There’s a reason only 10% of home sales were FSBO (for sale by owner) last year — and it’s not just the daunting mounds of paperwork involved in selling a house. The best real estate agents in the nation, the ones who have to turn down clients because they’re so slammed with business, tell us that it’s their hard negotiating skills and objective lens that sellers need the most. It’s the little moments at the kitchen table when you can’t decide if you should accept an offer or counter. It’s wondering whether you should trust a buyer who your gut tells you isn’t serious. It’s someone who can tell you straight that your asking price is too high. So what can a real estate agent do for you that you can’t do for yourself? Here are five things that only come with experience and detachment from the home. Homeowners often look at their property through the rose-colored glasses of the happy memories they made in their home. The deck, even though it’s falling apart, is where you hosted so many barbecues. You can hear the sound of the kids unwrapping Christmas gifts in the living room. The pencil marks measuring heights through the years tug at your heart strings. Homeowners have an emotional relationship with their homes, and that connection makes figuring out what your home is worth that much harder. Few buyers even bother to look at houses that are overpriced. And if buyers don’t see your home, they won’t make an offer. Luckily, real estate agents evaluate your property without the vision-clouding emotional attachment that you have as a homeowner. Just ask Kim Erwin, a top-selling real estate agent in Corpus Christi, Texas: “I’ve been selling real estate for over 36 years, and the trick is understanding the mortgage industry within your community and looking at the house through the eyes of the buyer.” Without that emotional baggage, an expert real estate agent can:1. Agents make an unbiased evaluation of your home
