Should You Attempt to Sell Your Home Without a Realtor?

When you’re preparing to put your house on the market, you’ve probably had a lot of people give you advice on what you should do from the home improvements that you should make to the kind of realtor that you should use in order to help you house to sell.

But who’s to say that you actually need a realtor to help you to sell your home? After all, we’ve all driven in neighborhoods before that have had “for sale” signs in the yard that mention that the house is being sold by the owner rather than a real estate company. Plus, you probably know someone who has successfully gone that route before too.

So, before you call up a real estate agent to handle the sale of your home for you, we wanted to provide you with some pros and cons of selling your house without a realtor. We’ll go with the pros first.

The Pros of Not Using a Realtor

Although using a realtor to sell your house is a pretty popular way to go, that doesn’t mean that going without one doesn’t have some significant benefits. For one thing, when you use a realtor, you have to give them a cut off of the sale of the house. So obviously one of the best things about selling a house yourself is that you are able to keep all of the money from the sale in your own pocket. Another reason why it can prove to be a smart decision is the fact that the negotiating process between a homeowner and a prospective buyer can oftentimes go more smoothly when a realtor is not the “middleman”. When it comes to things like home repairs or move-in dates, neither side has to wait on an update from the realtor. They can communicate directly.

The Cons of Not Using a Realtor

Of course, if not having a realtor was really that simple, most people would probably do it, right? That’s why it’s also a good idea to factor in the disadvantages that come with selling your house without their professional expertise. For one thing, oftentimes people who put their house on the market without a realtor end up underestimating just how much their home is actually worth; sometimes by as much as 30-40 percent. Another reason why you might want to use a realtor is because they are trained in how to deal with the financial and legal aspects of real estate. There are more than a few people who have sold their house without a realtor who will tell you that they found themselves in some legal hot water as a direct result. And finally, if you were to ask a company like Manufactured Selling Solutions who sells manufactured homes, they would probably tell you that another challenge that comes with not using a realtor is the fact that you can end up losing a sale if you don’t have the time to do the house showings and field all of the calls and email inquiries about your house.

So, as you’re trying to decide whether it’s best to hire a realtor or to sell your house on your own, be sure to take all of these things into consideration. Make sure to go with the option that won’t just make you the most money, but will ultimately make the process go more smoothly for you as well. Good luck!