Everything You Should Know When Wanting to Sell a House Without an Agent

Why Do People Decide to Sell a House Without an Agent?

Trust us when we tell you that you are not the only person posing the question of how to sell a house without a real estate agent. The reason why people wonder how to avoid hiring realtors is most commonly of financial nature: professional agents can take anywhere from 3 to 6% in commissions. And, that is not a small number. This is why about 11% of people who want to change their address every year decide to go through the task of selling their place alone, without the help of a professional company, saving a decent amount of money along the way.

What Are the Risks of Going Through With a Home Sale on Your Own?

While there are certain benefits of moving out of your place without a professional company, there are potential risks that go with it as well. The first of which is the possibility of selling your place for less than you might get with the help of a realtor. In 2019, the median property value for estates that were sold by the owner was $200,000, while the realtered ones would normally sell for around $80,000 more. So, although these sellers didn’t have to pay commission to realtors, they did end up losing tens of thousands of dollars on their listing. However, nothing is set in stone, yet it is a relevant risk to keep in mind.

The other potential pitfall is that you’ll have a lot more work on your back. Relocation is already so much work: you have to house hunt, and once that is done, transfer utilities, deal with bureaucracy and document organization and only then start the actual move to a new state. On top of it, you have to keep up with your job and family obligations, so most people don’t have the time to deal with marketing, staging their home, negotiating the price, and finally closing the deal. However, if you are up for the challenge, we’ll tell you everything you need to know when it comes to learning how to sell a house without an agent.

How to Sell Your House Without a Real Estate Agent?

So, you’ve decided it has been enough of renting out your property, and you actually want to sell it off. When it comes to options you have as an owner selling without help, there are three main routes you can take. All of these, as does the fourth one known as hiring a realtor, have their pros and cons. Here is what you may want to do:

• Selling to someone for cash – Finding someone who wants to buy your property for cash is easier in the sense that you won’t have to go through showings and viewings, meaning you can skip the staging phase altogether. However, since there won’t be any bidding, there’s a chance you’ll sell for a price that is lower than what you might have in mind.
• Hire an attorney to mediate a sale to someone you know – Another option that implies someone you already know as the buyer is this one. In this case, you’ll have a legal advisor by your side to craft the contract and resolve any possible disputes and issues. And, while you’ll have to allocate some funds from your expenses checklist for the attorney, you still will save much more than with a realtor.
• Use For Sale By Owner listings to sell the place – FSBO often draws sellers in because it allows for more control over the process while still being on the open market. It allows you to list your home on the MLS while saving you cash on those commission fees. Statistics show that these houses are bought faster, in even two weeks sometimes. However, there is a chance you’ll get less, whilst spending a lot of time and energy. Additionally, it is worth noting that many people ended up scammed through FSBO.

Use Online Calculators to Accurately Determine the Price of Your Home

When it comes to learning how to sell your house without an agent, the first step is to figure out how much your property is worth on the open market. Not having a real estate professional by your side could cloud your judgment and turn your expectations unrealistic. However, you must determine the pricing realistically and as accurately as possible, not letting how you feel about the place cloud your mind.

This can be done much easier with the help of online calculators, which estimate the cost and net proceeds you’d get through the sale of your property. These let you factor in things like mortgage interest rates, additional costs like repairs, staging, and cleaning materials checklist. It also gives you the option of finding agents in case you change your mind or getting estimates from a network of pre-approved buyers.

Compare the Price of Your Home to Others in the Neighborhood

In order to plan a move to another town, you first have to know your current city inside and out. And that means finding out what the median value of homes in your neighborhood is so that you can find out what pricing would be realistic for you on the open market. If you are too shy to go and meet new neighbors, you can go to websites such as Trulia to get this information. Or, you can research the local property tax records with your state assessor’s office.

To Increase the Chances of Selling at a Higher Price, Invest in Your Home

If you want to earn money, it’s important to invest in your property. And a part of what real estate agents do is get your home nice and ready as if you were just renting it out. However, once you (ideally) move out to a different property, the realtor can bring in their stager to help them make your place look better than new.

If you aren’t going to be hiring professional stagers and realtors, you have to take both of their places and learn how to decorate the place yourself. You should be ready to invest in a packing service to pack and move all your personalized items out and bring in some neutral pieces. Additionally, that means having to pay extra money to repair, repaint, and refurnish everything so that it’s spotless.

Staging Isn’t Enough – You’ll Have to Spend Some Money on Advertising Too

Once you’ve prepared to move and your place looks wonderful, you have to show it off to the world. Because, no matter how much fresh furniture you move in, it won’t mean much if there is no one to see it. So, you’ll have to invest in advertising too. While you won’t always have to pay for listing your place, you’ll have to make your ad worth looking at.

That is done best if you hire photographers who’ll take pictures and maybe even create a video tour. And after you get some nice shots of the freshly furnished place in good lighting, you can get to writing up the best description of the home. For more professional tips on how to advertise your By Owner For Sale listing, check out the following video:

Prepare a Detailed Description of the Place for the Listing

When it comes to creating the listing, photos or videos won’t be enough. You’ll have to write up a detailed description that includes the size of the home, number of rooms, location, age, price, and similar basics. You should also highlight all the renovations and improvements you’ve made in the last year or two.

And, if you’ve ever hunted for a new apartment, you’ve surely noticed a difference in how these descriptions were written. So, don’t forget to call that one friend of yours who writes the best in the friend group to proofread your compelling and inviting description and make sure it’s as good as they get. After all, you don’t have to do everything alone just because you won’t be hiring professionals.

It’s a Good Idea to Make Inspection Reports Available at the Viewing

One of the bigger reasons BOFS listings fail is because buyers don’t trust sellers without agents as much. After all, they aren’t here to make new friends, but rather to move efficiently to the place of their choosing (and ideally not for a lot of money). So, a great way to make your cause stand in the trial of buyers’ judgment is by doing an inspection prior to organized viewings and making these reports available to potential purchasers at the property. That way, they can be assured they’ll move safely if they choose to move to your current space, and you’ll increase your chances of selling fast.

Get Ready to Answer Questions of Everything from Appliances to the Garden

You have to expect that the viewing day might remind you a bit of college, ’cause you might be caught in a crossfire of questions. So, just make sure you have all the answers ready, whether it’s about the cost of electricity or the state of the roof. You’ll have to have the energy to talk about appliances, the terrace, and the garden in depth. But, with a smile on your face and a few prepared words, you’ll boost your chances by a ton.

By Owner For Sale Listings Require Patience But Don’t Worry, You’ll Succeed

BOFS listings can require a bit of time to get sold. After all, this may not be your first move, but it is probably your first time trying to sell a property. So be kind to yourself, and patient too, because it might take a bit of time until you are able to seal the deal. But once it is finally over and you send your things on the road with your chosen cross-country moving company. The money you saved by not paying a realtor can be spent on the highest quality moving services and cross-country movers that will save you so much time and energy. And just like that, it’ll be over before you know it.