REAL ESTATE 101 Part V, Selling your property
You have decided to sell your property. What next? Well first you need to decide if you are going to sell it yourself i.e. for sale by owner (FSBO) or use a real estate professional. There are pros and cons to each. The primary reason that people choose to go the route of FSBO is to avoid paying a commission. In case you didn't know, real estate professionals do not work for free. Are there any other reasons that someone would choose to be a FSBO? Maybe, they had a previous experience with a real estate professional that didn't work out. If you choose to sell yourself, here are the steps. First you need to establish a value. You can hire an appraiser or do the research yourself. After you get your price, you need to formulate a marketing plan. Will you advertise in newspapers, the inter-net, or utilize a service such as FSBO.com? All of these cost money and take time. Once you have put your plan in place, you will need to make sure that you will be available to take the calls of prospects. Your schedule will need to be flexible enough to show your property when necessary. Are you going to show your property to anyone that calls? Are you able to qualify buyers so that you aren't wasting your time? When a buyer asks why your property is a better buy than other options, what will you say? Normally a real estate professional is trained and experienced in handling these situations. Are you prepared? You better be, since it is a tough market today. As stated earlier, the primary reason for selling yourself is to save the commission. Do you think that a buyer realizes that you aren't paying a commission? You better know it. In fact the buyer is going to want to pay less because you aren't paying a REALTOR(r).
Your property is more than likely the most important investment that you will ever make. I always like to compare selling real estate to surgery. If you or a family member needed surgery, would you do it yourself to avoid paying the medical expenses? There are plenty of sellers that sold their own property and with research and hard work it can be accomplished. Unfortunately, most of the FSBO'S aren't successful. Seventy percent eventually list with a real estate professional. The remaining thirty percent realize a lower price and longer marketing time than if they had listed their property with a professional. Some never sell their property. A property that is listed with a professional is placed in the multiple listing service (MLS(r)). This exposes the property to more prospects, which increases the potential buyer pool. More prospects lead to a higher sales price and less time to sell. There are many things that are involved in selling your real estate. If you are going to sell your property, you should talk with a real estate professional so that you can make an informed decision. Next week I will discuss purchasing real estate.
If anyone has something that they would like discussed, please feel free to call me (850) 647-2473 or email: pelicanwalk@gtcom.net. I would like to thank Tim Croft and The Star for giving me this opportunity to educate the public on the intricacies of real estate. I hope that the readers find it informative and interesting.
Kevin Welch is the owner of Pelican Walk Real Estate, Inc.
