Remember back to the old days before jiffy oil change shops were available on every other street corner? What we had were gas stations, and we also had a lot of do-it-yourselfers changing the oil in their own vehicles at home. But these days most people pull into jiffy oil change shops when they need an oil change, and lots of them know perfectly well how to change their own oil. They just don’t want to do it themselves, it’s that simple. Maybe you are one of the people I’m describing!
Right now you might be wondering why I am writing about oil changes in an article about how I sell my home. Well, I have a good reason. My reason is this - I’m comparing the choice to pay somebody else to perform an oil change to paying somebody else to sell a home. Curiously, most people think about selling their home (or not selling their home) the same way they think about changing their oil. In other words, they simply want somebody else to do it for them. When somebody else changes the oil in your vehicle you have no mess and no hassle to deal with on your own. Exactly the same thing could be said of hiring a real estate agent to sell a home. When I list with an agent it’s because I don’t want the mess or the hassle of finding a buyer or shepherding that buyer through the closing process. I just want somebody else to do those jobs for me.
How I would love to sell my home in a jiffy, quick as an oil change. However, it simply doesn’t work that way in real life most of the time. Completing a home sale transaction is a complex process, put in motion by one primary thing: finding a buyer. That’s when the legal transaction begins. Before that it’s merely the process of marketing a home, and finding a willing, able, qualified buyer is what every seller needs to accomplish before a real estate transaction can begin.
Have you considered that you are already in touch with many people in your daily life who just might be interested in your home? If you think about your neighbors and their friends and family who come over to visit them quite often, that’s a whole group of people who might very well be interested in moving into the neighborhood. Next, think about neighborhood businesses and specifically their employees. People who work in your local area are great prospects, too. I always think “close to home” whenever I sell my home. Time after time I’ve discovered that those people have a legitimate reason for wanting to move into the area, to be close to work. That’s a great motivator these days when money is tight. So, these are a couple good ideas to get you started thinking about potential buyers you will want to contact in order to let them know your home is for sale.
I realize it’s hard to remember that we have to decide how much responsibility we want to take, and how much we are willing to pay in order to delegate our own responsibilities, which goes for an oil change just as much as a home sale. Whenever we catch ourselves thinking, “...I just don’t want to do that myself...” then we have to take a deep breath and decide if it’s really worth the price. Deciding to pay somebody in the business of making oil changes, or somebody in the business of selling homes, we are basically paying for our own convenience. I always keep that fact in mind when it’s time to sell my home.