Many homeowners struggle with the decision of whether to hire a real estate agent. After all, there’s no law against selling a home without the help of a professional, and to do so successfully means that the seller is saved from having to shell out a real estate commission–usually 5 to 6 percent of the home sale. So is a real state agent truly necessary?

Consider Hiring a Real Estate Agent

Unless you have a real estate license, a real estate agent simply knows more about buying and selling houses than you do. Real estate brokers are very good at estimating the value of your home, and they’re also generally practiced at getting buyers to agree to that price. Often, the seller gets a higher price for the home with the help of an agent, which negates the cost of the commission. An agent can also advise you on changes that can make your house more marketable, like painting the walls or tackling small repair projects.

Real estate agents handle a variety of tasks when marketing a home for sale, including:

• Advertising the home
• Handling the documents and legal issues involved in closing
• Listing the home for sale
• Negotiating
• Showing the home to potential buyers.

While real estate agents aren’t legally required to sell a house, some states require a real estate attorney to take care of the closing and transfer documents.

Homes for Sale by Owner

For those who would rather save the commission fee, FSBO (“for sale by owner,” pronounced “fizz-bo”) is an option. The biggest argument for FSBO is the saved money on commission fees–depending on the selling price of your house, this could mean thousands of dollars that go straight into your own pocket instead of a realtor’s.

In some cases, your house may sell more quickly because you have the freedom to negotiate a lower price without having to worry about paying an agent. Some sellers save money on advertising by going the solo route. Plus, some FSBO sellers have zero home appreciation and need to sell the house quickly. In their situation, paying for a real-estate agent just doesn’t make sense.

Only 15 percent of house sales fall completely under the FSBO umbrella. If you’re thinking of going it alone, keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can show the house yourself, and then hire a real-estate broker to handle the more complicated tasks of advertising, negotiating and closing the house.