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Money Panel
with Chris Murray, Catharine Fairley, Brad Young and Shabri Moore
Have a financial question? Ask the experts. Send your question to business@newspost.com
“We want to sell our house this year, but we’re not sure if using a real estate agent is a good idea, or if we even need one with the housing crisis. What do you think?” (Jan. 18)
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RESPONSES:
CATHARINE FAIRLEY (Contact: 301-694-7411)
There are many reasons to use a reputable local real estate agent and the current housing market (with excess inventory of houses for sale or in foreclosure) is exactly one of the key reasons why you would use an agent. There are so many factors associated with selling a house, including pricing, staging, objectivity, selling suggestions to maximize your sales price, access to multiple listings and other agents. A big misstep in this market will ensure your house will not sell quickly, if at all. There were 1,872 active listings in Frederick County in December of 2008 according to Sue Collins, ReMax 100 (data quoted from local MRIS), and only 145 sold (which is less than 8 percent). You need to make sure your property is positioned correctly on many different levels including price, condition and exposure. You should interview a few reputable, experienced real estate agents who will discuss their pricing and marketing plan with you. You can always decide to list your house by yourself (you will still need a settlement attorney), if you are not satisfied with their plan.
SHABRI MOORE (Contact: 301-631-1207)
Working with someone who is a professional in their chosen field is always a good idea, and more so when times are difficult. Selling your house may appear to be as simple as putting a for sale sign in the yard and an ad in the newspaper. Most people who choose to sell their homes without the assistance of a real estate agent are hoping to save the sales commission of 6 to 7 percent. And while this strategy works for about 13 percent of all sellers, most people find that working with a well-qualified real estate agent is the optimal route for them. A good Realtor will be able to assist you with details that you may not have considered such as: determining the optimal selling price for your home, marketing your home in a poor housing market, staging your home for sale, preparing fact and disclosure sheets with photos, preparing the correct legal documentation, negotiating purchase offers for you and being available to show your home to prospective buyers. Ultimately you must decide if you are prepared to navigate the steps necessary for a successful house sale or if you would prefer turning over those duties to someone who does this for a living.
BRAD YOUNG (Contact: 301-663-5454)
Whether to use a real estate agent or not has a lot to do with the property you are selling and the demand that there is for that property. If there is a high demand and you think can get a fair price for your house then you may not need to use an agent. With the current market, that is probably not the case and using an agent may be a valuable resource for you. One of the biggest values that you get from an agent is getting your property listed on multiple listings and hopefully the agent marketing your property through advertisements and services their real estate firm has available to them. With any deal you always want to make sure that you are getting value for any fee that you pay, so if you use an agent make sure to use one that is experienced and that will actually help you sell your house. In today’s tough real estate market many agents are willing to negotiate their commission to sell your house below the typical 6 percent that has been common in the past. Typically the lister gets half or (3 percent) and the selling agent gets the other half. Many listers will reduce their listing fee, but again, make sure that you understand for a reduced listing fee they may not spend as much time marketing your property! Your final decision should be based on your confidence to sell your property for market value in a reasonable time, if you do not think you can do that than I’d use an agent!
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