For Sale by Owner

Vs.

For Sale by Realtor

With home sale prices low many people are trying to sell their homes by themselves.  I do understand and would probably be doing the same thing if I didn't know what I know as a Realtor.  I have put together some facts to help you decide if you want to do it yourself or if you find it worth it to use a Realtor.  The prices used are based on a $100,000 home and the information is based research from the National Association of Realtors and by my own experience talking with For Sale By Owners, buyers and other real estate professionals. 

 

	For Sale by Owner	For Sale by Realtor
% of For Sale becoming Sold	2%	85%
% of Showings that are to Qualified Buyers	0%-20%	90%-100%
Days on Market for Sold homes	120-930	1-410
People actively selling the home	1-4	2000-50,000+
Price Accurately Depicting Fair Market Value	5%	90%
	Costs to you in dollars or time	Costs to you in dollars or time
Commission	$0.00	$4,000-$8,000
Advertising	$20-$1000	$0.00
Yard Sign	$40-$100	$0.00
Internet Ads	$0-$200	$0.00
MLS Listed	$400-$1000	$0.00
Sold Price Lower from Asking Price	$10,000 - $20,000	$2,000-$8,000
Buyer Calls	0-4 hours daily	0
Showings	0-2 hours daily	0
Open Houses	2-5 hours weekly	0
Negotiation Time Per Offer	5-20 hours	1-5 hours
Planning Sales Strategies	0-8 hours weekly	0-30 minutes weekly
Activity Updates	0	20 minutes weekly

By the way when you are selling your home by Realtor, if it doesn't sell you pay nothing.  If you are selling it yourself and it doesn't sell you already paid for a sign, ads etc...

A few more things that you get when using a Realtor that you may or may not be getting by doing it yourself:

* Full time sales person.  That what to say, when to say it to get the home sold.

* Real Estate advice - Are we legal, do we have all the paperwork right, what do we do now that we have an accepted offer?

* A 3rd party facilitator - when you are saying how great your house is no one is listening, when a third party is saying how great your house is it holds more weight.

* Someone available around the clock to take calls and show the house.

There is a lot of information here so if you have any questions or if you think I am wrong on something you can call, text or email.

If you have decided to use a Realtor go to my page Need to Sell? and my page on Pricing your Home or you can just call, text or email me now.

If you have decided to do-it-yourself you can contact me and receive some help on where to market, how to market, on what price to sell at and to get the seller's disclosures that should be used for every home sale regardless of how you sell it, by owner or by Realtor, but is not required for a by owner sale.