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How to sell your own home
Many of the home owners that we deal with are intelligent, capable and technology-savvy individuals, and confident in selling their own home if they are willing to spend the time and effort to do it. We are about to go through with you what is involved in selling your own home.
Many home owners are not aware of the realities of selling their own home, we want to provide you with all the information to prepare you for some of the issues involved in selling your home on your own as a For Sale By Owner, or a FSBO.
So you think you are up to the task
The most immediate advantage is the saving of the commission that is payable to a real estate professional to do the selling on your behalf.Â
The table below summarizes the Pros and Cons of selling your own home (without help)
|
PRO |
CON |
| Save commission expense | Advertising and marketing expense can possibly be significant |
| Control over showing property | Takes longer to sell – due to lack of support network |
| Control over advertising method | Limited channels of advertising |
| Negotiate directly with buyer | Poor negotiation skills may result in you getting a poor deal (as a seller) |
| No exclusivity with a specific agent | No agent loyalty in ensuring the sale of the property |
| Realty agencies levy GST – more cost savings | Price is viewed as negotiable as owner saves on commission |
| Dislike having to deal with realtors | Having to deal with many parties, and thus time consuming & stressful |
Is it really worth saving the commission?
You would really need to weigh your priorities, as well as the current market sentiment. Many home owners fail to consider the demand for their property. It is only natural for a home-proud owner to believe that there is and will be demand for his or her own home. But you will have to look at this aspect objectively, in assessing how well your property will attract buyers. As in buying a property, a buyer will always consider the location. How attractive is the location of your home. If you have a few similar properties on sale in your neighborhood, you would be able to do a comparison – are they selling out fast or have they been on the market for some time. Different market conditions and the different locations of properties demand different sales strategies. If you are eager to sell your property for the various reasons that you have, you must know your competition. As the old Chinese adage goes “know your competitor and the battle is half won”. In the next part, we will talk about competition and pricing.
