You may be at a crossroads: You know you want to sell, but is an agent worth paying? Here’s some words of advice to make that decision, including a self-assessment to guide you towards that best choice.
Let’s start with the basics. The difference between a Realtor and real estate agent is a Realtor is a part of a trade organization that holds them to a higher standard than an agent. Both can get the job done, but a Realtor likely has more experience and takes their business more seriously. The terms will be used interchangeably in this post.
An agent charges 6% of the price you sell your house at. Yes, you can negotiate with them sometimes, but if they can’t negotiate for their whole 6% commission with you, do you really want them negotiating with buyers on your behalf? We’ll answer that for you: No. No you don’t. You should also know that your agent will split this fee with the buyer’s agent, thus they each get 3%. After that, their broker may take anywhere from 10 – 60% of their 3% cut. Some brokers are more involved than others and earn a larger cut.
Before we begin with the self-assessment of whether or not you should sell with an agent or sell by owner, you should know the generally-accepted truth is that a great agent will pay for their own commission with the higher price they get on your house. However, it’s not that simple, we know. Test yourself with the following lists, as agreement with any one of the six is a strong indicator for what you should do. They are nearly mutually-exclusive situations.
You SHOULD sell with an agent if one or more of these is true:
- You aren’t in a rush to sell, and getting top price is important to you.
- You don’t have the day-to-day time to manage advertising your house, talking to buyers, showing the property, etc.
- You don’t feel confident pricing your house or having the “people skills” to handle the interested buyers.
You SHOULD NOT sell with an agent if one or more of these is true:
- You already have interested buyer(s) with favorable price and terms, or know how to find a couple quickly and easily.
- You have no time to waste and need to sell soon.
- You are comfortable with your ability to market and negotiate your property, and have the daily time and effort to do so.
If any one of those six is true for you there’s a good chance that’s your answer. If you still aren’t sure, consider having an agent or two tell you what your house could sell for if it was listed. Most agents will gladly do this free of charge. Another route you can take is to learn more about how to sell your house by owner to get insight on what that path would require of you. We offer a free resource for you with 3,000 words of sheer content to help you decide how to sell your house, and most of those words are dedicated to tips to selling it on your own. You can download it for free here or by dropping your info in the form to the right—->
Remember, if you want a painless, quick sale and at a fair price, that’s exactly what we do here at Skyline. We buy houses all over Middle Tennessee As Is, and we emphasize being transparent with you while educating and consulting you to the best solution for you and yours.