You’ve decided it’s time to sell your home. There are many questions you may be asking yourself. Should you hire an agent to sell your house in Fort Wayne, IN? Do you want to pay large commissions, or do you have another option? What about your time frame? Do you have long to wait for the house to receive an offer, or is time of the essence? How long will it take to close? What sort of repairs will you have to make? How does the house look when you leave for work in the morning? Are you available to show your house with a few moments notice, or do you need more time? There are many pros and cons when you hire an agent to sell your house in Fort Wayne. Below we explain the benefits of hiring an agent, and why it may be smart to take a different route.
Commissions and Fees
When you hire an agent to sell your house in Fort Wayne, they’re going to be expecting payment. Most real estate agents are paid based on a percentage of the sale price of your house. Unless you have a different agreement in place, this can be a hefty chunk of money. If you do not use an agent, there will be no commissions paid to a buyer’s or seller’s agent. That means thousands of dollars in savings! The usual commission is 3% per side, so if you sell your house for $400,000, you would have to pay $24,000 in commissions alone, along with the traditional seller’s closing fees and other possible transaction fees to the closing agent and the real estate agents office. Real estate investors typically do not charge commission or transaction fees, and if they do, it is extremely low in comparison.
Waiting Time Frame
Time can be another factor to think about when you hire an agent to sell your house in Fort Wayne. Real estate agents have access to the multiple listing service, or MLS, which allows your property to be found in searches for certain features of a property. This may sound great, but how long will it sit on the market? How fast will you receive offers? Will the potential buyer be qualified to buy your home? Real estate investors and other direct house buyers typically have a network of other house buyers ready to pay cash, so if your property doesn’t fit their portfolio, then it may fit one of their colleagues’ portfolios. Either way, this means very limited waiting time for an offer. Also, when you sell your house in Fort Wayne, IN to house buyers, they will typically close faster than traditional house buyers, and pay in cash with Traditional house purchases usually require qualifications from banks, mortgage underwriting time, property inspections, and appraisals. In the end after waiting for all of that, the buyer may end up not even qualifying.
Inspections & Repairs
When you hire an agent to sell your house in Fort Wayne, be prepared for your potential buyer to hire a home inspector, which could mean costly repairs you weren’t expecting. These are usually expected to be done prior to closing, which means out of pocket expenses for you. Professional house buyers in IN will usually purchase houses as-is. As a seller, this means you do not have to worry about repairs before closing, or a buyer backing out after not liking what was found on an inspection report. Some professional companies do not even require inspections which makes it a truly as-is transaction. When you use a real estate agent, the transaction could fall apart over negotiation repairs, which equals lost time for you, the seller.
Showings
One of the things we hear most home sellers complain about when the decide to hire an agent to sell their home in Fort Wayne are all the showings! Having your home listed with an agent could mean middle of dinner phone calls, super early showings, showings all day, or evening showings when you just want to relax at home. There’s also the added pressure of having to keep your home spotless and “showing ready” all the time. This is difficult if you have children, pets, and a full time job. If you decide to use a professional house buyer in Fort Wayne, IN, you will not have to worry about going through a roller coaster of emotions. . You don’t have to worry about possibly running into a buyer’s agent or their clients or dealing with them asking you questions that you really shouldn’t answer anyway. You also don’t have to worry about buyers arguing with you over which furniture you are taking and what you are leaving.
There are a lot of situations to think about when you are ready to sell your house. We can help you decide which avenue would be best for you.