Many people believe that the only way to sell a house is with a realtor. However, there are no rules requiring to sell your house with a real estate agent, and selling houses FSBO, or for sale by owner, is gaining in popularity. This could be in large part because of the 6% that the seller pays in commission. On as $300,000 house, that’s $18,000 coming straight out of the seller’s pocket.
However, before you decide to ax the agent and sell your home by yourself, keep in mind that it does require more work. You’ll have to assume the responsibilities that the realtor typically handles, including marketing, negotiating and showing the house, which could take several hours a week. Not to mention the legal paperwork that is involved with possibly the largest transaction you’ve ever made.
If you’ve weighed the pros and cons and decided to sell without a realtor, lets take a look as some of top tips on how to make this successful.
1. Get it ready to show
Without a doubt, the first order of business when selling your home is getting your home ready. This starts with a deep cleaning, including steam cleaning the carpet, polishing the hardwood floors, washing windows and wiping down walls and fixtures. Next, you’ll want to get rid of the clutter and make any necessary repairs and patch the dents and dings in the walls and cabinets. After getting the inside presentable, you’ll want to look at the outside. Sprucing up the landscaping and power-washing the siding can go a long way to give a positive first impression to any potential buyers.2. Set your selling price
To set your selling price, you’ll want to know how comparable houses in your neighborhood are selling for. This can be trickier than it sounds, as you must take into account location, school district, age of the house, number of bathrooms and bedrooms, and whether or not the houses selling around you have been rehabbed. Now days, there are many websites you can use to help with this, including Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com. Keep in mind when pricing your house, you’ll want to price it competitively enough that it doesn’t take months to sell.3. Marketing & Advertising
After you’ve gotten your house in presentable condition and decided on a selling price, you’ll need to market the home. Since only realtors have access to the MLS (a database of homes for sale established by real estate brokers), you’ll have to find other marketing opportunities. These days, you can post on different online platforms such as Facebook and Craigslist. If you do want to broaden your net, you may still be able to get your home listed on the MLS by talking to a broker. Many brokerages offer flat fee listings where they charge a fee to list your house for you, but don’t do any work of the agent. However, all this marketing means that you will be taking all the phone calls and inquiries about the house, setting up the showings and walk-throughs, and handling the negotiations.4. Paperwork and Closing
For many, the paperwork and closing can be the most daunting part of selling a home without an agent, especially since laws and regulations vary from state to state. If you’re not comfortable navigating these waters yourself, you can always hire a real estate attorney to look everything over and file the paperwork.Let’s get one thing straight. Selling your house with a realtor is not your only option, and may not be your best option. However, if doing it all yourself sounds like too much work and you still don’t want to hire a realtor, there is another option to get cash for your house in a matter of days, with no repairs, no cleaning, no marketing, and no commissions or fees. You can sell your house to a cash buyer who will take your house in any condition. If this sounds too good to be true, give us a call at Burnett Home Buyers so we can explain exactly how this process works!
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When it comes to selling your home, you have choices to make about how you want to proceed. By understanding these options, homeowners can make informed decisions that align with their goals and circumstances. Whether you're looking for a quick sale or prefer the stability of a traditional financing arrangement, this introduction sheds light on the pros and cons of each approach.
Compare negotiated commissions, sale price, preparation, holding costs and written cash-offer terms to estimate your home-sale proceeds.
Learn how cash offers work for Ohio and Kentucky home sellers, what to compare, and how to evaluate a fast, as-is home sale with clarity and confidence today.
Prepare for a cash home-sale closing with checks for the agreement, title work, payoffs, settlement documents, funding and possession.
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