"For Sale By Owner"

Before deciding to sell your own home without the assistance of a real estate agent, take a look at what Sue has to say about doing so.

Selling your own home takes a great deal of time and patience.  Most people who try to do so think that all they need to do is put a sign in their yard and wait for the people to come.  However, they are without the benefit of the main tool used by real estate agents to sell homes - the Multiple Listing Service database.  Most homes listed by real estate agents and agencies are listed in this searchable database - over 4,500 real estate agents subscribe to MLS in the Kansas City area alone.  If your home isn't in there, it's not being exposed to a very large market.

Without using an agent, you really have no idea who the people that come to see your home are or what they are looking for.  You could waste a lot of time showing your home to people who have no intention of buying a home of that floor plan, in that neighborhood, or buying any home at all.

If you do find a potential buyer, they may not know all they should about purchasing a home.  They may have financing problems and things like buyer's remorse, changes in loan amounts and rates, possession problems, etc. many all factor in to make the deal go bad before closing - which wastes more of your time.

Finally, without an agent who will market your home and tailor the potential buyers to those looking for a home like yours, not only will you waste time, but you will have no one to protect your interests.  No one to make sure that only serious buyers look at your home or make an offer, no one who will negotiate terms or advise you on any offers that are made, no one to make sure all the necessary paperwork is done in a correct and timely fashion to close the deal.

Selling your own home does save you the cost of an agent's commission but is that worth the time, effort, patience and possible fraud you could encounter?  You decide.

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