Do you need to sell your house on the Oregon Coast? In our latest post, we offer 5 things homeowners should know about working with a real estate agent to help sell your house.
When it’s time to sell your house in Warrenton or anywhere on the Oregon Coast, your first instinct may be to call up a local real estate agent to quickly get your house up on the MLS. While this works for some homeowners, there are a few things you should know before hiring an Oregon Coast real estate agent to help you.
The Hidden Costs Can Be High
It’s easy to forget how expensive a real estate agent can be. After all, it’s not like you have to whip out your credit card to get your house listed by an agent. But when you get to the closing table, you might find the money coming to you is a lot less than you’d expected.
Most sellers pay up to 6% of the sale price just for their agent’s commission. In many cases a retail buyer will want you to pay some of the closing costs. If your house needs repairs the buyer may expect you to pay for them before the house closes. In some cases you may want to pay for professional real estate photography an/or staging the house to get it sold. Your agent may cover these costs up front, but they might need to be reimbursed when the house sells.
These hidden costs can reduce your payout by tens of thousands of dollars.
If you decide to sell your house with an Oregon Coast real estate agent, make sure that you are aware of all of the costs that go into a successful listing. Read and make sure you understand the contract you sign with your listing agent. If you’re hoping to get a specific amount of cash out of the sale, make sure to run your numbers and figure out if you’ll still reach your goal after all the expenses are deducted from the sale price.
It May Take Awhile
While this varies from neighborhood to neighborhood and city to city, it will typically take much longer for a traditional sale to be completed as opposed to a direct sale. In fact, when looking at nationwide statistics, houses will take over two months to get an offer on average. Even once an offer is accepted, it can take another month or more for the sale to close. If there are any hiccups with the inspection, appraisal, or the buyer’s loan application, the sale may fall through and you’ll end up back where you started.
While your house is listed, you will still have to pay taxes, maintenance, your mortgage, utilities, and insurance. Since you really don’t know how long the sale will take, you can’t predict how much these holding costs will lower your final payout.
If you need to sell your current house in order to buy your next house, you run the risk of missing out on a great house because you’re not ready to buy. You don’t want to miss out on your dream property because the sale of your house is being held up.
Not All Agents Are The Same
No offense to my realtor friends, but it’s pretty easy to get a real estate license. Some agents do a great job for their clients, going the extra mile to get houses sold. But there are others who don’t really know what they’re doing, or aren’t willing to put in the work to get the best deal for their client. After all, if the house sells they’ll get the same check no matter how much work they put in. And if it doesn’t sell then they aren’t out anything.
Bad agents might encourage you to make expensive upgrades to sell the house faster, or encourage you to take less then it’s worth just so they are able to cash in before your agreement expires. If you decide to list your house with a real estate agent on the Oregon Coast make sure it is someone who comes highly referred and that you are certain you can trust.
Your House May Not Sell
Just because you list your house at a certain price doesn’t mean it will sell for that amount. Many sellers get frustrated when they find themselves spending money to list their homes for sale, only to see other houses in their city sell while their house sits on the market. Just because you fix things up and spend money making the house look as good as possible, does not ensure you will get an offer. If you decide to list and spend money getting your house ready for the MLS, make sure that you won’t be devastated if you do not see the returns you are after. When working with a real estate agent on the Oregon Coast, there is no guarantee if or when you will receive an offer. And if you do get an offer, they may try to negotiate for a lower price.
You Have Other Options
The good news is that hiring a real estate agent on the Oregon Coast is not the only way to sell your house. For certain houses and situations, investing money into the property before selling it can be a huge waste. Factor in the commissions, holding costs, and closing expenses, and you could be looking at thousands of dollars down the drain.
Another option is to sell your house to a real estate investment company like 101 Home Buyers. Working with a direct buyer will allow you to sell your house in just a few short days without any fees deducted from the offer or money spent out of pocket. You’ll know exactly what to expect and when the closing will take place.
If you need to sell your house on the Oregon Coast, be sure that you are aware of all of your available options and how they will affect you. People aren’t always aware of the costs, time, and frustrations a listing can entail. Some homeowners automatically dismiss the idea of a direct sale because of the lower prices associated with them. But once you factor in the time, money, and energy that goes into listing your Oregon Coast house, you will see that the selling methods will produce similar results. We encourage you to run the numbers for your property so you can choose the option that makes the most sense. Please reach out to us if you have any questions about what we do and how we can help you sell your house fast on the coast!