Recently, a friend here in St. Cloud gave me a call and asked me question that I'm sure many other people have. He said, if he wanted to, he could just put his home on Craigslist where everybody can see it, rather than hiring an agent to do it for him. He said: "What exactly is it you do?" I'm glad he asked.
Buyers who are looking to buy For Sale By Owner (FSBO) are expecting a fantastic deal. They know exactly what the commission is and the money you're saving by selling the home yourself; they want that money in their pocket and then some! If they have a buyer's agent with them, that agent has a fiduciary
responsibility to the buyer to ensure their best interests are being represented. In essence, the buyer has someone on their side working to get the best terms and price possible - while you're on your own.
If the buyer is working with an attorney, they can obviously only represent one party in the transaction.
Attorneys who work for FSBOs tend to be more aggressive and don't always write a favorable contract with the seller.
As the process advances, a home inspection will occur. Inspectors also feel it is their responsibility to protect the buyer. They will find something wrong with any home, regardless of how new it is, and buyers will use the inspection report to their advantage.
It is hard to come up with the appropriate response to some of the inspector's objections and, in many cases, can cost the seller thousands of dollars.
If you are working with a bank, the appraiser may not have
the appropriate comparable sales to properly price your home. It is common for appraisers to come in from outside the area, which means they might not have the info they need to justify the price you feel you should get. It's an agent's job to make sure the relevant comparable sales are available to the appraiser, so the price comes in where you expect it to.
Sometimes, the lender has additional requirements that benefit the buyer.
Lenders often feel they are an advocate for the buyer and will overstep their boundaries to try to protect them. This can often lead to a renegotiation, which slows the process down and hurts your chances of getting the price you want.
An agent provides protection against all the entities that could potentially work against you! We have tons of experience with buyer's agents, contractors, lenders, inspectors, and all the parties in between. We can make the transaction work in your favor by protecting your interests against those of the buyer. People who try For Sale By Owner often have multiple deals fall through - we make sure that doesn't happen.
In short: an agent saves you time, money, and a whole lot of stress. If you have any questions about the many things we can do for you, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to hear from you!
