Are you thinking about selling your home on your own? Below are 5 good reasons from the KCM Blog NOT to sell on your own. We know it comes down to value & protection. A Lawyers Realty agent will guide you through the complicated process and use all the tools available today to find most qualified buyers in the shortest amount of time in order to get the best market price for your home!
Here are five of our reasons:
Here is a list of some of the people with whom you must be prepared to negotiate if you decide to FSBO.
Recent studies have shown that 92% of buyers search online for a home. That is in comparison to only 28% looking at print newspaper ads. Most real estate agents have an extensive internet strategy to promote the sale of your home. Do you?
Where do buyers find the home they actually purchased?
The days of selling your house by just putting up a sign and putting it in the paper are long gone. Having a strong internet strategy is crucial.
The paperwork involved in selling and buying a home has increased dramatically as industry disclosures and regulations have become mandatory. This is one of the reasons that the percentage of people FSBOing has dropped from 19% to 9% over the last 20+ years.
Many homeowners believe that they will save the real estate commission by selling on their own. Realize that the main reason buyers look at FSBOs is because they also believe they can save the real commission. The seller and buyer can't both save the same commission.
Studies have shown that the typical house sold by the homeowner sells for $184,000 while the typical house sold by an agent sells for $230,000. This doesn't mean that an agent can get $46,000 more for your home as studies have shown that people are more likely to FSBO in markets with lower price points. However, it does show that selling on your own might not make sense.
Before you decide to take on the challenges of selling your house on your own, sit with a real estate professional in your marketplace and see what they have to offer.
"Few households are interested in borrowing money to buy stocks and bonds and few lenders are willing to lend them the money. As a result, homeownership allows households to amplify any appreciation on the value of their homes by a leverage factor. Even a hefty 20 percent down payment results in a leverage factor of five so that every percentage point rise in the value of the home is a 5 percent return on their equity. With many buyers putting 10 percent or less down, their leverage factor is 10 or more."
"Homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord."
"Since many people have trouble saving and have to make a housing payment one way or the other, owning a home can overcome people's tendency to defer savings to another day."
"Homeowners are able to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from income...On top of all this, capital gains up to $250,000 are excluded from income for single filers and up to $500,000 for married couples if they sell their homes for a gain."
"Housing costs and rents have tended over most time periods to go up at or higher than the rate of inflation, making owning an attractive proposition."
If you are considering purchasing a home, contact a Lawyers Realty Agent today to learn about the home buying process and representation that protects your interests. 717-364-3000