Decided to sell, What now?

So, you have decided to sell your home, what do you do now? The conventional wisdom says to hire a real estate agent, but who wants to pay the commission. After all, these real estate agents are overcharging commissions and anyone can do their job; even you. Am I right?

So, now that you have decided to sell by yourself, what is the next step? First, you will want to get a yard sign so your neighbors will know that you are selling your home. 51% of all For Sale By Owners use yard signs. You can go to the local Home Depot or Lowes Hardware to get these signs for next to nothing. You place the sign and wait for the phone calls to come. You are now selling your home and there is no turning back, am I right?

But wait, there is more to do. What will you price your home? Your neighbor down the street tells you that they got a certain price for their home, so you think you can at least get that if not 10-15% more. After all, your home is much better and you paid more for it. So, you have the price and the sign, time to advertise. BUT WHERE DO YOU ADVERTISE?

Conventional wisdom again tells you that you need to advertise in the local newspaper. After all, 31% of all For Sale By Owners advertise in newspapers and 55% of home buyers use the newspaper to find a home. So, you have this in place, what now?

The next step is to schedule your first Open House. How exciting(not if you have done as many as I have)? 29% of For Sale By Owners conduct open houses on their home. Even though only 1/2 of 1% of homes sell via a open house, it sounds exciting and like something that will definitely sell your home. After all, you have seen those TV shows where 3 offers came in after a single open house, right? This must be the perfect way to sell your home. Not really and not in this market.

Finally, you decide to list your home on the Internet to sell it. You advertise on Craig's List, E-bay, and even design your own website for your home, yet it still doesn't sell. What is wrong with this picture?

Did you know, that around 80% of all For Sale By Owners will list with an agent for one reason of another. The 2 most difficult task for For Sale By Owners according to NAR is Preparing the home/fixing it up for sale (18%) and Understanding the paperwork (11%). Finding a buyer and having enough time to devote to the sales process come in the next 2 spots with each 9% each.

What does all this mean? It means that selling a home is more complicated than simply placing a sign in your yard. With technology the way it is, it is nearly impossible to get your home marketed in a way that will gain maximum exposure. I know you are asking yourself that you don't need maximum exposure, just 1 buyer. This is very true, but the more interest you have in your home, the more money you will get for it. It is as simple as supply and demand. The more demand for a product(your home); the greater the supply(price) for your home.

In conclusion, it is a known fact that at least 90% of all homes sold are due to a real estate agent. So, that means that fewer than 10% of all homes sold are due to a For Sale By Owner. Additionally, the most popular website for real estate search is Realtor.com, where 82% of home buyers use this site more than any other site. So, it just begs the answer that Realtors get the most money for your home than you could on your own. In fact, NAR reported that the typical For Sale By Owner home sold for $187,200 compared to $247,000 for agent-assisted home sales. If you do the math, that is 16% more with an agent and thus, you are not saving the commission of 6-7%, but rather losing 9-10% of money you could have earned on your home. In addition, as the market continues to tighten up, it is going to make it even more difficult to sell by yourself since most buyers who look at For Sale By Owners are looking for a great deal. The figures speak for themselves that this is where the good deals can be found. Can you not afford to use an agent?