The positives and negatives of using an agent

Selling your home can be a costly experience albeit one that can help free up the asset to move on to your next home.  Selling a property, particularly if it is one that has been your home, can be an emotional experience.  Most people choose to work with a real estate agent to minimise their stress and maximise their sale price.

When it comes to deciding to sell, you may think about selling privately, or through online options rather than through an agent. While some people are choosing to do this in order to save on fees, there is merit in weighing up the options to work out which is right for you.

Outsource to a real estate agent expert to gain back time

If you were to consider what your time is worth, what would it be? The time it takes to market and move through the motions when selling a property can be quite considerable and it pays to consider how much time it would take and if your time is best spent on other things.

This is where outsourcing to a real estate agent helps as it leaves all aspects of the sale from listing to marketing, to finding buyers, showing them through and working with solicitors until the final settlement to someone experienced in the process.

Outsourcing to an agent releases your time to spend on other essential things in life like family, work, and recreational pursuits.

A practitioner understands the market

An experienced agent will have a good understanding of the market conditions and the skills to find the best possible outcome for the sale of your property.

They will be able to tap into a database of prospective clients prior to marketing the property and gain interest before the property is listed. Should there be challenges with the buyer, they will also be able to refer to this pool of buyers for others who may be looking for a property that matches your home.

A great agent will know the value of the property based on the market conditions and will be able to guide you in recommendations on price and any adjustments that may need to occur.

Considering agent fees and marketing

Should you choose to go down the route of selling on your own, you would do so because you imagine you will save on fees like the agent’s commissions and marketing. Managing your own sale also allows you to be more hands-on in marketing the property, however you might find yourself wondering where to start.

In addition it is likely that an agent will achieve a better price for your property, meaning that if you sell yourself, although you will not pay fees you may not achieve the best price for your property.  Often the increased value in sale price an agent will achieve will outweigh their fees.

Weigh up the benefits of your time versus the outlay of these fees and the potential of a property to be on the market for longer, especially in a tighter market should you choose to sell without an agent.

In a similar fashion sometimes people choose to rent a property without enlisting the help of a qualified professional. There are many reasons to hire a property manager to make your investment property journey happy and successful.