6 Reasons to Sell with a Real Estate Agent

Last Updated on September 9, 2022 by HortonTeam

When it comes to selling your home, everyone wants to get the most money for the least amount of hassle in the shortest time possible. While this can still be achieved when selling on your own, your odds of fulfilling all three of those requirements are dramatically higher when selling with an agent. Check out these six reasons to sell with a real estate agent and see what you’ll be missing out on while selling as a FSBO.

1. They know the industry and market

Let’s be honest: the average consumer doesn’t know much about the current state of their local real estate industry or market. They might hear snippets on the news or from other information resources, but most of those appeal to either the nation as a whole or a clumped-together region.

A good real estate agent will know about your market on a more micro level, meaning they should be able to provide you with hyper-local market information for specific zip codes, neighborhoods, or sometimes even streets. With knowledge about industry changes and current market statistics, an agent can help you manage your expectations and provide you with a realistic vision of what your home is worth.

Even if you ultimately decide to sell your home on your own, meeting with an agent and discussing the local market can still help you better understand your home’s marketability.

2. They’ll help you price better

One of the best reasons to sell with a real estate agent is that they’ll help you find that magic number when it comes to price.

Many consumers price their homes either too high or too low, and both options can reduce the amount of money in your pocket at the end of the day.

A good agent will know that the first two weeks of your home being on the market are the most crucial; this is the period when the most serious, potential buyers will judge whether or not they’re interested in your home, and one of the biggest factors in that decision is the price. Even if your home is a diamond in the rough, they may pass it over if it’s overpriced.

Likewise, if your home is underpriced, it may fall out of their search parameters, or even worse, you might end up selling it quickly for much less money than you could’ve made.

3. They have the connections

Believe it or not, there’s way more that goes into selling a home than merely finding a buyer willing to meet your price. If you’re having any kind of inspections completed, there’s a good chance that an inspector will come back with a list of items that need to be repaired. When this happens, you’ll probably need to hire contractors to make these repairs.

If you’re looking for more reasons to sell with a real estate agent, their network of connections is one of the greatest resources they can offer you. Most agents have their own list of contractors who they know will provide their clients with quality work at a fair price.

This list often proves to be invaluable, as many consumers attempt (and fail) to make repairs themselves or hire someone who is unqualified for the job. This means more money in your pocket with less time spent in the pending stage. An agent’s connections can even help you before your home sells.

When you list your home with a real estate agent, they will probably let all of the other agents whom they work with know about your home. This form of word-of-mouth marketing works wonders, especially since all those agents will have their own clients in mind when hearing about a new home on the market.

4. They’re familiar with the paperwork and negotiation process

As mentioned before, a real estate transaction can become pretty complicated for someone who isn’t regularly involved in the industry. If you’ve managed to work out a deal with a buyer, the amount of foreign paperwork that must be completed can seem overwhelming. On top of all that, there are some circumstances where making errors or omissions on paperwork can land you in legal trouble.

A real estate agent works with that paperwork for a living, so they’ll be familiar with everything you need to sign and what items you must include or omit from any forms. A good agent will be much more comfortable and experienced in the negotiation process for your home, making this one of many important reasons to sell with an expert in the field.

Not only can an agent help you understand if an incoming offer is too low or inappropriate, but they can also guide you on how to submit a proper counteroffer. Wouldn’t you hate to lose the sale of your home just because you didn’t negotiate properly?

5. They know how to reach buyers

If you feel like you can handle the paperwork and negotiations and can’t think of any other reasons to sell with an agent, then try this one: how will you reach potential buyers? When asked that question, many home sellers immediately think of resources such as the classifieds section in their local newspaper or Zillow. Most agents will tell you that advertising in the local newspaper is a thing of the past, and many home sellers don’t know that a majority of your phone calls from Zillow’s free listing service will be from agents hoping to list your home.

One of the most practical reasons to sell with an agent is that a good agent will employ a detailed marketing plan for your home that would be difficult for a consumer to replicate. Aside from their own independent forms of advertisement (such as single property pages, paid Facebook advertising, agent word-of-mouth, etc.), real estate agents have access to what is known as a Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. This platform is what sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and others pull their homes’ information from.

While it’s possible to submit a free listing on some of these sites as a FSBO, an agent will be able to offer a more complete listing of your home as well as directions for other agents to share with their buyers. Having your home professionally represented on the MLS is crucial to getting the word out to potential buyers in your area.

6. They serve you

When coming up with reasons to sell your home with a real estate agent, one obvious reason might slip your mind: their job is to serve you.

This may sound like common sense, but many consumers don’t stop to think about what all that implies. A good agent who is taking care of you will treat you as if you are their only source of business.

As mentioned in several of the previous points, an agent will do their best to provide you with accurate and helpful information to get your home sold quickly and for the most amount of money. Whether their motivation is to help as many people as they can or to put food on the table for their families, you can bet that a devoted agent will do everything in their power to get your home sold on terms that are agreeable and beneficial to everyone.

Although many of the decisions will be up to your final word, an agent will still work hard to make sure you understand all the repercussions and possible outcomes of your initial listing price, any price changes, inspection responses, and so much more. We’re here to serve you.

Offering a commission for the sale of your home may sound like a lot of money, but after reading these few reasons to sell your home with an agent, you should have a better understanding of why your home selling experience will be so much better with an agent. Are you thinking about selling? Call or text us today at 812-518-0411 so we can show you firsthand all the benefits of working with a team of real estate agents.