Featured Article in the Troy Sunday Daily Newspaper on October 23, 2005!
REALTORS KNOW MARKET, By Susan Silver
Homeowners who choose to sell their homes themselves may think they will save money by not contracting a real estate professional. Not true, says Cyndie Scott, Realtor and Broker.
“People are trying to save a little bit of money, but they can end up in bad situation,” she said. “They do not know if they are pricing their home correctly. Often homeowners price their home too low.”
Scott says it is a real estate agent’s full-time job to sell homes. “I do not think people realize how much education we are required to have and how we have to frequently update our education,” she said. “Our education and experience is of great value to our clients. It would be like me, a non-medical person, trying to take out my own appendix.”
In addition to bringing experience and education to the real estate table, a realtor can look out for the best interests of the seller and the buyer.
“If someone puts their house up for sale themselves the potential buyer has no protection as far as financing, insurance, title insurance, and inspections, among other things,” she said.
A seller may be in the dark in regard to legal matters pertaining to real estate rules and regulations at the state and federal government level.
“A seller may not know what is required for a real estate transaction as far as property disclosures are concerned,” she said. “They do not know how to protect themselves if the buyer finds something not disclosed.”
Real estate professionals are aware of the real estate market. “It is our full time job to know the market,” Scott said. “We are members of our National Association of Realtors, the Ohio Association of Realtors and our local real estate boards.”
Another advantage of obtaining the services of a realtor is that they have access to more buyers.
“We belong to a multi-list publication which cooperates with realtors in six counties,” Scott said. “There are over a thousand realtors in the multi-list directory who work with buyers and sellers every day.”
Homeowners who try to sell their own homes cannot offer a home warranty to the buyer. “If people do not do a whole house inspection or if they do not do a termite inspection --which is only required on an FHA or VA loan – it is a great disadvantage to buyer and seller,” Scott said. After the purchase, a buyer may find a major defect in the home that an inspection would have caught.
“Everyone should get a whole house inspection and a termite inspection,” Scott said. “At least you know where you are starting from. In a 50 year-old house, is the furnace 50 years-old or 10 years-old? Will you have the budget to replace it?”
A real estate professional works with real estate, contracts, and figures every day. They are apt to catch errors in contracts. “I was working with a buyer and we were closing the loan,” Scott said. “The seller was to pay some closing costs. At the table the figures didn’t match the contract. I pointed out that to the attorney who was there.”
Scott caught the $360 mistake – a savings to the buyer.
“More than one pair of eyes is needed to read those real estate contracts,” she said. “The closing statement was corrected. The sellers were fine with it.”
Scott says a real estate professional sees HUD closing statements every week. “Most people only see one three times in their lifetimes,” she said.
When the housing market is oversaturated, as it is currently, it’s a great advantage to sellers to have their home included in the multi-list.
“If you just stick a sign in the yard, you cannot be in the home books or the pretty colored ones that are owned and controlled by real estate professionals,” she said.
“Selling a home without experience would be like me tearing apart my engine and putting it back together,” Scott said. “Contracting a realtor is crucial to the real estate transaction.”
Scott may be contacted at Cyndie Scott and Associates, 773-7897. Or view the website at www.cyndiescott.com.
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