As a licensed real estate agent, your entire community and events that transpire in your daily life are part of your potential network. For instance, you might be sitting in the bleachers at your child’s baseball game and wind up leaving the field with a new lead because of a conversation you had with the parent who sat next to you in the stands. You’re also likely to encounter people who make remarks about FSBO, otherwise known as “for sale by owner” real estate transactions.
Many people are misguided in thinking that FSBO is a better way to go than hiring a listing agent to sell a home. By the end of this post, you’ll have several reasons in your arsenal that you can mention when trying to convince someone that there are benefits to hiring a real estate agent over trying to sell a home without one.
FSBO limits access to listings
One of the greatest benefits to hiring a real estate agent rather than going the FSBO route is that agents have access to Multiple Listing Services (MLS). If someone asks you why they should hire you as opposed to selling a home without an agent, this is one of the first topics you should mention. With full access to MLS, you (as a licensed real estate agent) can see many off-market listings that a FSBO seller would be unaware of due to limited access to listings, which can have an impact on list price.
MLS access is an important part of the home-selling process, particularly with regard to Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). You can explain to a person who thinks FSBO is just as effective as hiring an agent that CMA enables you to determine a competitive and fair list price by reviewing all recent home sales in the area, including the off-marketing listings you can access through MLS.
Finalizing a home sale is less stressful with an agent at the table
As a licensed South Carolina real estate agent, you can look back on your days of pre-license education and recall time spent learning about the closing process. Even in a most basic transaction, there’s a ton of paperwork and legal issues to address. A seller in a FSBO transaction may be surprised at how complex and stressful the closing process can be.
Another benefit to hiring an agent is that he or she represents the seller at the closing table. While a seller would want to be informed and knowledgeable about the details contained in each closing document, having an agent on hand to handle the leg work and to address any complications that may arise makes closing on a home sale a lot less stressful.