When you make the decision to sell your home, you are under no obligation to hire a real estate agent or broker to help you with the sale. Nonetheless, most people prefer to hire a real estate agent in order to better protect themselves. And, it also puts them in a better position to successfully sell the home in a short amount of time.

When you hire a real estate agent, you gain access to a wealth of knowledge that can help keep you out of trouble and will help provide for a smooth transaction. Here are just a few things your real estate agent knows that you probably do not.

The Federal Fair Housing Act

According to the Federal Fair Housing Act, you cannot discriminate against someone when selling a home. The act defines seven different classes of people who are protected against discrimination. These include:

• race
• color
• national origin
• sex
• religion
• handicap
• familial status

If you do not enlist in the help of a real estate agent, you put yourself at risk of violating this act if you refuse to sell your home to an interested buyer who may be in a protected class. In addition, you might even accidentally violate these laws without realizing it. For example, there are certain words that cannot be included in your advertisements for your home because they are in violation of the Fair Housing Laws. Some of these words include:

• bachelor apartment
• children welcome
• couples
• gentleman's farm
• golden agers
• handicapped
• integrated
• married
• mature
• mother-in-law quarters
• professional
• seniors
• singles only
• sports-minded  ....(*note from Don: look below for a larger HUD list.) (pdf145Legal)

As you can see, some of these terms seem perfectly innocent. Therefore, it is a good idea to get the help of a real estate agent so you can tap into his or her knowledge and experience in order to stay out of trouble.

State Real Estate Laws

Although there are similarities in real estate laws from one state to the next, each state has its own set of rules that must be followed. If you do not understand these laws, or are unaware of these laws, you can inadvertently break the law when selling your home. In addition, by not being fully aware of your seller's rights, you might actually lose out on money during the transaction.

Taking Advantage of Connections

Aside from legal matters, a real estate agent simply has a vast number of connections making it possible to sell a home more quickly and for a higher asking price. Similarly, because people come to real estate agents when searching for homes, you are able to tap into a much larger market of interested buyers when you get the help of a real estate agent.

Because a real estate agent has experience with selling homes, he or she can also provide you with tips to help increase the market value of your home and to make the process go by more quickly. For example, small things such as painting a room a different color can go a long way when it comes to increasing the appeal of the home. By taking advantage of the agent's expertise, you just might have a much more profitable selling experience.

About the Author: Eric Bramlett is the Broker and co-owner of One Source Realty in Austin Texas. Visit Eric's Austin Texas Real Estate Guide, visit his Austin Texas Real Estate company's website, & his Austin Condos & Lofts Guide. He has seen considerable success in real estate, and looks forward to many more years in the business. Eric currently invests, renovates, and develops real estate in the Greater Austin Texas Market. He spends his time working with select clients, helps his new agents get started in their real estate careers, helps his experienced agents progress their careers to the next level, & when he has time...he takes his dogs to the lake.