Selling a home is a big endeavor in many respects – advertising, repairs, appraisal, and more go into every single real estate deal. That’s why many people use a realtor. They have plenty of expertise to help sell a home for its maximum value and ensure that the word goes out when it’s ready for new owners.
However, realtors also come with hefty fees, and many people end up regretting going with a realtor in order to secure a sale. The truth is that selling your home without a realtor on Long Island is not only possible but might actually be a very good idea.
Why Selling a House Without a Realtor is a Good Idea
1. Realtors are Expensive
For starters, realtors are costly. Some of them may charge fees upfront, and even if they don’t, they’ll take care of paperwork and negotiations with your property’s buyer. This will eventually result in a realtor’s fee, which is typically around 3% for both them and the other realtor agent that the buyer worked with.
This ends up resulting in about 6% of the total purchase price for the house. Considering that most homes end up costing upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars, it’s easy to see why so many people decide to become realtors and chase those dollar signs!
Additionally, you may have to pay closing costs or other fees over the course of a sale. These terms are described in every contract, but legalese is often hard to interpret even for people who’ve bought a home before. Nothing’s worse than realizing you accidentally signed up for extra costs.
2. Your Profits Get Cut
This expense isn’t just money out of your wallet; it’s a flat reduction in your profits. 6% of your profits might not seem like much at first, but it can be especially galling if they barely seem to do any real work aside from getting a few papers in order and collecting a paycheck.
It can also be a big deal if you were relying on that profit to help you fund your next home. Few people want their profits to be lost when they sell their home, particularly if they put a lot of work into keeping the property up and in good condition.
3. You Don’t Have Control
By far one of the biggest hassles when it comes to working with a realtor is the loss of control. When you sign the real estate agent contract, you give away many aspects of control over your property. This often involves repair or maintenance and may see pieces of your home being chipped away over time all in the name of making your home more “sellable”.
You also don’t have any say in the type of person that the realtor decides to sell your property to or how long they take. It’s a lot like putting all your eggs into one person’s basket, and it’s something that lots of people are (rightfully) not entirely comfortable with.
4. It Can Take a Long Time
Realtors may know the housing market, but they don’t always have the connections or ability to sell your house in a timely manner. That’s because realtors don’t just sell houses; they complete all kinds of deals in the real estate industry and may be (and likely are) juggling all sorts of clients at the same time. This prevents your home from getting the dedicated time and attention it needs to sell quickly.
All the while, your home or property could be burning a hole in your pocket. This is especially true if you are trying to move out of your home and live somewhere else. As long as your home isn’t sold, you’ll still need to pay any mortgage payments or property fees that come with the house.
Even worse, you can’t always convince the realtor to drop all their other clients and start working with you exclusively. While they’re looking at home purchases and trades in addition to your sale, you’re spending money.
5. You Can’t Switch Representation
In many real estate deals, you’ll have to stick with your real estate agent for the duration of your agreement. This is normally between six months to a year, and it grants them exclusivity when representing or selling your property. If they decide to juggle other clients or focus on other houses, there’s nothing you can do to get your house on the market more quickly.
6. It’s All Dependent on Realtor Personality
From the above aspects, it’s clear to see that much about the success of your home selling experience depends on the personality of the realtor you choose. This may not seem like such a bad thing at first, but selling a home is often the largest transaction of an individual’s life. Leaving all that up to the whims of a single person, even an experienced realtor, isn’t always a great idea.
There’s only so much you can get from customer reviews and word-of-mouth. Once you interact with a realtor in person, you may find that you and he simply don’t see eye to eye on everything. This can result in a terrible selling experience through and through and lead you to have to wait to cancel your contract with the realtor just to start from scratch.
Alternatives to Realtors
This all being said, realtors do provide several benefits for those looking to sell their homes, especially in competitive markets like Long Island’s. But if you don’t want to go through the hassle and difficulty of working with a realtor, what other options do you have?
Real estate investors or home buying companies are a great alternative option. They’re not as well-known as realtors, but they have several advantages that can make them more worth your time and attention.
They’re Easy
Most real estate investors and professional home buyers are incredibly easy to work with by design. Their purpose is to collect properties and purchase them as quickly as possible in order to fix them up and sell them or hold on to them as a rental property. Because of this, home buying companies or individual investors make it easy to contact them or submit a home portfolio online.
They’re Fast
As opposed to the typical waiting period of at least several months from start to finish when working with a realtor, selling your house to a cash home buyer will only take about a week to a month. In fact, lots of investors can close within seven days if you absolutely need the property to be taken off your hands ASAP. This makes home buying companies a particularly attractive choice if you want to get a quick payout from your house and move on, like if you need to move because of an emergency.
Low Cost
While realtors will cost you a hefty chunk of your final selling price, selling your house to a real estate investor usually doesn’t cost very much. You won’t find any extra commission costs or fees in the majority of cases. Most real estate investors are so committed to buying your property that they’ll also end up paying for 100% of the closing costs. In essence, you’ll be able to get someone to look at your property and buy it in less than a month and without having to pay much at all.
All you’ll see are raw profits. This is an attractive option if you want to sell your house and pocket the change as quickly as possible in order to sell your house during a divorce or need the lump sum for a new purchase.
No Carrying Costs
Finally, selling your house quickly and easily to a home buying company or real estate investor makes it financially easier for you in the long term as well. While you have significant carrying costs like mortgage payments and other upkeep fees while you hold a house and wait for a realtor to find a buyer, a home buying company can pick up your home within the same mortgage payment period.
This means you don’t have to take multiple mortgage payments into account when calculating an asking price or trying to gather as much cash as possible for a move. Many people try to sell their homes when they can’t make the mortgage payments, and sticking with a house for another month simply isn’t feasible.
Real estate investors are the perfect solution to this issue.
Conclusion
All in all, it’s quite possible to sell your house in Long Island without the help of a realtor. But while selling your house yourself is quite a difficult proposition, relying on the expertise and assistance of a home buying company like Leave the Key Homebuyers is a much better alternative in many cases.
They and other home buying companies can send a team to investigate your house, come up with a price, and take your home off your hands all within a short period. Ultimately, many people will find it easier to go through this route rather than suffer through all the work and hassle of a realtor deal.