For Sale By Owner 

Perhaps you've decided to sell your home By Owner.  You are up to the task and since you'll avoid the real estate commissions, you'll save thousands.  It's likely you feel the assistance a Realtor provides is not worth their fee.

Does hiring a Realtor make a difference?   The answer is a definitive YES.

You probably disagree, or you would have already listed with an agent.  And if you're committed to seeing through your sale on your on, it's unlikely this article will change your opinion.  If that's what you choose to do, I wish you the best of luck!  I'll even help you along the way, free of charge.

But, if you've got an open mind, and just a few moments, please read on...I think you'll find some very compelling reasons to reconsider your decision to sell without my help and call me to discuss how I can help you have a better outcome.

You'll get the benefit of letting me and my team handle all of the details (there are a lot of them), and chances are, you'll put more money in your pocket at the closing than if you sold on your own.

Did you know homes marketed sold by an agent on behalf of a seller get, on average, 26% more than For Sale By Owner? (Example)

Your Buyer Will Probably Have an Agent

Last year, 87% of buyers used a real estate agent to help them purchase their home.  It's not surprising at all, since buyers don't pay real estate commissions - sellers do.

So, it's highly likely an agent will call you with a buyer.  The agent will expect you to pay their commission.  If your goal is to not pay commissions, you could choose to not work with buyers who have agents. 

I don't recommend turning away buyers.  More buyers mean a higher sale price for you.  In a best-case scenario, you have multiple buyers competing for your home, creating the highest possible sale price.    

You could have the buyer pay his agent's commission.  You can be sure the buyer will offer less.  Aside from a lower offer, forcing a buyer to pay commission hurts you in a much bigger way. 

Your Buyers Will Probably Take a Mortgage

The vast majority of buyers in 2021 - 87% used a mortgage loan to purchase their home. 

Unlike cash buyers, who bring the entire purchase amount to the closing, buyers with mortgages make their purchase decision on two affordability criteria.  

1. How much total money do I need to buy this house?
2. What is my monthly payment?

A Buyer's best offer is derived from these two criteria.  The price the buyer will pay will be as high as the payment and cash to close will allow.  The only thing that happens by adding more costs to the buyer is make your home worth a lot less to a huge portion of buyers.

Your home will cost more than every other home.  Great buyers will walk away because of financing.  They will be quoted higher interest rates or introduce expensive PMI, which raises their monthly payment (question #2), leaving you with a lower offers or no offers at all. 

Cash Buyers 

Perhaps you're hoping that a cash buyer will come along so it won't affect the financing.

It's certainly possible.  Bear in mind, only 13% of buyers pay cash, and pay on average, pay 12% less than buyers who take mortgages. (https://money.com/savings-all-cash-home-offer/)

Summary

• Most buyers will have an agent
• More buyers equal higher sales price  
• Most buyers will take a loan
• Cash buyers will offer less than buyers with mortgages
• Buyers care about cash to close and payment, not price
• Not paying agent commissions make your home more expense relative to other homes  

So you reluctantly agree to work with buyer's agents and pay commission.  So it begs the question

What Benefit Do YOU Get Paying a Buyer's Agent?

Here now comes your buyer with his agent.  What next?  Moving forward, here's your situation:    

• You have agreed to pay real estate commissions, which you wanted to avoid.
• You're paying an agent you did not choose and who does not represent you
• The agent is responsible to manage a complicated real estate transaction, and
• You assume the risk the agent may be inexperienced, or worse, incompetent.
  • Over 95% of licensed real estate agents in Palm Beach County do less than three transactions per year
  • Less than 0.5% of agents in Palm Beach County have more than 50 transactions in the past three years

You Did Not Get What You Paid For

If you're going to pay commissions, then get the benefit of working with an agent!  Consider hiring me and my team and let's get you what you paid for!  When a you hire me to sell your home, you benefits in two major ways. 

First, the you benefit financially through my efforts which are specifically designed to maximize the number of qualified buyers competing for the your property.   My proven efforts lead to increased demand for your home from properly targeted buyers and brokers.  My team and I use a carefully crafted and time-tested system which includes pre-market preparation, presentation, pricing, online and offline marketing, and periodic response monitoring. 

Your financial benefit is complimented by my reporting and transaction management systems.  This frees your time to do what you do best, and gives you the peace of mind knowing the task of selling your home is in good hands; and that all inquiries are handled timely and appropriately, all leads are followed up, all offers are received, analyzed and presented to you.  You get weekly reports of showings, feedback and a summary of views and inquiries.  You also receives a weekly neighborhood market updates and other mission critical information. 

Sellers get 26% more for their homes, on average, than if they sell For Sale By Owner.  Representing a seller is a heck of a lot more than "putting your house on MLS" and collecting a commission check.  You miss out on all of the benefits of an agent, but bear all of the costs.

It's no wonder only 7% of FSBO sellers were "successful" in selling their home.[1]  I say "successful" because if you consider that FSBO's sell for 26% less on average, then the seller did a ton of work and got a lot less in their pocket than if they hired a professional like me to help them sell their home.  You see, the increase in sales price more than covers the commission you pay.