Are you trying to sell your property by yourself?

by Jill Gargus

Selling your property on your own may seem like financial sense these days, but in the end may cost you more money than if you had called a professional real estate agent. Your Days On Market (DOM) will be much longer due to lack of exposure, resulting in larger carrying costs of utilities, taxes, mortgage payments, maintenance and possibly more than one property to carry. Not to mention your time lines being interrupted if you have to move by a certain date.

Real Estate Agents are trained to know the in's and out's and watch out for issues that may not be in your best interest. They understand the market better than anyone because they are in it everyday. As well, they have a large network of information and resources at their fingertips to assist you in the selling process.

But more than that, "days on market" have changed for sellers, where it used to be 1-30 days, it's now 60, 90 or more. And to make matters worse, the DOM for selling it yourself can be much longer. Exposure through the http://www.realtor.ca system is KEY to getting you an advantage over the DOM and put you in front of your potential buyer's eyes. Agents can expose your home to more buyers than you can alone. This is in your best interest.

Are there other reasons to hire an Agent?

What is your role?

Agents tend to get a bad rap and it's not accurate. They work very hard. They put in long hours, weekends, days and nights, often at the expense of family and personal interests. They initially invest a large amount of their own money to market your home. If the home does not sell, they do not get that money back.

Sellers tend to lay blame on agents about the sale process, yet they are guilty of not co-operating with their agent by cleaning, preparing and Staging their home, being flexible for showings, doing repairs that justify the asking price, removing the smoke or pet smells....or worst of all, Sellers refuse to price according to the what the numbers are telling them.

When pricing, every home seller mistakenly thinks they "should try it higher for a while". The reason this does not work is that the initial buying activity is in the first 21 days. If your home is priced too high- even by just $10,000, you have told the buying public that you are selling a product that is comparable to the houses priced correctly at that price. When the buyer's show up, they are comparing your home to the others that are priced correctly and invariably you are assisting those properties to sell faster, while yours sits and goes "Stale". This is because you do not have the same features, size or location that they do. Thus resulting in blame to the agent, that is unwarranted.

"Let them make us an offer..."

It does not work this way. Buyers will have been through your home and the others that are priced right, and will fall in love with another because they have more features. Buyer's visualize themselves living in that environment and if you are over priced, you are offering a home that is not as appealing in comparison.

The human need for "more value for the dollar "will kick in and they will not naturally want to "down grade" to a home that has less for the same price. Making an offer is an emotional commitment and holds them to a long term decision. Buyers for the most part are not willing to invest that time and effort of the offer process in anything they do not truly have their heart set on.

If by chance they did make an offer, they would most likely offer you way less than what you would be willing to take, resulting in offense. They would want to get your house for the lowest price possible in order to then upgrade it to the "lifestyle" and features they saw in the other ones.

Why am I sharing this with you?

As a former real estate agent, this was my biggest challenge and largest point of stress in my client relationships. I would often wonder "Why are they hiring me if they won't listen to my professional advice?" When I need a lawyer, I hire one. If I am sick , I visit my Doctor. When I need to sell my properties wouldn't it make sense to call someone who knows what to do and then do what they suggest?

That being said, we do not recommend just pulling an Agent's name out of the paper because you do not know what you are getting. So how do you find an Agent that suits you and will be a good fit?

We offer a Free Realtor Connector Referral Program,where we take the time to go over your selling needs on the phone, in order to match you with an agent that will fit your better. We have access to over 400 agents in our database and have personal relationships with many of them. We can match you with someone in your area, who can assist you in your sale with integrity, professionalism and results. Call 780.452.452.7 and speak to Jill Gargus. (Jill holds her Alberta Real Estate License but does not actively sell real estate)