decade ago, a home could be bought with a simple two page contract. Now transactions are much more complicated and require seller’s disclosures, environmental and structural reports, survey report and various other documents that have turned a transaction into a legal minefield. Realtors work with contracts every day and can interpret which points are harmful and/or beneficial to you. If you found out a neighbor to the house you are buying is building a new fence, would you know to request a survey to ensure that the new fence doesn’t encroach on your new property? Would you know which survey companies were more reliable than others?

Realtors work for you and your best interest. Buyers and sellers are natural adversaries. You want to buy for the least price, and the seller wants the most. Agents are skilled negotiators to keep many heated issues from getting in the way of a fair deal on both sides.

Thanks in part to Realtors, more than 67 percent of the population are enjoying the benefits of owning a home. So keep in mind that every time you put a Realtor to work, you are working to keep your homeowner benefits in place. So, save yourself from a legal minefield and hire a professional Realtor!