Selling your home privately may sound like a cost-saving and liberating experience but in reality can be more of a headache than it's worth.

Before you make a decision on whether or not you should sell your home privately or with an agent be sure to consult these five reasons you shouldn't sell your home privately:

1. There are too many people to negotiate with

Even if you have all the time in the world, it is not a cost-effective way to spend your day dealing with people that can test the limits of your patience and won’t have your best interest at heart. These include:

  • The house appraiser who will always question its actual value
  • The home inspection company that performs an interior and exterior inspection of the property to always find its faults and shortcomings
  • The bank which handles the transaction if it is listed as a short sale or pre-foreclosed property
  • The prospective buyer who will offer the lowest price possible
  • The real estate agent who has the prospective buyer’s best interest at heart

2. Buyers' agents may not want to show your property to their clients

Because you don’t have a professional on your side to represent your end of the transaction, agents usually steer clear of it because they know that they won’t have any guarantees of getting something in return for their efforts.

Every experienced broker has had their share of bitter FSBO (For Sale By Owner) situation, and they typically view people like you as unrealistic, unreasonable and difficult to deal with.

Selling your home on your own will get you instant rejection from professional realtors and will make it much more difficult to close a sale as quick as possible.

3. It's not your full-time job

You’re not an expert in selling homes, you don’t have a strategy for answering every trick question and demands, and you certainly have a life to live outside waiting potential buyers to give in to your asking price.

So don’t pretend you can rush home from work every time someone wants to see the place or you have the energy to take advantage of every possible opportunity to market your home. Get a reputable real estate agent handle all the big and minute details of the transaction and you’ll be able to make the most out of the transaction and your life as well.

4. FSBOing involves complicated paperwork

No one knows for sure, but the paperwork involved in the home buying business has increased dramatically. Maybe the industry disclosures and regulations have become too rigorous or maybe it’s just a way of protecting the buyers. Either way, selling your home privately may not be worth the agent commission you save.

5. You don’t get what you deserve

The biggest risk of selling your home on your own is that you can’t price it right because you don’t have access to market data about recent sales and other homes on the market.

Hiring a good realtor on your behalf is the best decision you can make because they have professional marketing expertise to determine the most reasonable amount for your property plus they have contacts with other realtors who work with buyers, which can make your home sell more quickly and at a value that you deserve.