There can be many reasons why people decide to sell their house privately. When I say “privately”, I don’t mean a private sale, as opposed to an auction – I mean selling without an agent.
It could be an attempt to save money on agent’s fee, especially if you’re selling because you’re downsizing for financial reasons (so every dollar counts), which is not uncommon in this recession. Or it could be lack of belief in the real estate agencies’ system, especially with people who were burnt once, who had an agent betray their trust and not live up to their expectations, or else… Many, many reasons.
If you’re asking yourself – what is it that agents do and I can’t do – well, a number of things:
First, they don’t have to answer all the difficult questions, they can say “I’m not sure” and that will be it. If you’re not keen to reveal the real reason why you’re selling, or have anything else to hide like a flaw in the house, then agents do a good job on “not knowing” things.
Second, they have access to a source of “traffic” (meaning potential buyers) that we, ordinary people, don’t have. They have their own network with a clientele and can streamline people who come asking for a particular house to yours, simply by saying “have you seen the house we just listed on Such And Such Street?”
Third, estate agents are the only ones with access to realestate.com.au, where they don’t accept private listings and your only chance to advertise on this website is via real estate agent. There are only two websites where advertising brings results, domain.com.au and realestate.com.au. Domain.com.au will let you advertise your home for $500 a month and Realestate.com.au will not, which means that your audience shrinks to 50% as compared to the agent’s.
You will find many other websites selling advertising space for real estate ads, but the sad truth is that only the first two in Google get 70% of the attention. If you do a Google search on “buy house”, or “buy home” or similar keyword, you will find that Domain and Realestate websites are always on top of everyone else. I can’t say that the rest don’t matter, but if I were to sell my house, I’d definitely go for the 70% rather than for 30% of the buyers.
What options are there for people who are reluctant to paying $5000 – $6000 for a promise of maximizing their profit? The answer will be in my next post – stay tuned!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
In My opinion, the strongest selling points for an agent are that they have professional knowledge of the area, laws etc.
They can access the target you want, many potential buyers will raise the bidding.
Well you don’t have to spend your time, you pay someone else.
The biggest downside, it will cost you a lot of money, so if you think you already have a buyer and you are satisfied with the deal, you can save a lot of money by doing it without a agent.
Chris
Olympian Cares
I would like to share something with the readers that,when you decide to put up a price for your home,you should also consider the fact that you have to hire an agent or a broker to do the job for you.Like,I sold my house with the help of a broker,and I had to pay 1-2% of the amount agreed as his fee.I was so much tensed at that moment as I had to buy another home from the same money.Well,I went through the process.But,my point is,I didn’t really get what i wanted.I didn’t get the price of my liking,because I had to pay to that damn agent.Now,after I went through all that process,I learned something.
Recently,I went out with a friend of mind,and he told me that he sold his home without paying any fee to the broker.I asked If he was a relative of his or something.But no,he said he didn’t even hire an agent.I thought he might have sold it to a relative of his or some friend of his.But yet another NO i got from him.
He told me that he sold his home through an online website.Some FSBO websites they are called i guess.I didn’t believe him,because I never trust any business done over the internet.But since he showed me the website,and the agreement copy and all,I finally decided to trust him.
I think that in order to save your money,and to set the right price for your liking you should first be relaxed by keeping this thing in your mind that you don’t have to pay anything to a broker.
I have searched these websites on Google,the top sites were:
gofizzbo.com, forsalebyowner.com, isoldmyhome.com, fsbo.com etc.
Now I don’t mean any offense to the brokers,Its just that you can save your money in this way.That’s my opinion.Just for a flat rate fee and without paying any commission you can sell your home.This seems a big deal to me.
Also,you can also try the most easiest way of all,that is put up a “FOR SALE” sign in front of your home.But,let me tell you what will happen.The next moment you put up the sign,your phone will start ringing.WHY?How would you know that it is the actual buyer who has called.Actually,the real estate agents might try to hound you.Still,no offense to the brokers,estate agents or realtors.The choice is yours.
Hope this info helps you.
Regards
Well,I strongly agree with Rehan Hussain.My own friend sold his home through Gofizzbo at a good price.At first i thought its a joke.But it seemed out quite real.Still,agents can do the job only if you can afford their commission.
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