Anybody who is looking to sell or rent a real estate
property, wants to sell it quickly, and that too at good price, but a layman
might not even be aware of exactly what’s the good price for his/her property,
let alone managing to get that price. This is why majority of people goes for
real estate agents for buying, selling, or renting their properties.
A real estate agent or broker can assess your property and give
you an idea of the right price according to neighboring communities and the
overall situation of the real estate market. They can also help you with
marketing, home staging, and closing a deal, except that they will charge a
hefty fee or commission for their services, precisely the reason why many
people prefer to avail one of those online property portals or classified websites
for finding a buyer or tenant for their homes or offices.
But just like any other option, selling or renting a
property via internet, without getting any help from a real estate agent might
save you some bucks, but it has its fair share of disadvantages as well. So,
while I am all for making the most of Internet, you must have an idea of the
downsides, so that you can do something to deal with these shortcomings.
Advantages:
I.
1. Save
on the Commission Fee:
As earlier suggested, real estate agents will be charging
hefty amounts for their services. If all you are looking for a buyer or tenant
for your property, which is located in a big city, you can easily catch the
attention of many interested parties by simply putting an ad on property
portals or classified ads, and that too for free. You can also upload some pictures
and floor plan, and you will be getting calls from interested buyers or people
looking for rental property, in next to no time.
II. 2. More
Control:
Using Internet to sell or rent your property means that you
will be free to make your own decisions. Not that dealing with a real estate
agent will bound you to listen to their advice, still some of them might talk
you into a deal that you will regret later on. Remember that they will be
looking to get the deal done ASAP because that is when they will be getting the
commission, and sometimes your might miss a good prospect in hurriedness.
III. 3.Clash
of Interest:
If your real estate agent has many properties on hand, and
they are expecting bigger commissions from other properties, they will be
keener to sell or rent those properties sooner than yours, while making you
wait. Turning towards the Internet and doing it yourself means that you can make
a wholehearted effort and attract the potential buyers without wasting any time.
IV. 4. Learning:
Property portals are not just used for selling or renting
properties, they can help you in more than one ways. For example, you can
compare property prices in your neighborhood and decide the right price, you
can also get some handy tips from their knowledgebase, or you can initiate discussion
or post queries at their communities.
Disadvantages:
I.
1. Time
Consuming:
Remember that not only you will have to take all calls from
interested parties (including some at odd timings), asking all sorts of
questions and making weird offers. That is quite time consuming, as well as
annoying, not to forget that even if you have uploaded pictures of your
property, many people will be interested in visiting the home, so you will have
to take out time and arrange a visit for many interested buyers or tenants.
II. 2. Negotiation:
Real estate agents are usually quite good at persuading and
price negotiations. That’s part of their job and something that they are doing
day in and day out. You might not be as good as a professional agent or broker
at communicating or convincing when it comes to persuading buyers or renters to
go for the property.
III. 3. Documentation
All real estate transactions, doesn't matter if it is
renting out a property or selling it; need to have some well documented
agreements. A real estate agent will be able to help you with the legalities
and nitty-gritty of a transaction; you’ll have to be extra careful and vigilant
while handling it yourself.
Farah is a contributing writer for a London loft conversion company, that
specialize in planning and carrying out high quality loft conversions in
London, Hertfordshire, and Essex.
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