Selling a home yourself will definitely save you a bunch of money by not having to pay a real estate commission. But in certain situations it will be better to hire a real estate agent and let them handle to transaction.
Here are a few situations that it would be better to hire an agent rather than try to do it yourself.
Divorce – When divorce is eminent, a lot of hard feelings develop and could lead to making irrational decisions. If one of the parties tries to sell the home, it will likely lead to more arguments. Hire an agent that can act as an independent third party.
Death – If you just lost a spouse or parent, trying to sell on your own will likely be stressful. You will have a lot of things to do with the estate, life insurance, banks, bills, etc and to add trying to sell the family home could be very burdensome.
Job Relocation – Sometimes in life a promotion comes along but requires you to move to a new city. Unless your spouse is going to stay to handle the sale of the home, you’ll need someone here that can take care of it for you.
Work Hours – Some jobs require you to pull long shifts and odd hours or weekends. Other jobs require you to travel or take extended trips around the world. Selling a home like this is difficult to do and could cause you to miss a good buyer.
Illness – You will likely need to hire a real estate agent if you or your spouse has been diagnosed with a severe illness or is out of work due to a career threatening injury and you need to move to a smaller home.
Vacation Home – If you are planning to sell a vacation home in an area that is a great distance from your primary home, it would make more sense to hire a real estate agent that lives and works in the area.
Closing Thoughts
If you find yourself in a situation like this or some other life altering event that requires you to put your home up for sale, consider hiring an agent rather than trying to do it alone. You’ll find that the agent can help you and reduce the stress of the situation.
Hubert Miles is the founder of Waterfront Houses USA, an online marketing service that provides Beach Home in the US and Canada. Find Hawaii Beach Home.