Selling Your Home? Suze Orman Says This Is a Must

Should you listen to her advice?

Mortgage interest rates are going up, and this can have an effect on the housing market. While low mortgage rates and high demand for homes resulted in property costs rising during the heart of the pandemic, rates have been on the upswing this year and now top 5%. Some indicators suggest this will result in homes selling for less.

If you own your own property, you may still need to sell it soon even though it's not necessarily the best time for buyers to get a mortgage loan. If life circumstances necessitate that you list your property, you may want to follow some advice from Suze Orman that can help you make your sale a success.

Here's what Suze Orman says home sellers should do

According to Orman, it's crucial to get professional help if you are selling your home. "A good real estate agent is a must," Orman said. "You want someone with experience in your neighborhood, selling homes in your price point."

Orman not only urged sellers to take the time to look for an experienced agent, but also to be willing to "hear what the agent says with an open mind," so you can make any necessary changes or updates to the home that the agent believes are important to finding a buyer.

Finally, she told sellers that "you must listen to what the agent has to say about setting your sales price" because "it’s important to get this right the first time." Of course, it is possible to lower your price, as she acknowledges. However, reducing the price often makes buyers believe they can get the property at a bargain, so they tend to come back with an even lower price if you drop the listing price. You also lose the "new property" attention that can sometimes lead to a quick sale if you have initially priced your property at too high a number.

Should you listen to Orman?

A good real estate agent can provide invaluable advice when it comes to listing your property for sale. This could cover a wide variety of subjects, including staging the home, setting the right price, and marketing to buyers.

However, it is important to note that you will have to pay a commission to an agent who helps you sell your home. This is typically around a 3% fee, and you also owe the same to a buyer's agent. So you could end up losing around 6% of the total sale price.

Now, in many cases, this is worth paying due to the valuable advice and assistance a professional real estate agent can offer. This includes help with negotiating a deal among other things.

But if you have the knowledge and skill to list your home for sale by owner -- or are willing to take the time to handle it yourself -- you could undeniably save a hefty sum. It's worth thinking about your skills and abilities, as well as what the property market looks like in your specific location and your comfort level with setting a price, before deciding that hiring a realtor is necessarily the best choice for you.