These days everyone does things without costly experts to help them. Many people buy and sell stocks without a broker. Some create wills and trust without estate planning attorneys. Others even remodel their homes without contractors. With all of this independence, why wouldn’t you consider looking at the benefits of selling your house without an agent in Kansas?
Money Savings
Using an agent costs money. It’s as simple as that. Often, it’s a lot of money. Most real estate transactions can cost six percent of the property sales cost. If you sell your home for $150,000, this can cost the seller $9,000. That amount is split between the seller’s and buyer’s agent.
That’s a considerable amount to be taken from the final sale price. If the seller has a high balance on their mortgage that needs to be paid off, eliminating the commission costs can be a huge advantage. An increase in the net profit is attractive to sellers. Even if you as a seller don’t have an agent, the buyer probably will, and they will expect to be paid.
Usually sellers have to pay two to three percent to a buyer’s agent even if they don’t have a listing agent. If you are new to real estate sales, the buyer’s agent will probably try to negotiate a higher commission, because she will likely be doing most of the work since you don’t have experience to know what needs to be done.
Keeping It Personal
Sometimes a transaction is between two people that know each other well. It could be family members, business partners or close friends. In these kinds of cases, where everyone is clear who is who and what is expected, there may not be a need for an agent. Of course, you will want to have a lot of trust between the different parties involved in this kind of scenario.
Even if the parties do know each other, they must follow legal sale requirements. Follow all Wichita rules for disclosures and timeline requirements. The last thing you want is to find yourself in a legal battle later on for a property you thought you no longer had any ties to. Follow all of the rules to avoid any penalties or legal trouble.
A Qualified Negotiator
It doesn’t necessarily give you more negotiating power to say you are more flexible with the price if there is no outside representation. The buyer may feel like there is more room to negotiate since they know you aren’t having to pay an agent.
It is also possible that the transaction is very straightforward. Perhaps it is a new construction or being sold as is and the seller isn’t willing to negotiate on anything. Buyers can come in and make an offer without expectation for repairs or credits. Sellers set with their price and able to provide all disclosures and documents properly might not see a need for agent representation.
Beyond negotiating the sale price, sellers might feel they are more qualified to sell and negotiate the transaction than an agent. Sellers well versed in real estate transactions might be comfortable walking through the process and negotiating items at different points in the escrow process. When a seller is comfortable dealing with a buyer or buyer’s agent, he can save at least three percent of the commissions by representing himself.