A cautionary tale of why you should not sell your own property.

Today I spoke with a new customer who contacted me about a condo he saw listed. He told me he had a tenant who was planning to buy another condo he owns that would finance the new purchase. They had already agreed on $280,000 and the tenant was pre qualified with a lender for $290,000. This sale would completely cover the cost of the new condo. Good plan right?

Wrong. I checked public records to find the condo in question and did a quick market analysis to check the value of the condo he was selling. They agreed on their price based on past sales in that community, but those sales were not the same size or condition. Based on recent sales I found, the condo he was selling is worth a firm $308,000. So even paying the cost of hiring an agent, he would have given away almost $28,000 in equity a net of almost $19,000 by not hiring a professional. That doesn't even take into account all the other problems and headaches that can be avoided by hiring a listing specialist.

Pricing is the most common mistake people make when deciding to sell their property without the help of a pro. Whether they price to low or too high, it will cost them in the end 90% of the time. Be careful out there!