I'm hoping to get my license in January (still looking for a broker to sign with). I've been wanting to sell my house for a while & actually wanted to sell in September, but the timing wasn't right. Now, I'm wondering if I should just wait to list my home in February after I get licensed with a broker. How does it work when an agent is trying to sell their own home? Are there any reasons why I shouldn't sell my own home & instead, hire a more seasoned sales agent who has more experience? If I hire an agent, I can go ahead & list the house now, but I'm just wondering if it would make more sense for me to wait a couple of months & list after I get my license.

If you are going to get your license just to sell your own home, then it may not be worth it for you to go through all the trouble. It takes time in order to get your license and then learn the ropes and actually know what you're doing. If you plan on selling real estate for a living, then it may be worth it to wait until you're licensed, depending on how fast you need to sell your home. If you want to sell it yourself, just ask if another agent will mentor you through the process so you can learn as you go. You just don't want to screw it up.

Different brokers have different policies when it comes to agents buying or selling their own properties.

Some just have a flat fee to cover the expenses, others require the same split as with any other property. Make sure and ask before you commit to any broker.

If you are getting your license just to sell your own home, make sure and do the math first to see if it is even worth the expense of doing it.

If you live in a market where your commission would be 15k for the house, it would probably be worth it. If you live in an area where your commission would be more like 4k, then probably not.

The saying goes that a defendant that represents himself has an idiot for a client. Dunno if it applies to the world of real estate, but it is something to think about.

R

Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't going for my license just to sell my home. I can't imagine why someone would do that - just to save a few bucks? I've been wanting to get my license for some time & I'm just about done with the class; I'll be sitting for the exam end of Dec. I had expected to hire an agent to sell my home in September, but it just didn't happen due to other things going on with family & work. So, now I find myself in this situation where I'm ready to list & I'll have my license soon which begs the question, why don't I list it myself? I'm not in a big hurry, but I don't want to screw it up either. As for the commission in my area, agents charge around 5% which would work out to be around $15k for my house. Of course, this may end up getting split more than a couple of ways if another agent sells the house, so I'm still mulling it over. Is it really worth it? I like the idea of getting a mentor to assist.

You will probably still end up having to pay the co-op of 2.5% to the other agent that brings the buyer. It will most likely end up like that. If you think it's worth saving the other 2.5% to do it yourself and you can wait until you're licensed, then go for it. Just make sure your broker will let you do it for free, because some brokers make you meet a minimum dollar amount in commissions before they let you do a free transaction.

Hell.... do it yourself. Your going to expect someone at some point to trust you enough to handle a transaction - it may as well be you!

R

I agree with RebelBroker. You have to learn the trade and the best way to learn is by actually practicing it. why not sell your own and see how the process works from the inside. This way you'll never have to tell to any client that their transaction is the first in your life.