AGENTS GREASE THE WHEELS OF REAL ESTATE SALES Posted on July 27, 2013 by Ozee AJC 28 JUL 2013 AGENTS GREASE THE WHEELS OF REAL ESTATE SALES Most Transactions Hit Bumps On The Road To Settlement by John Adams Recently, I was contacted by a reader who suggested that I write a column focused on how to sell a home and avoid paying a fee to a real estate broker. Their reasoning was that, with the market improving, a seller should be able to advertise their own property, and negotiate the sale of their home without the added expense of an agent. OK, here goes: Provided you are willing to perform the following functions: * remodel and prepare the home so that it shows to maximum advantage * design a web presence that will reach a worldwide audience * prepare a flier and marketing package to hand to visitors * hold open houses inviting strangers into your home * be prepared to wait for full market exposure * accept and evaluate offers unemotionally * respond quickly and constructively to complicated legal contracts * accept and legally hold earnest money * overcome (or satisfy) inspector concerns * overcome buyer’s loan challenges * overcome lowball appraisals * overcome inevitable “buyer’s remorse” * satisfy all contract contingencies * work with buyer’s closing attorney, and * overcome emotional settlement procedure then I suspect you will be able to sell your own home successfully without the assistance of a real estate professional. Know that the above is just a partial list. As a real estate broker, I have personally encountered all of the above and many more obstacles to a successful transaction, and many more. It’s simply a complicated process, with many potential potholes. Just as an example, it is not unusual for a buyer today to be pre-approved for their loan only if they are able to sell their existing home. And unfortunately, that sale is totally outside of your control. To make matters even more complicated, they may find a buyer for their home who is trying to sell another house somewhere else, meaning you are at the end of a string of contingency contracts. The failure of any sale in the chain can cause the whole series of transactions to collapse. And that’s just one example. In today’s market, perhaps the biggest challenge facing sellers is the appraisal. Remember that the appraiser doesn’t work for you or for the buyer, but for the lender. And under current rules, the lender may not select a specific appraiser. Instead, the lender must hire a firm that will assign an appraiser to the transaction. No one can even communicate with the appraiser. The problem with this procedure is that the appraiser may never before have seen your neighborhood or even your side of metro Atlanta. They may be totally unfamiliar with the features and benefits of your community. In such a case, it’s up to the seller to educate and persuade the appraiser. Finally, one of the thorniest problems with selling yourself is that most of us are only involved in a real estate transaction once every seven or ten years. And I assure you that the market of seven or ten years ago was very, very different from the market today. In fact, the market has turned upside down in just the last 18 months – it moves that fast. Don’t get me wrong. It is entirely possible for a seller to put a “for sale” sign in their front yard, find a buyer with plenty of cash, and sell their home quickly without a hitch. It is possible – but unlikely. The good news is this: In today’s real estate marketplace, the seller can choose the level of service they want from brokers willing to offer a cafeteria of real estate services at differing cost levels. If you want and need a full service real estate broker, we are blessed with a wide selection from which to choose. And if you decide you want assistance in only certain areas of the transaction, many brokers now will offer you just the package of services you need. It is important to remember that real estate commissions are always independently negotiated between the principal (most often the seller) and the broker. Brokers are free to set minimum fees for their services, and agents licensed with that broker must adhere to those rules. That being said, there are plenty of brokers who have “unbundled” the traditional full service package if you choose to follow that route. All this assumes your primary goal is to get your house sold. I once encountered a seller who told me that it was more important to him to avoid paying any commission than it was to get his house sold. If that is your situation, please disregard all of the above. But if your actual goal is to sell your house for the best possible price in the shortest possible time, my advice is to call a real estate professional. This entry was posted in AJC Articles by Ozee. Bookmark the permalink. ONE THOUGHT ON “AGENTS GREASE THE WHEELS OF REAL ESTATE SALES”
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 21:22:49 +0000
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