- Save selling fees – not true – buyers think fees are included in the price.
- Danger of under-pricing and selling the house for less.
- Danger of over pricing and taking too long.
- Get mostly lookers versus serious pre-qualified buyers.
- Difficulty in negotiating.
- Not finding out buyers hidden objections.
- Inexperience in handling objections once you find out what they are.
- Create an urgency situation for yourself (i.e. if a listing agent is hired at the last minute, the house may not sell in time forcing you to heavily reduce the price of your home)
- Problems in financing – types of mortgages, where to go, creative financing, etc.
- Lack of several different marketing tools – people don’t buy from one specific ad.
- Little or no advertising exposure.
- No follow up system to showings (i.e. agent calls back).
- Buyer must sell his own house before he buys – we can work this out.
- Owner ad expenses.
- Lack of home selling experience.
- Buyers’ reluctance on inspection details.
- Don’t know how to justify the asking and selling price to the buyer.
- Not being at home and missing “A Buyers”.
- Allowing complete strangers to have access to home.
- People drive by and not keeping their appointment.
- Buyers may become interested later and not remembering to follow-up.
- Buyers take owners’ point-of-view with “grain of salt”.
- Processing, settlement, closing problems – agents takes care of.
- How long on market.
- Handling binders.
Prime examples of why owners should not sell their own property:
- Some years ago a Mt Nelson owner was offered $480,000 privately. Hank obtained $520,000 and with selling fees owner was still $20,000 better off.
- Hank bought a unit in Howrah for $235,000 for sale by owner – sold it 12 months later for $298,000.