Why We Believe you NEED a Realtor®

If you read our article/guide on selling a home yourself you know we believe, if you want, you can try to sell your property yourself. The only problem with selling on your own is that the odds are stacked very much against you. Let us explain.

If you were to break down buyers there would be 2 groups. Motivated and unmotivated. If you broken that down even more you would also have qualified and unqualified. Now if you were to ask yourself where would motivated, qualified buyers go. Driving around, humbling online, trying to setup appointments to look at a couple houses on a weekend? Or with a Realtor® that can narrow things down, help with paperwork, setup appointments so they see 4-5 homes a night? Right. With a Realtor®. Almost all motivated buyers hire a Realtor®. As one I know. What does that leave for the for sale by owners? The unmotivated, unqualified buyers. Tire kickers as some call them.

The odds are stacked against most for sale by owners. You are probably thinking that you know or heard of people selling their own homes. And you are correct. I use the analogy of a casino. Does everyone that go in there win? Do the majority win? No. Most lose. Some lose a lot. But just like anything there are some that win. For sale by owners are the same way. Some win, most lose and some lose in a big way.

The final piece of the puzzle. Those 3 letters that make this all possible. The MLS®. The Multiple Listing Service is the power behind all Realtors®. There are many ways a real estate agent may sell your house but the Calgary MLS® is one of the most powerful. Without this single tool a for sale by owner is at a major disadvantage. There are new MLS® list only brokerages out there. This will help with selling your home. But there is a market for full service, discount service and things in between. Like any profession. You can get a plumber to plumb the walls but you put the toilet in yourself. Or pay more and have the plumber do it all. Totally up to you.

Even if you dislike Realtors®. See them just like politicians or bureaucrats. You may not like them but they are needed. They are the glue that holds the deal together. They have a lot to gain so will do everything in their power to make sure your deal goes through for the best price they can. So if you try to sell your home yourself and fail, do not feel bad. Many people try and very few succeed. Hire a great Realtor® and you will have no troubles, no worries and you will almost always get top dollar.