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Hiring a REALTOR® vs.
For Sale by Owner (FSBO)
What can a licensed
REALTOR® do for you that you couldn’t do as well for yourself?
REALTORS® separate
casual lookers from legitimate buyers. People who have been
told by lenders that they don’t qualify financially often continue to shop
by themselves, wasting the time of anyone willing to show them their
property.
Often, unqualified and/or uninformed buyers negotiating with a seller can
tie up a property for weeks and never consummate a sale.
REALTORS® pre-screen
potential buyers before showing them your house. This helps prevent
questionable individuals from entering your home and becoming a concern for
you and your family.
The best REALTORS®
implement an aggressive marketing program, reaching a much larger buying
public than a weekend newspaper ad is able to do. You can eliminate
the real estate broker, but you can’t eliminate those things the broker
does. Some you can do on your own; some can be done by your lawyer;
however, something may go undone until rearing its ugly head after the sale.
If selling your home on your own, make sure to
work extra closely with an attorney.
Many buyers will work
only through a REALTOR®, for they want the security of working with a
knowledgeable, professional.
REALTORS® are available
to show your home to potential buyers even when you’re not there. As a
result, you have much more free time to do the things you want to do (go on
vacation, out to dinner, etc.)
REALTORS® oversee all of
the contractual obligations related to selling real estate, including (but
not limited to) preparing necessary legal documents, providing the state
required Real Estate Condition Report, following through on home
inspections, preparing the closing documents, and reviewing city records for
potential problems that could destroy the deal. We also keep you up to
date on buyer financing progress and, in general, ensure that the entire
process doesn’t fall apart just because someone isn’t fulfilling their
contractual obligations in a timely manner.
Most FSBOs spend far
more time preparing their house for showings than they do gathering
information about it. REALTORS® understand that assembling relevant
facts and figures about the property is vital to the home selling process.
Before the house is put on the market, it is imperative to conduct a due
diligence fact-finding procedure for several reasons. First of
all, interested prospects will ask for particulars when initially viewing
the house. Second, incomplete and/or erroneous information bears high
liability for the seller.
While too much
information is better than not enough, the following is an overview of the
minimum amount of information needed:
Gather the property’s
legal description and property tax information.
Measure the square footage of the house. Square footage is livable
space – not attics, garages, most basements, etc.
Prepare a property facts
and amenities sheet. Included would be important details regarding the
property that a prospective buyer might ask for.
Prepare a Real Estate
Condition Report. For Sale By Owners are not exempt from
completing this form and providing it to potential buyers. Your lawyer
should be able to provide you with the applicable form.
Check public records to
determine if any liens or other legal actions (whether or not they are
accurate) are posted against the property. A surprise here could
prevent you from selling your house. Most title companies will
generally perform a preliminary title search upon request.
Gather information
regarding your current homeowner’s insurance policy to identify flood plain
and/or wet land information that might make your property difficult to sell.
Gathering the facts you
need can make a big difference in the quality of buyer that you attract, how
quickly the sale closes, as well as the net proceeds gained from the sale.
The slogan “information is power” can make the difference between getting
what you want, and taking what you’ll get, as a seller.
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