by Judith Richards

Created on: June 14, 2008   Last Updated: July 01, 2011

How do you decide if you should sell your house with a realtor or sell it yourself? As a legal assistant for an attorney that deals with real property, I have seen the advantages and disadvantages of both. Consider the following before making your choice:

SELL WITH A REALTOR

• If the realtor works for a broker who has many agents working in the same office your home will be seen by other agents in the office who may be able to find a buyer.

• Your home will be shown through the Multiple Listing service which broadcasts your home to all the other realtors in the area.

• The realtor should know the market well enough to help you list your home at a realistic price.

• Your realtor will show your home, market it and deal with the buyer and/or the
buyer's agent.

• A realtor can assess your home and suggest things to help you sell quickly.

• You are locked into a listing period and cannot try to sell it yourself during that
time. Even if you find the buyer, you must still pay the commission.

• Commissions can run as high as 6%. On a $300,000 home that equates to $18,000.00.

• Some realtors lack experience or make mistakes. You need to find an experienced agent or you could end up with legal issues. Get some referrals.

SELL IT YOURSELF

• By not paying commissions you can price your house lower and perhaps sell it sooner.

• You can present and show your house by sharing all the features with prospective buyers.

• You are not tied to a contract.

• You will have to take time to market your house yourself by placing ads and signs and holding showings.

• You should hire a good real property attorney that deals with purchase and sale transactions. You'll still pay much less than the 6% commission plus the attorney can advise you should any problems come up. You'll get legal advice which a realtor cannot provide.

• The final escrow and closing of the sale is handled by a Title Company no need for a realtor during this transaction. Your attorney can draw up a contract and work with the buyer and/or buyer's agent and set up escrow with the Title Company.

• Your attorney can advise you of the steps you need to take to sell your home.

• Other options to consider that are cheaper than hiring a realtor: "Assist to Sell" - a set commission that is lower than 6% and options for the do-it-yourselfer to cut costs. Services of a real estate broker are available. Can also do Multiple Listings placement. "Help You Sell" similar to Assist to Sell

As you can see a lot depends on how much of the work you want to take on yourself. I will be selling my home myself as I do not want to pay the high commission and I know a great attorney that can help me with all the paperwork and legal requirements. He can also advise me on things I should do in preparation for selling. I used "Assist to Sell" to sell my mother's house and found it to be a good experience, but did have to pay some commissions though not as high as it could have been.

Why pay the high commission when you can pay an attorney a lot less money, have the security of knowing it's being done right and have expert advice should anything come up during the sale. Besides I can do a lot of marketing for a lot less than $18,000.

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