Real estate agents can be extraordinarily helpful with selling a home, but the service doesn't come cheap – all agents take a commission based on the final sale price of the home. Thus, many buyers who want to avoid these fees and walk away with more money in their pocket are opting to instead sell the house on their own, reports Moneysense.ca.
While this can save money, buyers need to understand that it'll be much more work without a real estate agent. For starters, agents take care of their own – and if you're selling a house by yourself, don't expect other realtors to begin lining up potential customers for you. You'll likely have to do the legwork yourself in reaching potential buyers.
Those selling on their own will also need to study the market in order to determine the appropriate price for their home. Realtors have much more knowledge of the local market and what homes are selling for, so their pricing may be more accurate. Thus, home sellers need to ensure that they get the price right, or that money they're saving on commission will quickly evaporate.
One idea that could help homeowners going it solo is an open house. This gets a lot of people into the home at once and can help set up a potential deal. It's important that those holding an open house look into home staging. This is where a buyer puts some of their items into self storage in order to make the house look more attractive, which has been shown to drive up the final price.
Jiffy Self Storage, a leader in Toronto storage solutions, is currently running a contest on their website for a free iPad 3. Visitors to the site simply need to match a few Canadian landmarks and they'll be entered to win the iPad or one of several other prizes.
