By Stuart A. Safine, Esq.
Many people attempt to sell their own home in order to save the real estate commission.
A real estate licensee is obviously a trained professional and should be considered before one attempts to sell their own home. Most licensees will explain the advantages of having them handle your sale as well as giving you an opinion of the fair market value of the property, and your approximate net proceeds upon sale. The first thing to determine, prior to advertising your home for sale, is whether there is a pre-payment penalty in the existing financing on your property. If a prepayment clause exists in your promissory note with the lender, then a percentage of the unpaid balance will need to be paid to the lender in addition to the full payoff of principal and interest on the loan. This amount can sometimes be steep and may cause one to reconsider whether it is economically feasible to sell.