When you are ready to sell your home, you will need to decide if you want to tackle
the job yourself, or hire a professional real estate agent.
Personal safety is a consideration. If you list your home with a professional real
estate agent, they will know who is showing your home. They will know something
about the people and if they are qualified to buy. If you go it alone, you will
be tied down to showing just anyone who shows up. You are also required to provide
a Seller’s Disclosure Notice to comply with Texas laws. Your professional agent
will have the proper form for you to complete.
Market value: Your professional real estate agent will do a Competitive Market Analysis
for you to help you decide your asking price. If you try to sell your home above
market, it will just sit there, while other agents show your home to verify what
a good deal another property may be. Also, some agents will be reluctant to show
your home after it has gotten stale, because they think that something must be wrong
with it.
Buying and Selling a home is the biggest financial decision many people make in
their lives. Selling you home with a real estate agent is important to ensure that
the transactions proceeds smoothly at a fair price.
The real professional real estate agent will be able more often to sell your property
faster and smoother because they will have access to the Multiple Listing Service,
and will be able to provide you with marketing tools such as flyers, etc. The agent
will do the open houses, which will free up your time.
Most importantly, the professional will take care of the paperwork that needs to
be done when you sell your home. They will write to offer to purchase, any counteroffers
or amendments to the offer, and open title. They will walk you step by step through
the selling process.
Having your property listed on the MLS is the greatest advantage in selling your
home. The listing agent will offer to split the commission with any licensed agent
that sells your home. Since the Realtors control the buying pool this means your
home will in turn be exposed to the maximum potential qualified buyers. Nine out
of ten home buyers use a real estate agent in the search process, and over 75% of
them use the internet to assist them in finding a listed home.
Make sure that your listing agent has a good knowledge of the purchase process,
responsive to your questions, and knowledge of your area.
A good agent will have experience and training in several areas that most sellers
do not. These include negotiation, understanding and reading contracts, understanding
title reports, appraisals, surveys and inspection reports, and are able to help
you “stage” your home to help it show better.
