Nicole and John Oertel
Wondering what the difference is between working with a Chicago Realtor vs For Sale by Owner (FSBO)? Keep reading!
I feel like dipping your toe into the current market should come with a disclaimer “do not attempt this without a professional!” Let’s be honest, that's us! And I'm serious here... Think about all of the professional experts that you can hire for literally anything. If you wanted to learn piano, what reasons would prompt you to hire a piano teacher over learning through a free YouTube video? Because you want access to their expertise, their know-how, their years of specialized training and experience, and most importantly their time!
Though The Oertel Group is not in the piano teaching industry, We do specialize in buying, selling, and navigating the current market (which, let’s be honest, is always fluctuating) in the Chicagoland area! But even more so than that we pride ourselves on providing our clients with the most amazing service and above all, making sure that you love where you live!
So beyond that, why else would you choose to work with us as your Chicago Realtor? After 22 years of being a professional realtor, from the reaches of South Florida all the way to Chicagoland, we know exactly how important it is *not* to attempt buying or selling your most expensive asset by yourself! The intricacies of dealing with the market in 2022 takes a knowledgeable professional who has their finger on the pulse of their industry to help you a) sell your home for the highest and best price, and b) buy your dream home that fits the criteria of what you are looking for in the range of your budget.
Here’s an example from a recent scenario!
A nearby community member put their house up for sale, on Facebook, stating they were ready, eager, and willing to sell! They included some general run-of-the-mill information in the listing but they didn’t include a price. Sounds curious, doesn’t it? I reached out to them and asked for the cost of the listing because we already had a buyer lined up who was looking for a property in this area. They responded back with a total listing price of $725,000. So far all seems well, right?
However, as a Chicago realtor that has sold several homes nearby in recent months, I knew instantly that the price sounded extremely low for what was on par with that particular neighborhood. Naturally, I went back to the seller and gently suggested that my professional opinion was that their house was worth approximately $875,000. And let’s be honest here, while I suggested this, I also asked if the price they provided me with was due to the fact that the home (potentially) needed a substantial amount of work. Suffice it to say, no, the home didn’t need the amount of work that would come with such a low cost for that area. The selling price that was offered up was simply because the seller wasn’t familiar with the current market. How much did they have to lose in this scenario? They were literally at risk of losing out on $150,000!!
What's the takeaway here? If you think you're saving money by not working with a professional, chances are you are on the flip side of the coin and you are losing out on getting more money for your listing by not working with a professional! For sale by owner is not a common choice when it comes to listing your property and this scenario just highlights one of the multitudes of reasons why. As Chicago realtors, we may make it look easy (wink wink) but behind the scenes of your listing, we are checking comps, keeping your listing in legal compliance, marketing your listing, fielding calls, handling the piles of paperwork that come with selling a home, and above all - keeping your best interests close at hand.
Fuller Home Options Reports
“Statistics show that For Sale by Owner (FSBO) sellers are successful at selling about 14% of the time. However, out of that percentage, 7% already knew who they were selling to home to ahead of time (friend, relative, neighbor, etc.), so technically that stat might be more like 7% of the time”
Can you believe that?! Only 7% of FSBO sellers are successful at selling their homes! That is a staggeringly alarming rate! Selling your home is not the same as listing furniture on Facebook Marketplace and having a knowledgeable team on hand can earn you your highest selling price! We talk more about what it takes to get the most out of your listing in this post!
