Don’t Use a Realtor to Buy or Sell Your Home If....

by Nikki-Lyn Holm
​The Coastal Home Group

You want a smoother, smarter, and safer experience when buying or selling your biggest investment.   

In today’s market of North East Florida, and especially Saint Johns County, we are currently in a Sellers Market with a shortage of home inventory.  This makes the job of a Realtor very challenging, whether the agent is a buyers agent or a listing agent.  

Please allow me to explain the difference.  The buyers agent is frantically sorting through homes for their buyers with only 1.5 months worth of inventory, when there is typically six months in a healthy market.   Now imagine there are almost 11k agents hunting through, showing, and attempting to find and sell homes. They are submitting countless offers amongst a sea of multiple offer scenarios. 

If you are a buyer, you may be questioning if  you truly need an agent. After all, there are Mega-platforms such as Zillow, Realtor.com and so forth which make it so easy for you to find a house.  So why should you contact an agent when you can just contact the listing agent?  

Here are 3 reasons why you SHOULD have your own agent: 

No cost to you: They work for you for FREE! That’s right, other than a potential, nominal  brokerage transaction fee of a few hundred dollars which is only paid at closing, you have someone dedicated to working for you. The seller pays for their service, so why not have an extra set of eyes looking for you? Did you know Realtors who have access to MLS are privy to a Coming Soon List? Even before Zillow gets it. Strong and serious agents also network well and may have an inside scoop on homes coming on the market.        

Navigational 
Expertise: Buyer's Agents are there to negotiate, advise, guide and suggest ways to make your offer be the lucky one to be chosen.  If you contact the seller's agents who do you think their allegiance is to? The listing agent may very well practice single agency, in which case they cannot represent both parties. 
 
North East Florida Networkers:  Buyer's agents can and should build relationships with the listing agent. Perhaps there is already a relationship? The greater agents are going to ask the important questions and try to create a win-win for all. If they are experienced and work for a reputable broker, they may also have some “tricks of the trade” up their sleeves and will share good guidance with you for making your offer as strong as possible. 

Now let’s evaluate the flip side. Maybe you have had thoughts of selling your home on your own. For Sale By Owner? Here are 3 reasons why we feel you should reconsider:

Safety: Do you know who is coming to preview your home? When agents schedule through other agents on a listed home, there is a vetting process. Pre-Approvals. Consultations. And of course, agents who have licenses to ensure the people in your home are credible and qualified. 

Systems: Your Professional listing agent may have a proven systematic selling strategy. Knowing the market, this agent should have a plan to get your home sold for top dollar and fast.  Please do not rely on the Zestimate for your home value. The best way to assess what is going to appraise or sell for a phenomenal contract price and negotiation, is having your professional agent do the work. Someone with access to trusted reports and data who can provide a relevant CMA. (Comparative Market Analysis) 

Service:  Are you ready to advertise your home For Sale By Owner? Are you ready to give up your privacy, your nights and weekends, as well as need to track all the calls, emails, texts and questions? Your listing agent will handle all of that for you and keep you in compliance. They also  ensure all the documents needed to close are included, and handle your marketing, and contract to close deadlines.  

If you read these tips above and questioned whether you really do need a human, professional, real estate agent or team, please....do not hesitate to schedule a complimentary consultation with a reputable full time realtor, team or group. 

Time is money. Money is time. And if you treasure your time, and want the best value when buying or selling your home? Contact The Coastal Home Group or a professional expert you