o Exposure- An agent can reach far more people than you can. The networks available to an agent are tremendous. Unless you pay a several hundred dollar listing fee, for example, your home will not be listed in MLS, shrinking the pool of potential buyers by several orders of magnitude.

o Time on the Market- If your agent is honest with you on price and how to prep your home, it will sit on the market for a fraction of the time it will take you to sell your home. Next time watch how long the home without an agent sits on the market vs a house that has Real Estate Agent representation. Also consider that a home that is on the market too long is generally perceived to have something wrong with it.

o Correct Pricing- Can you really separate your emotions and price your house properly? Do you think you can price your home not to cheat yourself or drive away prospects? The amount Mr. Johnson across the street sold his house for does not necessarily mean that you will get the same price...and who is to say that he told you the actual selling price? Even worse, sites like zillow.com can often estimate wildly inaccurate prices for homes.

o Ability- Do you have the ability and time to answer every phone call and every knock on the door? Can you leave work to show your home to an out of town buyer at 10:30 am on a Tuesday?

o Buyers- The majority of motivated buyers use an agent. They are looking to make a quick transaction and they are not going to waste time driving around looking for a "For Sale by Owner" sign. And let's face it, agents are not going to show your house, either. You are on your own.

o Tribal knowledge- Do you know who the honest lawyers are? How about the home inspector? Do you know what their rates are for their services? Can they be trusted, and will they perform for you? You probably don't know the answers... and guess what... they know you don't, too! Many will offer services at a low quality standard and then charge you at higher than normal rates. They know you won't be back.

o Peace of Mind- Do you really know all the forms, inspections, regulations, and laws concerning property transactions in your area? How about tax liabilities? Are you using a FSBO website as a reference? Your buddy that got lucky selling his house? What if you miss something? Are they coming to your aid when it all goes wrong?

When considering the idea of selling your own home, seriously ask yourself if you are willing to deal with all of the points that I have made, because as a "For Sale by Owner" you will have to deal with all of it. Why not hire a professional to help?