Are Realtors Really Required When Selling Your Home?

There are plenty of reasons why a seller might decide to sell by owner

, but the most common reason is clearly to save having to pay a real estate commission when you sell a house. Although logical, that common reason is also a good way to cause yourself a lot of problems. I mean that finding the buyer on your own is only the first goal in the process when you sell by owner. And, believe it or not, it can actually be the easiest step in the sale process, and what follows can complicate the transaction in a variety of ways.

Let's say you have found your buyer already and now you need the proper legal forms to put your agreement on paper for signatures. Known as a Purchase Agreement, a Real Estate Sale Contract or simply a Sales Agreement, the specific name of the form is not really what's important to you. However, the form itself is very important to assure that your agreement has all the needed legal elements. Please note that every state has unique requirements, so if you download a form off the internet without considering whether it is legal for your state you may find yourself with a contract that is invalid or somehow problematic. Getting your sales agreement from a local attorney is a good plan when you sell a home by owner.

As soon as your sales agreement is signed and dated and you have obtained earnest money from the buyer, because earnest money is part of the legal contract, then you will need to decide what to do next. By that I mean you will need to take it to your attorney or your local title company to complete the title search process and closing document preparation. During the title search process your buyers will be busy with their mortgage loan approval process, which can be somewhat lengthy in the present mortgage market. Actually, you are not personally involved in your buyer's application process, other than cooperating with inspectors and appraisers, but you will probably feel like you are involved while you wait for their financing approval to be final. It can be a long wait.

A good real estate agent really earns his or her commission in the closing phase of a sale by helping the buyer through the many financing requirements, including house inspection and appraisal. Homeowners are only required to make the house available for inspectors and appraisers to view it, but if your buyers have no agent to assist them they may become somewhat overwhelmed and you are not in a position to help provide help. It's for these reasons I generally advise sellers to seriously consider whether it's worth the potential challenges when you decide to sell by owner.

by: Leo Kingston

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