Do I Need an Agent to Sell My House?

There are two schools of thought to consider when attempting to determine whether or not you require the assistance of a real estate agent in order to sell your home: Is there a legal requirement for it? And in your experience, how realistic or practicable is it to sell without the assistance of an agent?

Even though many sellers have asked themselves these questions, just a minority of them end up selling their homes without the assistance of an agent. According to the findings of the Consumer Housing Trends Report 2019, only approximately 11% of sellers choose to pursue the route of a “for-sale-by-owner” (FSBO). Another 5% of people conducted most of the work on their own, but in the end they worked with an agent to close the deal. And 13% of sellers made at least one effort to sell their home without the assistance of a real estate agent.

If I want to sell my house, is it required by law that I engage a real estate agent?

You are not obligated by law to use the services of a real estate agent in order to sell your house. In each and every one of the 50 states, FSBOs do not violate any laws.

You may be needed to retain a real estate attorney to handle the paperwork associated with the sale of your property, but this will depend on the state in which the property is located. Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia are the states that mandate the use of a real estate attorney for the closing process. Other states that mandate the use of an attorney include Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, and Maine.

When you are ready to sell, you should examine the regulations of your state because these requirements could shift if the laws of the state alter.

When it comes down to it, do I really need an agent to sell my house?

Even while it’s not against the law, not everyone should try to sell their home without the assistance of a listing agent. If you want to market on your own, whether or not you will be successful depends on the goals you set for yourself, the skills you possess, and how motivated you are to put in a lot of time and effort.

Keep in mind that the number of days it takes to sell a property, from the time it is listed for sale until the time it is closed, ranges from 55 to 70 days on average across the nation, but this number also fluctuates depending on where you reside. Be prepared to devote a significant amount of your time to the process, and that does not include the amount of time necessary to get your house ready to be listed.

Why is it necessary for me to engage a real estate agent to sell my house?

Because it is a profession that demands talent, dedication, patience, and knowledge, the vast majority of sellers engage a listing agent to handle their transaction. The majority of people selling their homes on their own have full-time jobs in addition to other obligations in their lives, which makes it challenging for them to devote the amount of time that is required to sell their home for the highest possible price. The commission that the seller pays to their agent, which typically ranges from 2.5 percent to 3 percent of the sale price, is typically more than offset by a higher sale price, a quicker closing, or a smoother transaction.

An agent will serve as your go-to expert who is familiar with the market in your area, consults on home renovations to increase your home’s worth, provides recommendations for promoting your property, and produces a comparative market analysis (“comps”) so that you know how similarly situated homes are selling.

The benefits of using real estate agents for sellers

The extensive variety of services that agents offer is why most sellers choose to work with one. When it comes to selling a house, some of the most frequent services that sellers expect a listing agent to provide are outlined here.

• 73% of their clients ask them to organize and turn in the papers.

71% of sellers depend on their brokers to discover potential buyers, and 70% of sellers expect their representatives to manage contract discussions.

Why do FSBOs ultimately decide to work with an agent?

About half of the people who choose the for-sale-by-owner route end up working with an agent. The following are their three primary justifications for making the change:

It takes too much time to sell for sale by owner (FSBO), and they required assistance with the paperwork. Selling is simpler with an agent.

Before venturing out on your own to sell, there are some questions you should ask yourself.

Before you decide to pursue the for-sale-by-owner route, there are a few questions you should ask yourself, including the following:

1. Do I have a sufficient amount of spare time?

When you put your house up for sale, you should make it a point to do something connected to the transaction at least once a day. It’s possible that one day you’ll be compiling pre-listing paperwork, the next day you’ll be looking for a photographer, and the weekend after that, you’ll be holding an open house. Because real estate is not an industry that operates from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, you will be expected to answer inquiries, handle phone calls, and organize showings around the clock.

2. Am I familiar with the neighborhood store?

In a sellers’ market, it may be simpler to sell a house through the for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) method because homes tend to sell more quickly and at prices that are closer to the asking price, with fewer price reductions. When there are more buyers than sellers in the market, it may take longer to secure a solid offer, and many of the other listings will likely have a professional agent handling the marketing throughout the course of the lengthy listing period. This can make selling a more difficult proposition.

3. Is it possible to sell my house at this price?

It is of the utmost importance to set the price of your home correctly, yet doing so can be difficult. You will need to know how to run comparables, or you will need to learn how to do so, in order to determine a reasonable listing price that is competitive with the prices of other properties in your market. If you overprice your home, your listing could become outdated, and you might end up having to lower the price in order to sell it. If you sell your house for less than it’s worth, you can be leaving money on the table.

4. Is it possible for me to separate my feelings from the transaction?

When you’re acting as your own agent, you’ll need to avoid getting defensive and remain impartial when it comes to offers, negotiations, and buyer feedback. Your home probably means a lot to you, but you’ll need to remember this when you’re trying to sell it.

5. Am I ready to pay the commission to a buyer’s agent?

One of the most popular motivations for sellers to sell their homes without the assistance of a real estate agent is the desire to avoid paying commission costs. However, even if you are successful in avoiding paying the 2.5% to 3% of the sale price that you will be required to pay to your own agent, it is highly likely that you will still be required to pay 2.5% to 3% of the sale price to the agent representing the buyer, unless the buyer does not intend to use an agent.

6. Is it possible to market my house to get the most exposure possible?

Finding a buyer is the first step in the process of selling your home. During the early stages of the transaction, real estate brokers focus their efforts on marketing. You might consider paying a flat fee to an agent so that your property can be included on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Doing so will increase the likelihood of a successful sale (where many agents and buyers look first to find homes).

7. Am I familiar with the legal system in my state?

Because the real estate market is so heavily regulated, using the services of a real estate attorney is especially crucial if you plan to sell your home by owner (FSBO). You will need to be aware of some things in order to sell your home on your own, such as the fair housing rules that apply to promoting the listing, the documentation requirements for listing and closing (things like titles and land surveys), and the disclosure regulations in your area.

8. What are my options if I am unable to sell my home?

You need to be comfortable shifting gears to a different strategy in the event that your home does not sell within a reasonable amount of time. A successful sale of a home requires a lot of effort, which is why 83 percent of homeowners ultimately decide to engage with a real estate agent. If you allow your home to remain on the market for an excessive amount of time, the commission that you will pay to the listing agent may end up costing you less than the decreased sale price that you will receive on your stale listing — or the cost of carrying two mortgages for an extended period of time, whichever comes first.

The sale of options using a non-standard commission structure

If the costs of selling conventionally make you hesitant to do so, here are a few additional options to explore that do not include selling your home FSBO:

Discuss the terms of the commission.

If you offer to take care of some of the responsibilities associated with the listing yourself, listing agents may be ready to negotiate a lesser commission with you. If you are buying and selling a property with the same real estate agent, they may also be more willing to negotiate the commission rate with you. A little bit more than half of sellers who bargain with their listing agency are successful in some fashion. This percentage accounts for 55% of all sellers who negotiate with their agent. 61% of those negotiating sellers who were also buyers adjusted at least some of their agent’s terms, which is a higher percentage than the 45% of those who were only selling the property who did the same.

Employ a stock discount broker.

You have the option of working with a cheap broker rather than working with a full-service agent. In exchange for a lesser price, they typically offer fewer services to their customers.

For instance, you can pay a real estate agent a few hundred dollars to list your home on the local MLS while you handle the rest of the work yourself. You might also be able to discover an agent who provides less services for a reduced fee. This kind of agent can be easier to find. Just make sure that the responsibilities that fall on your agent as well as the duties that you will be responsible for are clearly outlined in the listing agreement.