Selling your home by yourself is not an easy task and often costs more than using a professional real estate agent

Unless you are an experienced real estate sales person or a licensed real estate agent, selling your home by yourself can be one of the most troublesome experiences you can have.

While I can certainly appreciate the desire to do things on your own, your home is often the most valuable asset you have and the sale of which should not be under taken as if it were a car, stereo or other item.

Here are quick 10 reasons you should use a professional to sell your home and not do it yourself…

1. Experience in the local Market – While the media is full of information which often times is not accurate as it pertains to local market conditions, a local real estate professional knows what sells and what doesn’t.
   • Knowing local market conditions enables professionals to price properties accurately based on comparable sales in the immediate area of your home.
   • Relying on information that may not be accurate or no longer applicable may in fact hurt your ability to sell your home for a very long time.
2. Knowing when to sell – Did you know there are seasonal times of the year that it is best to put your home on the market?  Don’t worry, unless you’re a real estate professional most owners are not aware of this either.
3. Sales Resources - It takes a lot of help to sell a home: Title agents, Financial lenders,  home inspectors, land surveyors and so forth.
   • Real estate professionals work with these other professionals on a daily basis and often times we have them standing by ready to help and get that home sold quickly.
   • Do you also have these resources available at your disposal?
4. Market value – One of the most often occurring mistakes when going it alone is incorrect pricing.
   • Do you know: If you price your home too high you won’t get any serious offers and it will take longer to sell then if you priced it correctly at the beginning?
   • Do you also know that if you price it too low, you may walk away with less money then you could have by using a professional?
   • Here’s an example:  If your neighbor sold their home 3 years ago for $250,000 are you using that as an estimate of value for your home?  3 years ago we had an entirely different market!
5. It’s your home not your house – Most home owners have an emotional attachment to their home.  Do you?
   • Selling any thing to which you have an emotional attachment can jeopardize your negotiation position.
   • Using a professional removes the emotional attachment from the negotiation process and places you in a stronger negotiating position.
6. Preparing the home – Since you have an emotional attachment to your home it is often unprepared for the local sales market.
   • Minor repairs such as painting, removing personal items from view etc. go along way to preparing a home for sale.
   • Do you know how to prepare your home for sale?
   • Is it the best valued home when compared to other comparable homes in the local market?
7. Advertising and marketing – This is one of the most important aspects of selling a home.
   • Simply placing a sign in the yard and periodically placing an ad in the local newspaper is simply not enough advertising.
   • Newspaper advertising and sign placement reaches a very few potential buyers.
   • My Panama City Real Estate website however, is visited by potential buyers world wide and is the most prolific source of advertising for your property.
   • Advertising and marketing a property can get very expensive.
   • If you go it alone, do you have the financial resources to market and advertise effectively?
   • Are you prepared to deduct the costs of the advertising from the profit you hope to gain on the sale of your home?
8. Savings over costs – People sell their homes for various reasons: relocating to another area for school or job etc. as well as other life changes.
   • If you have to sell your home and purchase another, are you prepared to pay for 2 mortgages while you wait to sell your existing home?
   • Can you delay your move while you wait for your home to sell?
   • Using my team of experts to sell your home not only permits a higher priced sale, but also a more expedient sale to get you started on your new life.
9. Qualifying buyers - when showing your home to potential buyers, are you certain they are qualified to purchase your home or are they just “Lookie loos”?
   • When my Panama City real estate team and I bring a buyer to view a home, you can be certain that buyer is not only capable of buying the home financially, but also is ready, able and willing to buy today!
10. Don’t want to pay the agents commission – This one item is often the most stated reason for wanting to sell your home by yourself.
    • Most interesting is that using a real estate professional will often net you more than selling it yourself which often more than covers the agents commission.
    • Can you really afford to go it alone in what you believe will save you a few dollars?

When potential buyers notice a “For sale by Owner” sign at a house, they often view the house as an opportunity to make low offers to purchase just as they would at a garage sale or flea market.

Do you want your home to be thought of as a “garage sale” special?

Why go it alone when you have a professional team of real estate agents right here to work for you?

Using my team of professionals to sell your home will:

• Net you the highest amount possible for your home
• Sell your home in the shortest amount of time possible
• Provide marketing and advertising exposure to potential buyers world wide
• Provide you access to all the qualified professionals needed to make your home sale an easy, cost effective transaction.

So, what are you waiting for?

Owners, put my team to work for you.  If you are interested in selling your home or condo, contact me today (850) 774-6582 for a free no obligation Home value report.

Buyers, when you’re ready to purchase a Panama City Beach Gulf or Bay front condo for your vacation home, contact me directly (850) 774-6582 for the latest information and pricing on any of the Panama City homes sale.

Jennifer Mackay
850-774-6582
Panama City Real Estate | Florida

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