Forget DIY: Three Reasons Why You Need A Real Estate Agent When Selling Your Home

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When you are ready to sell your home to move a bigger house nearby or another part of the country, you want to make sure that you attract as many buyers as possible and present your home in the best light. If you are a do-it-yourself type who enjoys challenges, you can submit your home to a multiple listing service yourself and perform the numerous tasks required to sell a home on your own. However, you need to keep in mind that you are competing in a marketplace against real estate professionals.

Here are three reasons why you should forego trying to sell your house without the assistance of an agent, like the ones found at Sheryl Lyons Real Estate.

Realistic Pricing

The last thing you want to do is undersell when you put your house on the market. You also do not want to set the price unrealistically high and put off buyers who can get a better deal elsewhere. While you can certainly complete research on your own to find out the average selling price for a house your size in your area, there are many other factors to consider.

Real estate agents have access to a variety of tools that enable them to view market trends and take into account variables that you may be unaware of that impact pricing including:

  • The condition of your sewage system if you have a septic tank on your property
  • The quality of schools in your area based on a variety of rankings
  • Average police respond time to crimes in your neighborhood and crime trends in your area
  • Home improvements made to your house that do not comply with local building codes
  • Proximity to highways and shopping areas
  • Whether or not you live in a flood plain
  • The aesthetics of the neighborhood

Professional Photography

The better your home looks in listings, the more interest you will receive. Attempting to take good pictures with your point and shot camera is not going to cut it. A top-notch real estate agent will have a pro come out to your house to take photos that show off the best attributes of your property.

If you are selling your home on your own, you will need to hire an experienced photographer that specializes in real estate if you want images that look professional, a task that could cost you hundreds of dollars or more depending on the size of your home.

Expert Negotiation

If you love haggling and negotiation, you will not have a problem dealing with the back and forth between buyers, real estate attorneys, inspectors, contractors and your mortgage company. But if you are like a lot of people, the confrontational aspects of negotiation will make you feel uncomfortable and anxious.

Furthermore, if you do not have reliable data on your home's market value and you ask for too much or too little, your negotiations as you try to sell will not go well. When you have a real estate agent handling the sale of your house, you can dismiss all those dreadful feelings and leave the haggling up to someone who enjoys negotiation.

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26 January 2016

Prioritizing Your Wish List

After I decided to buy a new home, I realized that I probably needed to prioritize the things on my wish list. Since I am not wealthy, I realized that I probably couldn't get everything that I wanted out of a single home--at least, not this time around. Fortunately, I worked with an incredible real estate agent who helped me to figure out which type of property would pay off in the end. Finding a home took a lot of time, but I am really pleased that I found the right one. This blog is all about learning to prioritize your home hunting wish list so that you can have the home and financial situation of your dreams.