As a real estate broker and investor I am no stranger to buying and selling real estate, so when it came time to sell my own property I thought; “I can do this by myself and potentially save some money,” except there was one small obstacle I had to overcome.
Let me begin by saying that just because someone is a licensed sales agent or broker in the state of Florida that doesn’t mean that they have unfettered access to resources across the state. You see, every area is controlled by regional associations which limits the amount of access to information, including that of the MLS that you can obtain – hence, herein lies my problem. My property was located far away from my area of main practice and I was not a member of that small association, and to become a member would not have been cost effective for this one transaction.
You might be asking yourself, “why does this matter to me? I’m not a Realtor I’m just a homeowner trying to sell my house.” Allow me to explain. I posted my for sale by owner advertisement to individual sites, such as Zillow, with the anticipation and hope that I would get some response from home buyers as well as Realtors (and yes, I would have paid a commission to them). Even after price improvements my property sat for more than a month and the only activity that I received was dozens of calls from Realtors, not because they had customers in hand, rather they wanted to snag my property and list it.
So, what did I do? Having just paid yet another mortgage payment and HOA dues, the savings I thought I’d stash away by not having to pay extra commission were just being eaten away – so I succumbed to the inevitable notion that I must list my property on the MLS. Within DAYS of being listed on the MLS at my original FSBO pricing and by offering fair compensation to a buyer’s agent, I received not one, but three GREAT offers and was under contract!
What did I learn? There are more than 200,000 real estate agents in Florida so why not employ them to find me a buyer? Listing a home as FSBO on consumer sites is not backwards compatible. Meaning, if you list it on Zillow, it’s not going to magically come up in the agents MLS, nor will they know if there is any financial incentive to show and sell your property. I ultimately learned that you need to leverage the power of a great agent and offer some compensation in the MLS to help get your property sold more quickly, otherwise every mortgage and HOA payment you shell out is money wasted in the long run.
How can Zeal Realty Help me? We are sensitive to every customers situation. Our customers and agents are at the heart of everything we do because we know that at the at the end of every transaction there is a person or family involved. We will assist you in having the right tools, such as:
- Setting the right price (both sales price and agent compensation) to meet your goals
- Provide high quality signage
- Marketing your property in MLS, social platforms and open house events
- High quality photography
- Provide feedback on property enhancements or preparations that may be needed
- Understand and perform the correct paperwork
Most importantly we set aside the proper time to devote to your sale so that can achieve the desired result within the set timeline all while keeping you informed throughout the entire process.
Not ready to list with an agent? That’s OK too! Consult with one of us through a live online meeting and ask questions, get useful tips and just have someone you can count on when you need them. If at any time you’re ready for a little more help, we’ll be ready and fully aware of your entire journey so that we can hit the ground running – saving you time and money.