5 Reasons Why Every Seller Needs a Real Estate Agent

When it comes to selling a home it should come as no surprise that a home seller needs an awesome team behind them to ensure that even in your transition out of your home and into your new property, your investment, rights and best interests are protected in the process. To make this happen a seller needs to first identify the right person to walk with them and guide them through this process. So many agents practice only the 4 P’s of selling a clients home; 1) Place a Sign in the yard, 2) Place a lockbox on the door, 3) Put the home on the MLS, and 4) Pray the house sells. Sound a little short changed to you? It does to us as well. This is why knowing who you are working with and the value they bring to the table for your home selling endeavors is imperative.  

Here we are going to explore the top 5 reasons why having the very best real estate professional in your corner to sell your home will make a WORLD of difference for your property. From beginning to end you will experience an educated awareness of the market, the process, a personal consultant in the negotiations of your sale, strong legal and financial advice. You will also have a seasoned professional whose job is solely to ensure your home shines while on the market to make sure you receive the top dollar for your property in the shortest amount of time possible! 

Reason #1: Who Better to Help You Understand the True Market Value and Position of Your Home Than the Person Who is in the Market All Day, Every Day?

There are many factors that go into appropriately pricing a property to ensure not only the value is protected in the resale of the home, but that the value also matches what a buyer would be willing to pay for your home.

Sellers have a different angle to pricing their homes due to their emotional investment in the property. You have lived, laughed, celebrated, cried and evolved so much in the time you have owned your home; whether that’s over the course of a year or over decades. Therefore, you have an emotional value that you have placed on top of the price tag you would otherwise apply, when you see a different home with the same characteristics as your current house that doesn’t hold the same memories and experiences for you. It would be incredibly difficult for you to place the same value on the latter.

We encounter this every day with our home sellers. And we think it’s 100% understandable and we too do that with our own homes. A great agent will hold that part of your upcoming transition front of mind and will want to help you achieve top dollar for your property as well. Bear in mind, however, that a great real estate partner will help to explain that a potential buyer doesn’t have that same kind of attachment to the house… yet. They are in the market to find a property that they feel compelled to build FUTURE experiences such as the ones you’ve already made your experiences and attachments in. They haven’t built them yet, and as a result, they also aren’t willing to pay extra for a home than what the market actually supports, to help compensate the emotional value that the sellers have applied. A seasoned agent will provide you with market statistics, a comparable market analysis, and demographic information of potential buyers to help you fully understand the selling market for your home and guide you through the appropriate approach to selling your home.

Reason #2: Your Realtor Will Protect Your Position in the Transaction

There is a very likely and high probability that the perfect buyer for your home will come to you with their own representation. They will want to utilize their agent to protect their investment and the legalities in the transaction. Thus they are showing up with professional guidance behind them.

Their agent will expect to be compensated for representing the buyer’s position in bringing the contract together.  Many sellers who attempt to sell without the support of a real estate professional attempt to push back at this or refuse to compensate the agent for their efforts in the transaction.  However, we see it quite often that the buyer’s agent is the person, in this circumstance, drafting the contract, coordinating the closing, communicating with all parties in the transaction,  lining up the home inspection, negotiating the findings of the home inspection, etc. They are making sure your buyers end up at the closing table. With this in mind, we always point out that there is a very rare likelihood that anybody out there would show up at their job, work 40+ hours, and then not receive a paycheck for the work they’ve done.  It doesn’t work that way.

With this scenario in mind, you are going to be paying for somebody else to negotiate against you and to protect you in the process. It ensures your protection in the transaction has the same high level representation protecting you.

Reason #3: Never Show Up to a Bull Fight with a Butter Knife

This aligns exactly with what we stated in our last blog post, 5 Reasons Why Every Buyer Needs Representation.  Call it how you would like but the analogy represents being ready for the big game, armed and dangerous and ready to make sure you know what you are getting into.  Statistics show that over 75% of sellers in a real estate transaction are doing so with the assistance of a trained, licensed and seasoned real estate professional, to help them with the sale of their property. Why, you may ask?  Because this is a monumental transaction and endeavor.

Real estate agents who work for you, the seller, ensure that we are negotiating for your benefit and on your behalf, making certain we return the highest gain and legal protection possible, all the way to the closing table and beyond.  Never expect somebody who represents the other side of this transaction to have your best interests in mind 100% of the time. Sure there are phenomenal agents out there who handle Dual Agency wonderfully.

But unless you know the proven track record and reputation of said agent, always seek independent guidance to have your back!

Reason #4: The 5 P's of Real Estate

Have you ever heard of these? Do you know how to implement them in a polished, professional and streamlined manner? Well unless you are a seasoned agent, then the answer is almost guaranteed to be "Heck no!"

This isn't a criticism in any way. It's just like if you asked me to professionally cut and style your hair; you are most likely going to walk out looking more like a Shar Pei puppy than the polished superstar you had hoped!

So what are these elusive 5 P's you may be wondering? Truth is a great agent has a heck of a lot more than 5, but the big ones are as follows:

1. Price Perfect - you assure this because they will provide you comps for your home and market education.

2. Place Your Home on the MLS - This is a must! You cannot achieve better exposure than this.

3. Put a Sign in Your Yard and Lockbox on Your Door - What better way to let everybody who drives by your home or down your street know that you are ready to sell?

4. Protect Your Sale - Your agent will ensure proper vetting of your buyer and ensure they have the wherewithal to go through with the purchase of your home.

5. Provide High Level Service - includes advice, marketing advertising and clear path to closing.

Reason #5: Because You Want Your Home Sold

Statistics from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show that in 2018, 87% of home buyers did so using a real estate agent or broker. Of those buyers, 50% found their home on the internet, 28% from their agent and 7% from the sign in the yard.

These are all of the things your agent does to get your home sold. And your competition knows it! The same survey conducted by the NAR shows that 91% of sellers utilized an agent to do so!

With all of these reasons taken into consideration, it's in your best interest to use a professional real estate agent every step of the way, to ensure you experience a phenomenal real estate endeavor and outcome.