The positives and negatives of using a real estate agent

Selling your home can be a costly experience albeit one that can help free up the asset to move on to your next home. 

When it comes to deciding to sell, you may think about selling privately, or through online options rather than through an agent. While this may work in your favour, there is merit in weighing up the options to work out which is right for you.

Outsource to an expert to gain back time

If you were to consider what your time is worth, what would it be? The time it takes to market and move through the motions when selling a property can be quite considerable and it pays to consider how much time it would take and if your time is best spent on other things.

This is where outsourcing to a real estate agent helps as it leaves all aspects of the sale from listing to marketing, to finding buyers, showing them through and working with solicitors until the final settlement to someone experienced in the process. 

Outsourcing to an agent releases your time to spend on other essential things in life like family, work, and recreational pursuits.

A practitioner understands the market

An experienced agent will have a good understanding of the market conditions and the skills to find the best possible outcome for the sale of your property.

They will be able to tap into a database of prospective clients prior to marketing the property and gain interest before the property is listed. Should there be challenges with the buyer, they will also be able to refer to this pool of buyers for others who may be looking for a property that matches your home. 

A great agent will know the value of the property based on the market changes and will be able to guide you in recommendations on price and any adjustments that may need to occur.

Consider fees and marketing

Should you choose to go down the route of selling on your own, you would save on fees like the agent’s commissions and marketing. Managing your own sale also allows you to be more hands-on in marketing the property.

Weigh up the benefits of your time versus the outlay of these fees and the potential of a property to be on the market for longer, especially in a tighter market should you choose to sell without an agent.