You have an important decision to make when you need to sell your home, especially in today's challenged market. But you have to to take a hard look before you decide HOW to sell it quickly. Have you had any offers, or anyone express interest in your home within the past two years, when your home was not for sale?
If you have not, how would a local realty agent suddenly find someone who is? I have two thoughts on that. First of all, if a realty agent does have "your" buyer, he or she could bring that buyer to you. If you are selling your home without an agent, you would save a selling agent commission. On a $250,000 sale, the (usual) 3% selling agent commission would be around $7,500, and you would save that.
Second, if "your" agent doesn't have anyone to buy your place, he or she would need to advertise your home in order to attract that buyer you need. But in the process, what they are really doing is advertising themselves. Take a look at their web site or their ad in the Sunday paper. Do you just see one property? Chances are you see that agent's photo and small ads for several properties they are looking to sell at the same time as yours. If someone calls them in response to another property, that could be their next commission check. How does this help YOU?
Your concern is finding your buyer. You need to compare what you can do on your own against what paying an agent could bring you.
Here is one example of how a realty agent puts a video about listings on YouTube:
http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8298243&version=1&locale=EN-S&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Did you know that uploading a video onto YouTube is free? Some people are able to use the free camera in their cell phone to record and upload a video. So while some realty agents are in effect charging you to put up a video, we at MarketMyOwnHome.com will help guide you into doing your own at no cost to you. And without some agent's photo and contact information dominating the presentation.
Realty agents financially support their local realty board or association which provides them with the MLS and other marketing services they use and charge you for.
Yet, these same realty associations are the ones putting out a ton of stories about the drop in home sales around the country. While you are needing to sell your home, you are not interested in how today's market compares with one year ago. You simply want a fair price for your home.
After all, some of the money paid out in commissions as a result of those homes in your area which finally did sell are helping to fund the flow of negative statistics these realty associations continue to wave to the unknowing public.
MarketMyOwnHome.com isn't about to publish negative statistics about your area. You can certainly demonstrate to potential buyers how the agents in your neighborhood are pointing out negative comparisons while you have the best value in the neighborhood.
You are welcome to check out some or all of the links I have posted below. (Simply cut and paste into a new browser.) Perhaps these can help you make your important decisions..................................
"Lois Notes"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/397119_housing23.html?source=rss
http://www.spokanejournal.com/article.php?id=4066
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20090129/NEWS01/901299931/-1/rss05
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25008781-5006301,00.html?from=public_rss
http://www.southtownstar.com/business/1424806,chicago-metropolitan-home-sales-down-021109.article
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2009/02/lehigh_valley_home_sales_fall.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2009/02/09/daily8.html?ana=from_rss
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/233600
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/01/05/daily8.html?ana=from_rss
http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/2009/01/05/news/news3.txt
http://newsok.com/tulsa-real-estate-agent-susan-pryor-given-15-year-term-in-manslaughter/article/3343744