Selling your house on your own has a lot of potential attractions. You get to save on commissions paid to a realtor. There is no timeframe except yours to consider. And it gives you negotiating room with buyers who are happy there is no seller’s agent collecting commissions. With that said, there are downfalls of FSBO in Atlanta Metro that you should consider before ruling out the help of a skilled agent.
Not As Much Profit
Many people consider using the FSBO method because they don’t want to pay up to 6 percent in commissions to agents. First, you might not save an entire six percent. If there is a buyer’s agent, you will need to pay them the 3 percent. Many buyer’s agents won’t negotiate on fee because they end up doing most of the work on both sides of the purchase even though they don’t represent you. Additionally, you may not have the right information to properly price your home based on the market conditions. This could significantly affect the profit you see.
Marketing Obstacles
Real estate agents have a wide network of other agents and marketing channels. Brokers regularly put notices for properties in local newspapers and spend extra time and money on marketing for open houses and to make listings attractive. One expense most FSBO sellers overlook is paying for a professional photographer or stager to ensure the home is most appealing online. You won’t be able to get the home on the major listing services, limiting the number of buyers who actually see the home.
Costly Legal Advice
If you aren’t familiar with the legalities of real estate contracts, disclosures, and escrow procedures, you will either need to spend hours researching it or hire an attorney for the proper legal advice. One mistake could cost you the sale or put you in legal hot water for not providing the proper disclosures required by law.
Potential to Miss Timelines
Real estate transactions have specific timelines. This means that buyers have a certain period of time to legally review the property and hold inspections. Then there are requests for remedies as well as the timelines of providing specific disclosures. If you miss a deadline, you could be giving the buyer a way out of the transactions without penalty. Real estate agents help keep you on track.
Qualifying Buyers
When you get an offer, you don’t have the experience that a real estate agent has to determine the best and most qualified buyer. Because most marketing is limited, you will already be attracting bargain shoppers. Someone who makes the best offer by price might not be able to get the loan funded. This could kill the deal, waste your time and have the property listing get older and less attractive to viable buyers.