Using For Sale by Owner - Should You Do It?

When a party is looking to sell their home, they are going to, more than likely, look at all the options available to them. And as everything in any market, there are many choices. As such, there are also many choices that might be better than one another. In the real estate market, it is more left up to the needs of individuals than classifying one better than the other.

Let us take a look at what For Sale by Owner actually means, and the benefits it might provide the buyer and seller.

For Sale by Owner means that ultimately, the sale is by the owner. They have not hired a real estate agent to list or sell their home. Instead, they have basically taken the task into their own hands. Possibly the biggest benefit that people who list their real estate themselves is the fact that they will not have to pay a realtor's commission.

There are some major drawbacks, however, if you are not experienced in real estate. Unfortunately, general real estate contracts can be hard for most people to read and decipher. It is hard for first time sellers to negotiate a contract from a buyer. These are all things that realtors handle in a professional and knowledgeable manner. Generally, if there is something wrong with a contract, a realtor will pick up on it immediately and inform you, the seller.

Another aspect to consider is time. A typical home sale will require about 100 hours. This can be very costly if you are someone who makes a $75 an hour. At this point, it is wise to weigh the cost of whether a realtor would be less expensive than using your own time. Time is one of those things you cannot recuperate. A realtor has the time that is dedicated to this process of showing the home, setting up appointments and answering questions.

It is also known that many buyers like to work with a realtor for a few reasons. The biggest reason is they trust the process more. Not only that, they feel more comfortable because the realtor has no personal tie with the real estate in question. Many buyers feel the price is more with for sale by owner homes. Although this may not be the case, this is unfortunately how it is perceived.

Last but not least, there are definitely other expenses you will incur outside your hourly rate. Even if you were not going to consider your hourly rate, there is no getting around advertising costs associated with the selling of a home. Moreover, the costs of legal fees can be fairly expensive for drawing up the contracts.

Overall, selling a home if you're the owner really only works if you are knowledgeable about the industry yourself. Face it, the home could be sitting on the market longer than you want and the money is coming out of your pocket in that respect to. For the most part, it is generally wiser and more cost effective to go with a realtor.

Learn more about the Alaska Real Estate market or search Anchorage Real Estate on Ryan Tollefsen's Alaska Real Estate web site.