The Risks of Not Working with a Realtor
Whether you’re buying a new home or you’re looking to sell your current home, many homeowners consider if going about this process alone may be worth it. After all, you won’t have to worry about paying commissions and you’ll get to be in charge of the whole process from start to finish. Although the buying and selling process may seem easy, it’s actually the real estate professional who makes it feel this way. They tackle the tough stuff so that you don’t have to, which is why hiring a licensed realtor to help you with the sale or purchase of a property is highly advised. When you choose to forgo a real estate professional, you end up taking some major risks.
Here are some of the risks of not working with a realtor.
Risk #1: Inadequate Knowledge of the Current Market
It may seem tempting to price your home super high these days, especially since the housing market is booming. Unfortunately, when you’re not in the business, it’s difficult to have the right level of knowledge about home values in your individual market. When you set the price yourself with no prior knowledge of area trends, you set yourself up to lose money by not pricing it high enough, or lose buyers by pricing it too high. Likewise, when you’re buying a home, having inadequate knowledge could cause you to overspend on a property, which is why having someone who is experienced in area real estate trends is recommended.
Risk #2: Not Being Prepared for the Time Commitment
Selling a home requires a big commitment, especially when you want to find the perfect buyer for it. By hiring a real estate professional, they take care of aspects, like staging the home to sell, marketing your home to the right buyers, providing tours of the residence, and negotiating offers on your behalf. Chances are, you don’t have the time to commit to this because this can take up a lot of your schedule. It’s best to leave all of this to the professionals when you want to enjoy maximum success with the overall process.
Risk #3: Less Access to Proprietary Real Estate Listings
When you’re not a realtor, you don’t have access to the MLS, which means that you’re missing out on potential homes to hit the market if you’re looking to relocate. This means that real estate professionals and their clients get first dibs on these properties before you ever even hear about them. This is a definite advantage of having a realtor on your side during the buying process. Likewise, when you’re selling, realtors have the opportunity to feature your home on the MLS, something that you’re unable to do if you’re not a licensed realtor.
When you have a licensed real estate agent on your side, you’re able to enjoy the process and achieve ultimate success whether you’re buying or selling a home. Although the list goes on with the risks associated with going about this process on your own, these are the top risks to consider, ones that have the potential to really impact your end result. Do yourself a favor and leave the important processes of buying and selling a home to the experienced pros so that you’ll get to enjoy a stress-free experience.