Orange County Information Center - Home Selling

Why should I use a real estate agent to help me sell my home?

Although you are not legally required to use a real estate agent to help you with the sale of your home in California, there are at least four good reasons why you should.

• First, real estate agents know the home sale process backwards and forwards; they know the legal requirements for selling a home in your state; the timeline for completing each step in the home sale process; and the documents you and the buyer will need to sign before your home is sold. Although it is possible to sell your home without a real estate agent, it is not easy. There is a lot to learn and mistakes made during the home sale process can have serious consequences.
  
  This is one of the reasons O.C. Real Estate Advisors recommends you use a real estate agent to help you sell your home. When you purchase a flat-fee service package from O.C. Real Estate Advisors, we give you unlimited access to a licensed California real estate advisor and a licensed California attorney who will guide you through each step in the home sale process.
• Second, if you do not use a real estate agent to help you sell your home, it will be difficult for you to determine the best asking price. When you use a real estate agent to help you sell your home, the agent can provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis, or CMA,for your home. The CMA will tell you the selling price of similar homes in your neighborhood and how long each home was on the market before it sold. The agent prepares the CMA by retrieving information from the Multiple Listing Service or MLS. The MLS is a proprietary database which can only be accessed by licensed real estate professionals. As a result, you will not be able to use this information to help you determine the best asking price for your home unless you are working with a real estate agent.
• Third, if you do not use a real estate agent to help you sell your home, you cannot list your home for sale in the Multiple Listing Service or MLS. Real estate agents use the MLS to find homes to show to their buyers and more than 90% of all buyers use a real estate agent to help them find a home. 1It is therefore critical that your home is listed for sale in the MLS.
• Fourth, there are at least six different types of disclosures you are legally required to give to anyone who purchases your home. The disclosures can be somewhat confusing and difficult to understand. When you use a real estate agent to help you sell your home, the agent will give you the disclosure forms created, and approved, by the California Association of Realtors®. Your agent will also help you complete the forms to ensure they are completed correctly and contain all of the information you are required to disclose under California law.

When you hire O.C. Real Estate Advisors, you’ll receive each of these important services, and much more, for one low flat fee!

Warmest Regards,

Peta Carley
Orange County Real Estate Advisor

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• How do I find a real estate agent to help me with the sale of my home?