| Almost all Realtors argue they are needed and | | | | marketing strategy for your home. You can do |
| you should not do a FSBO and sell your home | | | | better hiring a real estate internet marketing |
| without them. As a former Realtor I know all of | | | | professional. |
| their arguments, and I don't think they all make | | | | 2. Price it correctly. All you have to do here is do |
| sense. | | | | what a Realtor would do: hire an appraiser. You |
| Realtors say they are needed to market your | | | | have to pay for it yourself either way. |
| home effectively, to price it correctly, to get it | | | | 3. Get it ready to sell. Realtors don't do this, they |
| ready to sell, to guide you through the home | | | | just tell you what to do. Hire a cleaning company |
| selling process, and to make sure all the | | | | and a home staging company and you'll come out |
| paperwork is handled correctly. However all of | | | | ahead in this area. |
| these things can be done without a Realtor. | | | | 4. Guide you through the home selling process. |
| Even if you have to pay other professionals for | | | | You can easily research this if you've never sold a |
| their services, you will still come out ahead by | | | | home before. If you have been through the |
| avoiding Realtor Commissions. On a $500,000 | | | | process before, then you already know what |
| home you would pay commissions of $30,000 | | | | needs to be done. |
| typically, and you can spend a lot less than that | | | | 5. Make sure all the paperwork is handled |
| and still receive top-notch services to replace the | | | | correctly. There's a simple and cheap answer to |
| services that Realtors provide. | | | | this argument: Hire a good real estate lawyer for |
| If you do a lot of the work yourself you can | | | | a few hundred dollars. Realtors are always giving |
| save even more money. And in the end, you | | | | legal advice about offer and sales contracts when |
| may find that your home sells faster and at a | | | | they shouldn't. You're much better off dealing with |
| higher price than if you had listed your home with | | | | an experienced lawyer in this area. |
| a Realtor. | | | | Realtor Arguments Don't Hold Up |
| Analyzing Realtor Arguments: | | | | In my analysis, Realtor arguments that their |
| | | | services are irreplaceable do not hold up under |
| 1. Market your home effectively. Most Realtors | | | | scrutiny. This is especially true because so few of |
| don't give you a stand-alone customized website | | | | them go to the time and expense of marketing |
| that is optimized for Google and other search | | | | your home correctly on the internet. |
| engines, and don't implement a separate internet | | | | |