Why do we pay them?

I'm new to the world of tax blogging, and am already falling behind in my rate of posting. The trend is sure to continue, as we're preparing to sell our first house, which apparently takes time and energy. (And yes, I know this isn't really the best time to sell. Alas, the military doesn't care, and it owns my husband for another 5 years.)

Of course, with selling our home, we faced the question of whether to sell it on our own or incur the expense of a realtor. But it really wasn't much of a question, as we never even considered selling it ourselves -- much to the relief of friend and family.

Question: Why do we pay realtors to sell our homes? After all, we could read all about it and do it ourselves. Information is available all over the place.

Answer: We pay realtors because of their experience and expertise. Because our time and energy are our most scarce resources, and we should allocate them wisely. Because we are likely to mess something up, seeing as how we are not professionals.

Question: Why do people hire tax professionals? All the information is available online, or at the library or local IRS office. They could research the IRS website, state websites, tax blogs, etc.

Answer: People pay us because of our experience and expertise. Because their time and energy are their most scarce resources, and they do not choose to allocate those precious resources to learning the tax law. Because they would likely screw it up.

So those are my thoughts today.

As I said, my posts will be sadly lacking as I manage this real estate endeavor. But hey, I'm already about 5 years away from joining the list of the Top 25 blogs in Taxes -- or, let's be honest, even breaking the top 100. Fortunately, I'm okay being the wallflower for awhile, at least until this house nonsense is over.

(Congrats to all those listed in the Top 25!)