Ever driven through your neighborhood and seen a FSBO (for sale by owner) sign that’s been sitting in a yard for months? Ever wonder why it gets snapped up once a realtor enters the picture?

Here are a few reasons why you may not want to sell your home yourself.

• Limited exposure – The MLS (multiple listing service) is where industry professionals search for homes and guess what? You can’t list yours there. So you have no search engine help to get your home found. You’re limited to your yard sign, word of mouth, and possibly a newspaper ad to sell your home.
• Lack of experience – Most people that go the ‘for sale by owner’ route overestimate their home value because, face it, they’re not professionals. Without access to average home sale prices, a seller has to guess and higher values tend to scare potential buyers away. Also, when’s the last time you had to negotiate anything (and with your kids doesn’t count)?
• Not a lot of help – If you list your home yourself, you’ve now alienated every real estate professional in town and guess what? They have buyers. Without a listing agreement, there’s no guarantee of commission for a buyer’s agent and they like to get paid for all their hard work.
• Increased liability – There’s a ton of paperwork that is required to sell a home and even inexperienced real estate professionals make mistakes that can affect a transaction. Why put yourself at risk for a potential lawsuit if you miss an important disclosure document?

While ‘for sale by owner’ may seem like the way to go to save some money, it can produce lots of headaches and drag out the sales process. Hiring a seasoned real estate professional will help to sell your home faster and for a potentially higher price. Additionally, it will eliminate many of the legal issues that you may face if you take it on yourself.