gregorygarver.com

[Jeanette]

I am considering putting my home on the market and am wondering what the pros and cons to having a realtor list my home or selling it on my own... I have a great lawyer friend that does realestate closings so that part is covered... what else do i need to worry about?

[Monkey2]

Hi there.well being a real estate agent myself,ill have to say the only "con" possible could be the commission.The estate agent spends money on marketing and showing the property to prospective buyers and takes the risk.It also generally goes allot faster if you use an agent and there will be no legal hicks.(use professionals)Other than that i don't think there is anything to worry aboutGood luck!!!I hope you get lots of money and the growth o you're property was good!If you would like I can help.

[jbarelli5244]

First, you should know why you want to put your house on the market now. While there are some areas that are exceptions, in many areas homes are moving rather slowly.So that's really the first question. Do you need to sell now? Are you moving out of the area or do you need to get a bigger place? If not, consider waiting for a while.If you do need to sell now, the next question is how to do it. Being a Realtor myself, I tend to believe that a good agent is worth the money, but I've seen savvy sellers do well.When you hire an agent, that agent's job is to help you market your house. If an agent sells a large percentage of his/her own listings, what that generally tells you is that the agent does a crummy job of marketing.So, ask about marketing plans. If the main answer is "MLS", you might want to talk to a few more agents, as even though the MLS is a powerful tool, that's all it is, and there are outfits that will put a house into the MLS for much less than most agents.(A pet peeve of mine is agents charging full commission, then doing nothing more than putting up a sign and putting the listing into the MLS.)So ask about broker's tours, internet advertising, real estate magazines, virtual tours, flyers, etc... Also ask about qualifications, training and experience. Many agents have gone to the extra time and expense to gain valuable additional training.Don't automatically go with the agent that quotes the highest selling price. Some agents, especially newer agents will "buy the listing", where they quote a high selling price in order to get the listing signed. Then a few weeks later, they want you to drop the price because "the market has changed".Sometimes that is the case, but if one agent's market estimate is significantly higher than others, you should find out why. Ask to see the comparables.If you do decide to go it on your own, you should look into one of the do-it-yourself outfits in order to effectively market to the agents that are working with buyers. Find out what the normal "co-op" is in your area, and offer that.Don't do the "$500 commission" game, as most buyer's agents have more than that invested in their clients, and they aren't required to (and won't) show properties that have them working at a loss.Good luck!