8 Reasons Why You Need a Real Estate Agent
If you’ve ever wondered, “do I need a real estate agent?”, wonder no more. Here are the Top 8 reasons you need an agent, especially in Toronto’s market.
- Local knowledge. Agents know their territory. In fact, if they’ve been around long enough, they’ve likely been in most houses in the neighbourhood. They know what schools your children would go to, which fire station is closest, and how long it would take you to commute to work.
- Comparables. Knowing how to price or purchase a property relies heavily on similar properties that have been sold or bought within the recent past. Having the resources to find this information – and decode it – are essential to a successful transaction.
- Marketing. Putting the best image of your home depends on photos, brochures, placement on websites and blogs, and outreach to other local agents. This takes a lot of time and, trust me, you don’t want to do it alone. You need to reach the right people to get the best value for your sale – a careful marketing strategy does just that.
- Staging. I’ve said it before – your personal style may hurt your power in a sale. Creating a clean, modern, tidy home to appeal to a mass audience is essential to the dollar your home demands.
- Showings. Do you really want to show your house on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon? Don’t you have groceries to buy, kids to get to practice, and a gym to get to? Leave this to me.
- Negotiations. Things can get heated, especially in a multiple-offer situation. Don’t get taken advantage of, let a professional do the talking. Not that you’re not capable, but do you really want to do this on your own?
- Details. Do you have the survey of your property by a certified contractor? Do you know when the roof was last replaced? Do you know what “broomswept condition” is? These are all very important details, and they need to be written into your Agreement. Without an agent, those details can get lost and cause a lawsuit in the future.
- Contacts. After 20 years in the real estate business, I’ve got lots of contacts and I’ll use them to sell your home.
Sure, you may be able to save some money by selling your home by yourself, but what you gain in money, you’ll lose in sanity.
Take it easy and hire me as your real estate agent!