Are you thinking of saving on the Realtor commissions and listing your home yourself in Lawrence, MA? While many homeowners are successful in their endeavors, it doesn’t come without its risks and costs. Yes, you’ll save money on commissions, but there’s something to be said about the time and effort you have to put in yourself that takes away from the financial savings.
Check out the top reasons you may not want to sell your home in Lawrence, Massachusetts on your own.
It’s All on You
This is huge. A realtor takes over all of the hard work of selling a home. All you have to do is declutter and stage your home – the realtor does this rest. This includes pricing the home, listing it, marketing it, handling the negotiations and paperwork, and getting the sale to closing.
When you sell your home on your own, guess who does all of this? Yes, it’s you. That’s a lot of responsibility, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. What if you price the home wrong? What if you don’t market it enough? What if you freak out during negotiations? Suddenly that commission doesn’t seem so bad, right?
Advertising Costs Money
Today just sticking a sign in the ground isn’t enough – your home won’t sell, trust us. You have to market it and marketing costs money. Without a realtor advertising your home for you, it’s up to you to find affordable advertising methods. But affordable may mean not effective, so be careful. Look at all of your options and choose the methods that you can afford, but also that will sell your home. There’s no sense in throwing the money out there if the methods won’t help.
You Have to Show the Home Yourself
When you use a realtor, you don’t have to be home during the showings. In fact, you shouldn’t be home. All you have to do is make sure the home is clean and the realtor handles the rest. When you sell on your own, you have to make the appointments and be available. This means pretty much giving up your life for the next few months while you wait for the right buyer to walk through. If you turn buyers away, you may turn away the one person that would have bought your home.
It Takes Longer
There’s something to be said about a professional managing your sale for you. Not only will the home have more exposure, but there’s just more clout that comes with a home that has a realtor’s endorsement behind it.
When you sell on your own, your home may not be as visible. Most buyers use realtors because it doesn’t cost them anything. They know the realtor will filter the potential sales out for them, showing them only the homes that really suit their needs. Buyers want to save time just like you do, so using a realtor just makes sense. When you sell on your own, you won’t get the same exposure or traffic, which means you may sit on your home for a few months before selling it.
It’s Scary
Let’s face it – selling your home on your own puts a lot of legal responsibility on you. In fact, you can’t do it completely on your own. You need an attorney and escrow agent and this costs money. While you’ll need these professionals whether you sell on your own or not, you can decrease the services you pay for when you have a realtor because they know your legal requirements.
If you’re sitting there thinking that you don’t want to pay a realtor, yet you can’t handle the stress of selling your home on your own in Lawrence, MA, we have another option for you. Consider a cash home buyer that buys your house as-is. You don’t have to worry about repairs, inspections, negotiations, or sitting on the market for a long time. We offer cash for your home, as-is and can close in less than a week. You get your cake and eat it too – saving money on real estate commissions, but avoiding the headaches of selling your home on your own.