So, you need to sell your house. Selling your house in a market like today’s can sometimes be frustrating. With so many other houses on the market it gives buyers out there more choices… and often times sellers can wait 3, 6, 12+ months to sell their house for a price they feel is fair.
This brief, 3-part article will walk you through the process to help you decide what’s best for you. Should you go the traditional route and work with a real estate agent, sell it yourself (For Sale By Owner), or work with a local house buying company?
Each of these strategies has different pros and cons and each one will help you reach a different goal. It’s for you to really look and see what you need to accomplish with the sale of your house… then make the decision that helps you get there.
The 3 Options For Selling Your House
Like I mentioned above, there are 3 real options for you in selling your house. I’ll dive into those 3 options a bit more below and spell out what’s great about each… the drawbacks of each… and who each option is really going to help the most.
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Working With A Real Estate Agent
The most popular way to sell a house today is by working with a real estate agent. The general process of working with an agent is…
- You contact an agent and they consult with you about your house to determine what they feel it may sell for.
- You sign a listing agreement with the agent (normally 6-12 months) where they exclusively represent and sell your property.
- Agent lists property on the MLS, markets it, and allows buyers to walk through your house for showings (a house should show well to sell well).
- If a property sells, the agent takes care of the paperwork and negotiation with the buyer… and the agent collects their fee… which is usually 3% for them and 3% to the agent that brought the buyer (so up to 6% of the total purchase price of the house).
Agents know the market and have direct access to the MLS which is the main way houses are listed when selling the traditional route.
Cost
Selling agent fees are usually about 3% of the total purchase price. The “buyers” agent usually earns 3% as well (totaling 6% in agent fees). As an example, if your house sells for $200,000… you could expect approx. $12,000 of that to be paid to the agents at closing.
Timeline
From 3 – 12 months (with an average of 6 months in many markets)
Pros
Agents know the market well, have access to the MLS to list your house to expose it to a broad range of retail buyers, they’ll take care of the marketing, showing of the property, and putting together the closing documents.
Cons
It can be expensive. An agent’s commission is paid out of the proceeds of the sale at closing. Most agents tend to do “traditional” marketing which often takes 3-12 months to sell a house (in most markets the average time on “market” when listed with an agent is 6+ months currently). This of course means you’re responsible for the costs of the house while it’s trying to sell. Lastly, with agents… their primary way to get buyers is by focusing on “retail” buyers (people looking to live in the home). This requires showings of the house and there’s always the chance that the buyer who’s offer you accept has their financing fall through, or delay the closing date. One last “con” is that many retail buyers will ask you as the seller to pay for part of the closing costs… so this is an additional expense in many transactions.
Who Working With An Agent Is For:
People who aren’t on a time crunch and can wait 6-12 months if they had to, to sell, have room in the transaction to pay the agent fees, are looking for full market value and are willing to wait it out until a buyer comes along who is willing to pay full market value.
Jack BUYS Houses – FL is Florida’s premier house buying company. We pay CASH for our properties, which allows us to close in as little as 7 days. We purchase all types of houses, As-Is and in any condition, so there’s no need to fix up the property. If you or someone you know needs to sell their house quickly for any reason, please visit www.JackBUYSHousesFL.com or CALL 407-307-3245 NOW and say, “I WANT A CASH OFFER FOR MY HOUSE”, and you will get one in 24 hours, GUARANTEED!!