Selling your home-don’t do this

<<>> When you’re selling your home, the first step that is recommended by Realtors, other home owners and even appraisers is to call your local Realtor and have them complete a market analysis for you. Most of the time, it is free, because the Realtor wants to sell you a home. Now you know what to list your home for, right? Wrong. As a real estate appraiser, let me tell you why this is not a good idea.

Many Realtors do not understand how to select comparable sales. They are a people person. They understand how to smile nice and how to make friends, and how to make deals work, but quite frankly, many of them do not understand home value or what is the best price to list a home for. (Funny thing is I just read an article by a Realtor that stated that real estate appraiser don’t have a clue on how to price a property.)

Realtors will list your home at whatever price will make you happy. If you give them a number, that sounds good to them. There are some Realtors that do not want to make the owners upset. They will just list the property. As I write these words, up to 50% of the listings are expiring in and around my area. This means whoever is listing properties in these areas are only correct 50% of the time.

Realtors have one of the highest turnovers in the industry. This means that there is a good probability that you are working with a brand new Realtor. If they don’t understand home values, they will not understand how to pick the best comparable sales for your home.

Don’t allow the Realtor to set your home value. If you rely on them you may have to pay two house payments. Or worst yet, file for bankruptcy, because your home might not sell.