As with any critical business decision, it is important that you see all of your alternatives – that means identifying every possible courses of actions and evaluating their advantages and disadvantages – before making any decision. In the same way with home selling, it is worth the time to assess whether to hire a real estate agent or not. While there are many benefits to working with a professional, there are also some pitfalls associated with this home sales method. On today’s post, we will be going over some drawbacks homeowners face when hiring an agent in Portland, OR. Ultimately, there is no absolute right way to selling house; it all depends on your goal and how you want to strategize to maximize your return.
Commission Margin
Commissions are one of the biggest setbacks homeowners face when hiring a real estate agent. The standard amount of commission is generally up to 6% of the total sale price of the house (not from the profit of the sale) so the agent is guaranteed his/her fees regardless. It is imperative to ask an agent up front to lay out all of the fees involved: commission costs, broker fees, closing costs, and how much of a marketing budget they expect you to carry.
An alternative you can consider in order to lower the commission fees is by hiring a discount broker but this also means that you would have to do without the guidance or premium service that full-service brokers offer. Some homeowners may even attempt to list their property themselves in order to save money. However, without vast knowledge in real estate, many endeavors often end in futile due to the expensive errors in marketing and other areas.
Length of Time on the Market
Listing your home for sale with a real estate agent, while typically the go-to method to sell, can take a considerable amount of time. The longer a home sits on the market, the less likely you realize the full sales price. Regrettably, this is a setback homeowners face when hiring an agent in Portland. Many full-time agents work simultaneously with a number of clients and depending on how busy they are, your property may not get the sufficient attention it requires. This might also mean that calls are not be returned in a timely manner and deadlines are missed which subsequently results in failed deals. While your agent can advise you about the current average length of time their listings take to sell, they cannot provide you with an exact closing date. The cost of working with a real estate broker is that you have to work with their schedule and have some patience while hoping they will have your best interest in mind at every stage of the selling process.
Last Minute Deal Fell Through
No one wants to get the call from their real estate agent that after all of the time, money, and effort that is put into a transaction, the buyer ended up failing to qualify or that they were first-time buyers and out of fear, suddenly backed out of the deal. Finding out that the deal fell through is a heartbreaking and frustrating moment that homeowners find themselves facing all too often as they would need to start the time-consuming process of selling their house all over again.
Repairs
As most buyers prefer move-in ready homes, it is widely expected that your home needs to be picture perfect to be successfully marketed. The real estate industry is built around staging homes, which involves painting, redecorating, and possible replacement of countertops and the like in neutral tones, with no personal possessions belonging to the current owners in view. This home treatment allows buyers to imagine themselves better living in the house, increasing the odds they buy significantly. The cost and work involved with repairs on your home can hold you back from listing.
Holding Costs
While your agent is busy selling your home, your life and problems do not stop. Should you be forced by circumstances beyond your control to relocate (employment changes, ill family member, etc), you may end up owning two households. Carrying the costs of running the existing property and your new residence can become impossible if too much time goes by. Any additional delays could bury you in a mountain of bills.
The decision of hiring or not hiring a real estate agent may seem like a daunting task. However, by gathering as much information as you can on an agent, you can limit the odds that you will be caught by a bad experience. Review your plans and make sure they fit the way in which you want to sell your house. If you eventually decide that you would prefer not to contact any agent at all, the two alternatives would be selling your home on your own or selling it to a cash buyer like us.
With a direct sale to us, you do not have to stress or worry about any repairs because we buy homes in as-is condition, saving you time and money! We save you time at SCAL Real Estate LLC because we pay cash, and your closing could be as fast as seven days. There are no commissions taken off the top of your profit. The fair offer from SCAL Real Estate LLC that you agree to is the amount you receive. A direct sale to SCAL Real Estate LLC is a deal that will not fall through, eliminating the concern about holding costs. To learn more, send us a message or give our team a call today! (971) 238-2255