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The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using an Agent to Sell Your Home

Written by Kanayo Okwuraiwe Posted On Monday, 10 October 2022 19:37
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using an Agent to Sell Your Home

If you don’t have a lot of experience selling houses you will no doubt find it a daunting task should you try to sell one for the first time. There is a myriad of things that need to be done like fixing defects, marketing it or finding prospective buyers, determining its fair market value, conducting viewings, drafting a contract and/or understanding all its terms, and more.

Although there is seemingly a growing trend of homeowners opting to try and sell their property by themselves, mostly to save on the fees that they would otherwise pay to an agent, the fact of the matter is that many more people will rather use the services of a professional real estate agent than attempt to go through the arduous process by themselves.

The primary question that this article seeks to answer is whether it is more advantageous to hire a real estate agent or realtor to help sell your property or to do so yourself, often referred to as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO?)

There are various advantages to hiring a real estate agent provided you find the “right” one. Some of these advantages include:

Advantages of Using an Agent

Saves Time and Effort

One of the main benefits of using a licensed and experienced agent to sell your house is the time and effort that they will save you in the process. Selling a house can be a huge undertaking that likely will require you to devote a lot of time, effort and other resources that you do not have. Agents have the training, experience and access to other resources that allow them more effectively and efficiently sell your house.

As previously stated, selling a property can be a very involved process with several moving parts. You may, for instance, have to organize and lead viewings and tours of the house, find someone to value the property, deal with potential clients and manage negotiations with them or their agent, oversee property inspections and repairs, list your house on various MLS or IDX platforms, and more. In addition to possibly not having the time to do many of these tasks, chances are that you may not even know how to (properly) perform some of them. Hiring an estate agent takes away some, if not all, of these responsibilities in selling a house.

Reduces Your Exposure to Legal Risks

Buying a property usually involves a large sum of money and a lot of paperwork. This combination often brings with it a lot of legal risks. One of the best ways to reduce your risk exposure is to ensure that an experienced professional or expert is involved in the process. This professional can, for instance, be a real estate attorney to review any contracts involved or to provide other legal advice, but it can also be a real estate agent. One common example of how an agent can reduce your risk exposure is in the area of the seller’s disclosure.

Anyone selling a property has a legal obligation to disclose all facts to a buyer that affects the desirability or value of the property. Failure to properly disclose such facts can lead to a charge of fraud or breach of contract. An experienced real estate agent who possibly would have sold several properties is more likely to know more about the required disclosures that may be relevant in your state.

Takes the Emotion Out of the Process

Most people usually have some emotional attachment to a home that they have lived in for several years, more so if there have been life-changing events in it like the birth of a child. Having an agent manage the sales process helps to keep the emotions out of it which can often help to prevent costly mistakes from being made.

For instance, an agent will be better able to objectively price the property at its true market value instead of what you think or feel it is worth. Also, an agent can help to take the sting that you will likely feel if you get repeated “not interested anymore” messages from hopeful buyers, which can then lead you to make an emotional decision like drastically lowering the price below its true market value just to try and get a sale.

Helps Weed Out Unqualified Buyers

Chances are that several people will show an interest in the house you put up for sale. This may require interrupting your daily schedule or performing other tasks each time someone gets in touch to request a viewing or ask questions about the property. The training and experience that an agent has will very likely enable them to ask the right questions to determine how serious and motivated a prospect is, including whether they have been prequalified for a home loan.

Helps with Price Negotiations

Negotiating a home sale often requires a different skill-set than in other industries. If the buyer has an agent representing them, you can expect that this agent will likely be more skilled and adept at price negotiations than you, which would give them an advantage.

Having an agent on your side who has the training and/or experience will place you on a level playing field with the other party, and in some cases, may provide you with an added advantage.

Disadvantages of Using an Agent

The disadvantages of using a real estate agent are few and far between. Some of these drawbacks include:

Paying Agent Commission

Paying an agent’s commission for the sale of the house is arguably the biggest disadvantage to using their service, as well as the main one. This can often amount to between 3-6% of the sale price. Having to fork out several thousand dollars will often feel painful to the seller, and some sellers often squirm at the thought of this. But it should simply be looked at as the price to pay for their services, which include all of the previously-mentioned tasks, and others not mentioned.

Having to Adapt to Someone Else’s Timeline

If you hire a real estate agent you may have to adapt your sale to the schedule and availability of the agent. One reason for this is that agents often have many clients and sometimes, this may mean that they will be unable to devote the necessary time and effort to help get your property sold as quickly as possible. Similarly, if the agent is primarily concerned with the commission that they will earn from the sale, they may be more inclined to recommend that you make decisions that may not be in your best interest.

Overpaying for Services

Chances are that there are several external paid services that you may need to secure in the process of selling your house. Some examples might be painting, property staging, drone footage and/or photography, property repairs, and more.

If the agent recommends some of these service providers to you, they may have a working relationship with them that involves receiving a commission for references that they make. What you end up paying for these services may be higher than what other service providers charge, simply because you relied on your agent’s recommendation instead of performing a search to find alternative service providers.

In Conclusion

You have an important decision to make if you are looking to sell your house. Should you engage the services of an agent or attempt to sell the property yourself? The truth of the matter is that if you decide to try and sell the house by yourself, you will, in all likelihood, only be able to do so via one of the various FSBO or other cash buying platforms. It is very unlikely that you will be able to manage and navigate the complexities that exist when going through the traditional route that includes the buyer’s agent, the mortgage institution, home appraisal agent, lawyers, contracts, and more.


About the Author

Kanayo Okwuraiwe is a startup founder, real estate enthusiast, and digital marketing professional. He is also the founder of Telligent Marketing LLC, a digital marketing agency that provides digital marketing services to the real estate and other industries.

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