The Advantages And Disadvantages Of An Open Residential Listing
If you are looking to place your home up for sale, you can use a real estate agent and have an exclusive right to sell listing with that agent, or have open residential listings with a variety of realtors. An open residential listing allows realtors to show your home to their clients, which you committing to any one particular listing agent. There are many benefits to doing this, but there are also a few drawbacks as well. Here are a few of the pros and cons of open residential listings:
The Cons of an Open Residential Listing
- You Have to Market Your Home Yourself
One of the downsides to an open residential listing is that you typically have to market the home yourself. You have to place advertisements online, put up signs that say your home is for sale and work to let real estate agents know the house is for sale and what amenities it has. If buyers and real estate agents don't know your home is for sale, the home is nearly impossible to sell.
- You Have to Negotiate a Purchase Price
The other disadvantage to an open residential listing is that you have to negotiate a purchase price yourself. Most buyers are working with a real estate agent, so you are negotiating with someone who has experience doing this. This can be tough. If you are a poor negotiator, you may want a real estate agent or a real estate lawyer negotiating for you.
The Pros of an Open Residential Listing
- You May Not Owe Anyone a Commission
The biggest upside to an open residential listing is that you may not owe anyone a commission. In some cases, you are selling your home by yourself, so you do not pay commission to a real estate agent. In other cases, a real estate agent may work out a deal that if they, and only if they, find a buyer for your home, they get a partial commission or bonus. Either way, the amount you end up paying, if anything, is less than you would pay with an exclusive realtor sealing the deal.
- An Open Residential Listing May Increase the Buyer Pool
The other advantage to an open residential listing is that it may increase the buyer pool. If you reach out to a lot of real estate agents and offer them an incentive or bonus to sell their home, without them having to do any of the advertising or holding open houses, they may bring in their own buyers to try to double dip on the sale of the house. This means they collect on your bonus and they collect selling the home to their client. It's a win-win and may open up the buyer pool to help your home sell faster or for more money.
If you are motivated, don't mind advertising your home yourself and are willing to create a flyer to distribute to local real estate agents, an open residential listing may be a great way for you to get your home sold. However, if you don't want to do the legwork, you may be better off with a traditional real estate agreement. Learning the advantages and disadvantages will help you decide.
