You are right, you can sell your home on your own. You can even do your own open houses! But do you know all the facts about this business? Open houses generally don't sell a home, perhaps in the recent years you may have been able to do so but not today. Homes are not selling like hot cakes any more. In an open house, you get a bunch of nosy neighbors and a bunch of people who are looking to buy, but not interested in you home because of the pricing, the amount of rooms, room layout, etc... What's the next thing you need to do, advertise in the paper, spread it by word of mouth, send out flyers? That's great, but you are not effectively advertising your home. OK, what about forsalebyowner? I had my home in forsalebyowner for 6 months and I received 3 calls! All 3 of them where scams. 1 person wanted to sign a contract, pay me over 80% of the home up front, then pay me the rest after he walks through the home. He never even saw the house! Needless to say I never heard back from him. 1 person offered me $80,000 less then what the home was worth. So that wasn't an  effective solution either.

Now let look and see what happens when you list with a realtor. Right off of the bat your home is listed in what we call the Multiple Listing Search (MLS), which every realtor has access to, not to mention that everyone has access to realtor.com, which is another place your home will be found. Your home is now being viewed by realtors through out the nation and other countries. Realtors also advertise for you in estate magazines. You know, the free magazines you pick up at the local supermarket. Ask your self this question, when you decide to buy a home, what do you do? Most people find a realtor in the area which they are looking. They aren't looking at sites such as forsalebyowner. Where do realtors search for their clients looking to buy a home? In the MLS, where you aren't listed! You are loosing potential customers. It doesn't matter how beautiful or how many upgrades the home has, in any business its about location, location, location! By listing your home, you are in a 1000 times better location then trying to sell it on your own. Plus, the benefits of a realtor, is that it is their job to do to all of the tedious things that need to be done. They are going to do your open houses, advertise for you, negotiate for you, work with lawyers, the town, the bank. And if any issues arise, they are on it and are their to give you the best possible advise. All you have to worry about is your check list for the final week. This is why you pay them.

Don't be fooled either thinking that the your realtor is getting rich on you. Let's say you have to pay the real estatet company $15,000 for the sale of your home. That chunk of money is first split between both buying/selling real estate agency companies/brokers, then split again between the buying/selling agents, then taxed! What is the individual realtor left with, approx. $2500 for the time they started to market your home to the time it is sold. It could be 1 month or 1 year! Not to mention all of the time and advertising realtors spend on your home, the subscription fees they pay to become a member to all of the MLS' out there, offices fees they pay to their real estate company/broker, and the list goes on. Most people come to a real estate agent and say, "I will list with you if you give me money back ". First of all, that is against the law. The realtor can loose his/her license and not to mention get fined or go to jail. Second of all, what if your boss came to you and said that he/she is not going to pay you for your hard work this month, what would you say?