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• SELLERS
• Prepare Your Cape Cod Home for Sale

Prepare Your Cape Cod Home for Sale

Should you Sell your Home on Your Own?

With housing inventory at its highest since the early 1980s, a greater number of home sellers understand the value of professional representation. This is understandable given that the housing market has been challenged in the past two years and inventory of homes for sale reached its highest point since the early 1980s.

Realtors Bring in More Traffic

When selling your house yourself, you are solely responsible for taking care of everything.

For Sale by Owner may seem like an easy way to sell your home and make more money, but there is a lot work involved. You will need to market your house, plan and prepare open houses to show prospective buyers the property. You may end up taking calls day and night in order to secure a buyer for your home. But realtors go through specialized training and are experts at presenting a home in a way that is appealing and specific to the potential buyer coming into your house.

Realtors Have More Time and Resources

If you have a busy schedule and work full time, you may want to consider listing with a broker. There is a lot of time that is involved in selling a home, including the marketing, returning phone calls to buyers and realtors plus getting your home ready for sale. In the over saturated housing market, the experience and wisdom of a veteran realtor can mean the difference between a quick sale and your house sitting on the market for months. Realtors have access to all the newest, best advertising and marketing tools for showing your home to the largest market of buyers. Every realtor in the area has access to the homes listed for sale on the Cape & Islands Multiple Listing Service( MLS).

Expert Guidence

Real estate agents are also adept at guiding a seller through the entire sale process and what it entails, such as home inspections or repairs that need to be taken care of before the home goes on the market. Most agents also have a list of trusted contractors they use regurarly. While in most cases a real estate agent is not an attorney, they have a general understanding of the legal paperwork involved, most of which involves filling in preprinted contracts and paperwork in a very timely manner. And, unless you are a longtime resident of your community, real estate agents can also provide detailed information about schools, utilities, zoning and other concerns that potential buyers might have, especially if they are moving from a different state.

Realtors Offer Expert Advice

Realtors can advise you on what repairs should be made before putting your house on the market. Easily fixed flaws in your home can change your bottom line significantly. Owners don't often see the flaws in their home - it often takes an experienced outside eye. Realtors are also trained to show your house in its best light. Besides their know-how and contacts, realtors earn their commission fees through marketing and advertising your home. They also handle the legal paperwork needed to properly sell the property.

Buyers Favor Using Realtors

Buyers are usually uncomfortable in the presence of the homeowner. If there is something they don't like and the owner is saying how great it is, the buyer is apt to feel uncomfortable and walk away from a potential deal. A realtor will have a more impartial eye and can address the potential buyers' concerns and objections in an unbiased manner.

Don't get yourself in Legal Trouble

Selling your home is a legal transaction with many pitfalls. Sellers need to be careful when representating their homes legally and correctly - you could find yourself in a lawsuit costing thousands of dollars and untold amount of stress.

Pricing your home

Underpricing or overpricing your home is another good reason to hire a real estate agent who is familiar with the housing market in your area. If your home is overpriced, no one will make an offer; if it is priced too low, you will lose out financially and defeat the purpose of selling your own home in the first place. A real estate agent is also knowledgeable about additional costs associated with selling a home that you might not be aware of, such as transfer fees, notary and  attorney fees, and of course hidden marketing and advertising costs.

Negotiating the sale

Firstly, negotiating the sale is one of the top reasons for using a Realtor. Generally, Sellers trying to sell their home without an Agent are trying to save money. When Buyers see a house for sale by owner, their first reaction is to "take off" the average cost of an Agents commission in order for them to get a better price!  Their second reaction is  "we can take advantage of this seller and steal this house".   A good agent will stop that. 

Secondly, without the "intermediatery" of an Agent, both Buyers and Sellers can get caught up in concerns that can be ironed out by a seasoned agent quickly or not even occur in the first place.  Having too many personalities in the deal can make it go bad fast.

Thirdly, experienced Agents can "read" the reactions of a Buyer and negotiate accordingly. Important information can be innocently shared between Buyer and Seller and end up being very costly for the Seller.

Finally, some home buyers believe that For Sale by Owner is an uncertain transaction that may not work out and tend to avoid this type of sale. Many home buyers prefer buying a home with the security of dealing with a real estate professional.

Home sellers looking to avoid a long stay on the market should consider letting a realtor do the job.

Remember: Helping people Buy and Sell property is what we do everyday and we take our business seriously.

Contact us for a No Obligation Complementry Consult of why you should use us as your Realtors.