Selling a home can be a stressful process, even more so when you’re doing it on your own. It pays to have an experienced real estate agent fighting for your best interests. Here's why you should use an agent to sell your home instead of selling it privately.

The benefits of an agent

When you hire a real estate agent, he or she will handle all the paperwork required to list and ultimately sell your home, saving you time and effort. A real estate agent will have extensive experience dealing with the required documentation. Plus, knowledge of the market is an agent’s bread and butter. Any good agent can help you come up with an effective pricing strategy that will help ensure that you get the most out of your sale. Most real estate agencies also have a dedicated marketing arm, meaning you won’t need to worry about the hassle of getting suitable photos and writing marketing copy for your home, then listing it on the various platforms. Finally, agents are experienced negotiators who understand how to work through any complications that may arise during the course of a sale. 

What happens when you sell privately?

When you decide to sell your home yourself, there are some additional steps involved in listing the property correctly. At first look, it may seem simple and easy, but the process involves everything from ensuring legal documents are prepared correctly to cleaning up the property to advertising it in the right places and responding promptly to enquiries. Then, you need to ensure the house is ready for viewing, and if you want to run open homes, they’ll most likely need to be on weekends. All this is before negotiations even start! If the documentation and negotiation process is handled incorrectly or not done at all, it could lead to costly delays or even legal issues down the line.  

What about fees? 

It may seem tempting to do the entire house sale process yourself and save on commission fees, but this will depend on how highly you value your own time and energy. You should also keep in mind that although agents do work for commission, they are working for you, too. It’s in the agent’s interest as well as yours to ensure your home is sold as quickly as possible and for the best price. Agents also have local knowledge and expertise that can help move things along quickly, and they serve as an invaluable resource should any problems arise during negotiations or contract signing. Peace of mind can be very valuable. Many people find the process of selling a home stressful enough even when an agent is involved. Consider also that you may already be extremely busy with sorting out new living arrangements and the moving process. It’s a huge stress-reliever to know that someone knowledgeable and experienced is looking out for your best interests every step of the way.

Some things are best left to the professionals

At the end of the day, hiring an experienced real estate agent will help ensure that everything goes smoothly when selling your home. If you’re looking to list your house in the Bendigo area, get in touch with our team at McKean McGregor. We’re locals too, and we have deep knowledge of Bendigo and the surrounding areas. We can take care of all details related to listing and marketing as well as providing valuable guidance when negotiating with potential buyers or dealing with any complications that may come up afterwards. Request an appraisal now or get in touch on (03) 5454 6600 to get the ball rolling.