Pros And Cons Of Hiring An Agent To Help You Sell Your Home

As a home seller you face the challenging task of marketing your house to buyers. It may be beneficial for you to hire an agent given the difficulty in advertising to the people who are most interested in buying the fact that you're selling, and given the time and effort of going through the process of selling.

The following are several pros and cons of hiring an agent:

Pros:

• Your agent will list your property in the MLS (Multiple Listing Services), a national database of homes for sale, in which only licensed realtors can list properties. MLS listings are available on thousands of websites, and therefore being listed in the database is a successful way of advertising your home.
• Real estate agents are skilled at marketing, negotiating, and coordinating the services you'll need when selling your home for the lowest rates and best service possible.
• Real estate agents deal with this process for a living, and are therefore much less likely to make mistakes.

Cons:

• You can hire a "flat rate" broker to list your home in the MLS database instead of hiring a real estate agent. The broker will charge significantly less because he will do less for you than the agent would.
• Hiring an agent can be expensive. Real estate agents typically receive commission of 5% to 6% of the final sale price.

When hiring a realtor, it's better to hire someone you trust. If you have a friend who hired a realtor recently, ask your friend if he recommends the professional. Also make sure that you are not hiring the same agent as the buyer, splitting his loyalty.