Selling a home requires a great deal of information and resources, especially if you want to get top dollar for your sale.

Hiring a real estate professional helps the entire process go smoothly and provides you with the most valuable resource you can have. As such, here are key areas where a real estate professional can help you.

 

Pricing

When pricing your home, it is extremely important to not set it at too high or low of a price. Overpricing can slow down or impede the sale of a home. Real estate professionals have access to neighborhood information and pricing trends and they are experienced in the home selling process.

 

Pricing Is a difficult balancing act. Overpricing your property will cost you time. In this market, time costs you money. A professional real estate agent will discuss how fluctuating inventory could dramatically impact the value of your property in the months to come. They will help you set the right price in today’s market.

 

Marketing

When you first list your home for sale your agent has the skill and experience to recommend repairs and cosmetic work that will help enhance your home's appearance, marketability and ultimately increase the final sale price.

Next, your agent will advertise your property. 90% of buyers go to the Internet first when searching for a home, so this will be a big area of focus. A real estate professional will also provide exposure to other industry professionals and the public. It has been shown that many home sales come about as a result of previous relations with a client and client referrals. It is also important that there is not an overexposure. This may cause buyers to see the property as distressed or to assume that the seller is desperate.

 

Exposure to Potential Purchasers

When sellers think of getting exposure for their home, there was a time when they immediately thought of print advertising. Certain print media may still have a place in marketing a niche property (luxury, equestrian, waterfront, etc.). However, we want our readers to know that although print advertising has traditionally been the way homes had been introduced to the buying public, the medium has been losing its impact over the last several years.

Recent studies have shown that less than 2% of buyers find their home through print advertising today. At the same time, over 40% find a home through the Internet. Let’s take a look at how real estate experts market listings today.

• Multiple Listing Systems (MLS) - Once you list your property with a member of the local MLS, every other member of the system is alerted that your house is now available for purchase. In a matter of hours, hundreds or thousands of real estate professionals have the ability to easily share the specifics of your home with each of their buyers. There is nothing an individual seller can do to come close to this immediate exposure to thousands of potential buyers.

• Internet Sites - Almost every real estate company and many agents have their own websites promoting their homes for sale. Many companies also have standing relationships with national listing aggregators (Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo!, etc.). It would be impossible for a seller to get the width of exposure the real estate agent has at his/her fingertips.

• Social Media - More and more industry professionals are learning the power of social media when promoting real estate. They have created a community of followers looking for information about the region or neighborhood where they work. Of course, a percentage of those followers will be interested in what is taking place with the real estate market within that area. A new venture, which has not yet been fully utilized, social media is beginning to play a larger role in the marketing of an area and the homes in that area.

 

Safety and Security

Your Family’s Safety is of the most importance. We have always found it puzzling that the same people who will lock every door and window and set the alarm today will then allow total strangers into their house tomorrow. The real estate industry trains its practitioners to take steps to protect themselves and their clients. Take advantage of putting a person between you and the person calling on an ad or a yard sign. When selling your house your agent will ensure that home showings are supervised. Buyers must go through your agent to schedule a showing, thus being prescreened. This gives you time to prepare your house and gives you peace of mind knowing that buyers are chaperoned in your home.

 

Negotiations

Negotiating Ability Is Crucial. Buyers today have an almost unlimited supply of homes from which to choose. They realize this puts them in a great negotiating position. Most buyers are represented by an agent and the standard state contract is written with emphasis on buyer protection. Sellers need to also be represented by a professional expert trained to negotiate real estate contracts and who will look out for your best interests as the seller. Then, they guide you through the processes of appraisals, financing and home inspections - all necessary to complete the sale of a home.

 

Financing Is Key to the Deal

The biggest impact on the housing market collapse was the lending and finance industry. Today lending standards are much stricter than they were a few short years ago. Rules are constantly changing. You need a real estate expert who has teamed up with a knowledgeable and experienced mortgage professional to make sure that the buyer in the deal is in fact capable of obtaining a mortgage. Losing time with an unqualified buyer costs you money.

 

Monitoring, Renegotiating, Closing/Settling

There are many steps involved between a sales agreement and the closing or settlement of a sale. An agent has many industry contacts who can be used every step of the way. Your agent will help you navigate through the steps and complete required paperwork. They ensure that as issues arise, problems get resolved and the intimidating amounts of paperwork get completed accurately.

 

You Probably Have More Important Things to Do

Selling a home is a full time job. Learning the necessary disclosures, coordinating the dates of your closings, working with title and escrow companies, dealing with a challenge regarding your appraisal and re-negotiating the offer after an inspector’s report are just a few of the concerns you may face. You would probably be better off spending that time with activites important to you and your family and leaving the challenges to your agent.

 

Bottom Line

To make sure the sale of your home is handled properly — hire a trained professional. In the long run, you will wind up with more money in your pocket and have fewer challenges with the move.