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Learning More About Real Estate

After finally saving up enough money to use as a down payment, I decided that it was time to hit the market. I met with a lender, got pre-approved for a loan, and then started visiting different properties. However, I quickly realized that I didn't know as much about real estate as I would have hoped. I wanted to find a great neighborhood and know what to ask the professionals, but I could tell that I needed a little help. To point me in the right direction, I started working with a great real estate agent who was familiar with the area. This blog is all about educating the general public on real estate matters.

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Learning More About Real Estate

Selling Your Home? Why You Should Avoid FSBO

by Nathan Olson

When you are getting ready to sell your house, you have the choice of using a local real estate agent to help you or listing it as for sale by owner (FSBO). Selling the home on your own may be a great way to put some money back into your pocket that would normally go to your agent, but it could also be a big mistake. These are 3 reasons to use an agent instead of doing it all on your own.

Agents Can Get Your Home Listed

Using an agent to sell your home means that your home will immediately get listed in the multiple listing service (MLS). The listing gets pushed out to all the major real estate search engines, letting buyers find your home no matter what service they use.

While you can do these things yourself, you will have to find an MLS listing service provider, pay a fee, learn how to list the house on the service. Time that your home is not being seen is money you are throwing away in property taxes and interest towards your mortgage. By letting an agent handle this for you, the listing will be rolled into the commission that they make, saving you time and money. In addition, an agent also handles the home photography and write up of the listing as part of their services.

Agents Know How To Price A Home

A study done by the National Association of Realtors found that the average price of a FSBO home was $210,000, while a house sold by a real estate agent was $249,000. By using an agent to price your home correctly, the commission you pay may be well worth it. With 6% of FSBO sellers saying they had difficulty figuring out the right price, this is a key part it pays to have professional help with.

Agents Handle The Complicated Stuff

12% of FSBO sellers said that they had difficulty when it came to understanding and filling out the paperwork related to their home sale. If you remember back to when you bought your home, there is a lot of paperwork that you had to go through. In addition to contract negotiation with the seller, there are many documents that need to be signed at closing. If you don't know what to expect, you could make a costly mistake along the way that delays the sale of your home.

These are just a few ways that an agent can assist with selling a home. For more info, meet with a local agent in your area that can demonstrate how they can help.

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