By Katie Bain
PORTLAND, Ore. – If you’re thinking about selling
your home and are debating whether or not you should hire a Realtor ® take the
time to read this post.
In this post I will break down 5 reasons why you
should hire a Real Estate Agent and why selling your own home isn’t as easy as
you thought it would be.
#1 – Price
The first step towards getting your Portland Oregon
Home sold is pricing it correctly. Many
times homeowners who try to sell their own homes themselves will price their
homes incorrectly due to a lack or reliable sales data. Whether you underprice or overprice your
home, it usually results in a lower profit than if you had started with the
correct price.
#2 – Marketing
After pricing a Portland Home for Sale the next step
is marketing it so potential buyers will know it is for sale. Most homeowners have little marketing
experience when it comes to real estate and assume that their house will sell
by just placing a sign in the yard and putting up online ads such as Craigslist
and Zillow. It is important to have a
comprehensive marketing plan so you can market your home to a wide pool of
buyers. Real estate agents have access
to the Multiple Listing Service as well as a large network of agents that may
have eager buyers looking for a home similar to yours. Often times agents are able to sell the home
to those buyers before the house even goes on the market.
#3 – Customer Service
Next, you will then need to be ready to take calls
from buyers or their agents at all hours of the day to schedule appointments
for them to see your home. Hiring a
Portland Oregon Realtor will save you the time and hassle of having to interact
with buyers and their Realtor’s. It also
allows your home to be shown more frequently and more conveniently while you
are away at work or enjoying other activities and will be less disruptive to
your daily life.
#4 – Negotiation
Once buyers start showing an interest in your home
the next step is negotiating with buyers to get the highest price
possible. Many times this is where
homeowners fail because of their emotional attachment to their home and their
lack of experience in negotiating real estate contracts. This
can lead you to sell your home for less than its value or to have unrealistic
expectations and not sell at all.
#5 – Contract
Once you have found a buyer you have to
handle all the legal matters including the contract. Preparing
all the legal documents such as sales contracts, counter offers, various
property disclosures required by law, repair addendums, and others, is your
responsibility. You will also be
responsible for opening escrow, handling appraisal issues that may arise, and
making sure that the buyer is meeting all their contractual obligations. Hiring a real estate agent takes these
responsibilities off of your shoulders and gives you peace of mind that your
interests are being protected
Learn More
To learn more reasons why you need a Portland Oregon
Realtor ®, or to view homes for sale in Portland, contact me today by calling
(503) 595-8800 or CLICK HERE.