You may have been considering selling your home or building or business, and thinking –why shouldn’t I try selling on my own? Or you may have thought –if the rumors are true and their is a severe shortage of properties available in the market, why don’t I just throw a sign on the lawn and add it to a For Sale by Owner site for a bit?
Opposite to what you might believe, hiring a Realtor actually nets you much, much more money and assures you a safe and efficient transaction, and here is why:
1) More Money to You. When you choose to hire a Realtor, and we recommend you do hire a seasoned, very experienced team like ours at Mac Evoy Real Estate Co., you are hiring someone to protect your interests and your largest asset. Versed in hundreds if not a thousand different closed transactions and with experience on home inspection, appraisal, mortgaging and other buyer and seller issues, our eyes and ears are seeing things better than you can, as a seller who may have sold 1-5 properties in a lifetime. We will see problems way before they arise, and be able to navigate the selling process with ease. We will avoid taking a potentially ‘bad’ contract, and then advise of any issues to do or not do for a home inspection. Oftentimes, we save our sellers thousands of dollars by stopping them from making repairs or home remodels that they won’t realize a net gain from doing. Beyond that, we are part of a huge network of Realtors who have interested parties for your property. This word of mouth advertising is often the largest factor in obtaining a buyer who is willing and able to pay more. More marketing means a higher sales price, every time.
2) Much Less Chance of a Lawsuit. You may not be aware that licensed real estate brokerages are required to carry several insurances. We pay to have that insurance to protect ourselves in our every day business when dealing with the public. Most homeowners do not have that kind of insurance. So if you thought you would just invite the general public into your home and see what happens —wow are you exposing yourself to a lot of potential areas of concern. There are many litigious areas of home selling. There are all kinds of laws that protects buyers right now. There are many home disclosures that have to be made to buyers, and the laws change every year. I cannot imagine that the average home or building owner is even aware of most of the items that need to be disclosed to the buyer of their property. Licensed Florida Realtors are required to complete re-education every 2 years just to keep up with legislative changes that affect home and land sellers in the state. Beyond that, we know what hot issues are affecting home and building and land sales and protect a seller with our knowledge of what to disclose and how to disclose it in the sales process. If you think by selling without a Realtor you can save money and hide defects or avoid inspection or financing issues–you are mistaken. Because although Realtors do ask more questions of sellers and buyers, and divulge every detail to prospective buyers, we know how to do that and still sell your property for more money! We also know how to present properties and how to prevent lawsuits after closing. Hiring a licensed Realtor means you are off the “front lines” in negotiating and dealing with issues that do arise in selling.
3) Physical Safety of You and Your Loved Ones. If you think you are going to sell your home and put your sign out on your property –you are giving ANYONE the right to contact you and the right to access your property. Do you really want to meet with strangers at any time of day or night and have them in close proximity to you and your family and valuables? When you hire a licensed Realtor, we are licensed, finger printed and insured. In other words, we are a known, trackable entity. If you open your doors to strangers–you have NO IDEA if they are who they say they are, and if the are a criminal, casing your home or not. Don’t take that great risk. Hire a professional to ‘vet’ the inquiries and keep a good eye on who is accessing your property.
4) Faster, Easier Sales Process. As a Realtor, we do not get paid until your property actually closes. Therefore, we are highly motivated to get you to closing fast and with accuracy. We have to get through many hurdles. This includes a contract –with good terms and conditions, checking into cash or mortgage deals, the home inspection phases, and appraising phase. Beyond that, we ensure your home permits are closed, and that if there are any title issues we are there, working with closing agents and other professionals to get you to closing. Double the ease of a sale with a Realtor if you are handling your families estate property or your elderly parents’ property. Do as a billionaire once wrote in his book on being a successful millionaire: “Hire the BEST Realtor, and then Hold them Accountable.” (Donald Trump) At Mac Evoy Real Estate Company we want you to hold us accountable and we are up to any residential or commercial challenge you throw at us! Let us make you wealthy and be your trusted real estate brokerage!
5) Excellent, current recommendations on what to do with your home or property to sell for more money, and great ideas on what to do with your closing proceeds. I don’t know about you –but if I had the largest asset I owned up for sale –I might want to consult with a professional who could best advise me on the transference of that solid wealth asset. Often 30 minutes of time with me, means that I am giving a home or building seller information they didn’t have or ideas they hadn’t yet thought of to really protect their best interests.
We want repeat clients and we have them at Mac Evoy Real Estate Co. Please see our reviews on Realtor.com or MacEvoy.org. We have those recommendations from satisfied clients, because we have exceeded their expectations. I mean if you ask for advice when you color your hair or buy an outfit to wear, is there a reason you would not want a professional who could counsel you on why you should or shouldn’t sell your largest asset in the world? From our recommendations, we have advised clients on what markets are hot to re-invest in, or in some cases, we have referred them to financial advisors who are having excellent results for other clients. We might tell another client to hold off on selling until their investment has hit its highest sales potential. You won’t know any of that if you sell without calling us!
The author is Carolyn Mac Evoy, Broker of Mac Evoy Real Estate Co., a 2nd generation real estate firm, started in NJ and continued in Florida. Should you be needing housing or commercial property or farm land in Florida, please contact her at: carolyn@macevoy.org or by calling 772.925.4791.