First, a clarification - a REALTOR® is not a job title, it is a membership. A REALTOR® is a licensed real estate agent that is also a member of the National Association of Realtors. This means that they pledge to abide by a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

If you are looking for a home or other real property investment, you can have a professional, licensed real estate agent assist you through the whole process. Even better, this is usually at NO cost to you, as the seller typically lists the home with their agent, and agrees to pay the commissions.

If you are wanting to sell your home, then listing it with a licensed agent is a winning move - that results in a great move! Here are some things to consider:

• Higher Sales Price

  The question isn't IF you can get an offer on your home. But somewhere out there, someone is willing to pay more for your home than anyone else. So, how do you find that BEST offer? That can only be done by first exposing the home to the highest number of qualified buyers - and that's where a professional agent will shine. Since 89% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their home, and 89% of buyers recently purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker (According to the National Association of Realtors’ "2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers"), selling your home on your own (For Sale By Owner - FSBO) most likely sends "your" best offer to someone that listed their home with an agent. So how much of a price difference are we talking? FSBO homes sold at a median of $200,000 last year (the same as the year prior), and significantly lower than the median of agent-assisted homes at $280,000. That's a 40% increase - not a bad return on a 6% investment.



• Expertise

  A home is the largest asset that most people will ever have in their life. It only makes sense to have an expert help you with the entire process: initial pricing and market analysis, staging, advertising on a national scale, hosting an open house, qualifying potential buyers and safely accompanying them through your home, ensuring all legally required disclosures/contracts/addendums are presented and authorized at the right times, directing outside inspections (home, pest, appraisal, insurance, mold, septic, hazardous materials, etc.) as needed, working with mortgage lenders and underwriters and escrow and title officers, professional negotiation, and more. Sometimes, one small bit of expert guidance is all it takes to save you from a potential future lawsuit.



• Your Time

  Keeping a home "showing-ready" is often a full-time job in itself. Properly marketing and selling a home is an additional full-time job, that requires experience. Even once you have accepted an offer and are weeks into an escrow, despite our best efforts, sometimes the deal can fall apart. At that point, the work needs to be done all over again. Luckily, you hired an agent (right?), and they are typically only paid on the successful completion of a sale. So they will go to work again, at no additional cost to you.