As  a professional Broker I am always intrigued by the answers I get when I ask a Seller why they would consider Selling a home on their own?  More often than not it is the perception of them saving money that is the major impetus for going it on their own.  Sadly, what most non-insiders to the industry do not know or understand is, how a good Broker is an INVESTMENT not an EXPENSE!  There are a minimum of about eight different categories where this formula comes to life, so let's take a look a some of them.

Begining with exposure.  Listing syndication is only the first step in promotion of a property. With our systems in place and our connections through RE/MAX International we are able to have your property published on hundreds if not thousands of web portals across the internet within hours of listing the property. The auction theory applies here.  Very simply stated, the more potential Buyers you have for anything, the greater the opportunity you will have to get a better price.

In addition to higher prices, more Buyers usually translates to quicker sales.  If this saves the Seller a few months worth of payments the savings can add up quickly.   This is especially true for anyone with investment properties or a second home that is sitting vacant.

Liability is one of those expenses that is hard to calculate, how much will it cost the owner of the property if they get sued?  I am not suggesting the owner would ever do anything intentionally, however, the most common area of concern is in disclosure and mistakes are costly whether or not they were intentional.  I have spoken with and met hundreds of owners that do not even understand written disclosure on the property condition is the law here is Texas, yet they have no plan or forms to communicate this to a potential Buyer.

Well, hey ....  knowledgeable owners may have all the forms and have studied all the books and read all the how to blogs...but it's like the popular show Renovation Realities says, getting to done can become a real  B..tch (rhymes with which).  Truth is I have been assisting home owners with the Purchase and Sale of properties for over 22 years.  This doesn't make me perfect but I have been through the process hundreds and hundreds of times.  My track record and systems are exceptional.  As a rule we don't make any mistakes because we have a proven system that we have used and honed now for decades.  I have never been in court with a client, for or against, and never needed to go to mediation.  This is a track record I am most proud of but realize that it has taken and will continue to take diligence to maintain.

It is easy to make a mistake, especially if Selling a home is not something you do everyday.  In the meantime, if there were ever a failure of our systems, we have errors and omissions insurance to indemnify ourselves and our client.  This is something that is unavailable to a Seller of their own home.

I can continue this dialog in several other areas of the process, meeting appraisers, dealing with the other agents, negotiation of repairs, value added marketing services including staging and many more.  Each area of concentration, has the potential for an owner to get more money or spend less, contributing to their overall return and preservation of their equity in the home.

When you add it all up considering the tools, experience, and resources available through a knowledgeable Agent and Brokerage firm, I am confident you will find that it far outweighs the meager benefits of going at it on your own.

Sincerely,
Eric

P.S. It is an accepted industry statistic that only 8-10% of all sellers that attempt to sell a home on their own are successful without the services of a Broker.  In addition, 30-40% of my clientele on an annual basis starts out attempting to sell on their own. Many of these same people have continued their relationship with me well beyond the initial transactions we have done together, going on to refer family and friends while doing repeat business with me many more times.  If there were any evidence that using a Broker makes sense, I do not think there is any better way to validate my claim.  For anyone who is interested in feedback from some of my past clients that were initially attempting a sale on their own, please contact me for a list of references.