There are three main ways to sell your house in today’s real estate market: a traditional home sale, a For Sale by Owner, and a cash sale to a company that buys houses. The most popular way to sell your house is by hiring a real estate agent. Realtors can market your house, manage the process, and help you negotiate the sale if you find a potential buyer.
However, is it possible to sell your house without a realtor? Is hiring a real estate agent the best option for your situation? If you need to sell your house fast or get out of your mortgage as quickly as possible, a real estate agent may not be feasible. Below we look at the pros and cons of hiring real estate agents and why a cash sale.
What Does a Real Estate Agent Do?
The real estate market is a complex network of buyers, sellers, inspectors, appraisers, lenders, lawmakers, and brokers. As unpredictable as the market can be, attempting to sell your house on your own can be a steep uphill climb. You must make repairs, market your house, stage the house, show the house, negotiate with potential buyers, and finally close the house.
For this reason, most home sellers bypass a For Sale by owner in favor of hiring a real estate agent. A real estate agent has the training, skill, and knowledge necessary to broker a real estate deal. Realtors take on a wide range of responsibilities, such as
- Generating client leads
- Consulting clients
- Developing a competitive market analysis
- Listing real estate sale properties
- Showing properties to potential buyers
- Facilitating negotiations between buyers and sellers
- Reviewing purchase contracts to ensure everyone meets the terms
- Preparing real estate contracts and other documents
Pros and Cons of Hiring a Realtor to Sell Your House
Although a real estate agent can do a lot to lighten the burden of selling your house, there are a few drawbacks to hiring a realtor.
Pros
Some of the benefits of hiring a real estate agent to sell your house include
- You save time and effort trying to sell the house.
- You have access to a wide range of listing sites and marketing platforms.
- A real estate agent can manage the sale from start to finish.
- An agent knows how to negotiate a real estate contract in your favor.
- An agent can also help you navigate the complete closing process.
Cons
Some of the drawbacks of hiring a real estate agent to sell your house include
- The agent takes up to 6% commissions off the top of your sale price.
- You and your agent may not see eye to eye on how to sell your house.
- The real estate agency may have limited resources for selling your house.
- An agent cannot guarantee the sale price, terms, or when you’ll sell your house.
One of the biggest drawbacks to hiring an agent is that they’ll draw a six percent commission off the sale of your house. Six percent doesn’t sound like a lot until you do the math. For instance, if you sell your house for $200,000, the agent takes $12,000 of the profits in commission. Combined with your selling expenses, that’s a substantial amount out of your profits.
Can I Sell My House Without Hiring an Agent?
Yes, you can sell your house without hiring an agent. However, you may want to avoid a For Sale by Owner (FSBO) option. Instead, you may want to consider a cash home sale. You can sell your house as-is to a company that buys houses in your area. In a cash sale, you work directly with the buyer in a private real estate transaction without hiring a realtor.
There are several benefits of a cash home sale over a traditional one.
- You pay zero in realtor commissions.
- There are zero selling costs.
- You work with a single pre-qualified buyer.
- You can close the sale in as little as a week.
- You can sell your house right now regardless of your situation.
A cash sale makes it possible to sell your house without hiring a real estate agent.
Sell Your House As-Is to M1 Home Buyers
If you need to sell your house but don’t want to hire a real estate agent, M1 Home Buyers can pay cash for your as-is. Skip the realtor and save thousands in realtor commissions. Make no repairs and pay zero closing costs. Call 248-397-5800 to get a fast cash offer.