If you try to sell your home without using an agent, you’ll have to know precisely what you’re doing to receive the best price possible. Here are five approaches to selling your house without a realtor.
There’s no denying that selling your home on your own is difficult. Thousands of citizens, on the other hand, do it every month. And once you understand how to do it, it’s really very easy. You essentially need a plan, which we have here.
But let’s start with the most fundamental problem…
In this Article:
Why Would You Want To Sell Your Home on Your Own?
The most apparent excuse to sell the home yourself is to avoid paying a fee to a real estate agent.
The average real estate fee in most markets is 6% of the selling price. Which suggests that if you sell a $400,000 home, you’ll have to pay a fee of $24,000.
On a $400,000 deal, it does not sound like a lot of capital. However, it’s crucial to note that, since the commission is dependent on the property’s selling price, it’s taken out of the home equity.
Let’s imagine you have a $250,000 mortgage on your $400,000 house. That ensures you have $150,000 in net equity. However, you’ll have to subtract $24,000 if you’re paying a real estate commission. By the end of the day, you’ll have a net of $126,000.
Other closure expenses would almost certainly be covered by the purchaser. They could get your total equity down to $120,000 or less if you combine them.
That is why many homeowners want to sell their homes without using a real estate agent. It’s just a question of money.
With that in mind, let’s have a peek at the five steps involved in selling your home on your own.
Step 1: Find Out How Much Your House Is Worth in Today’s Economy
This is a critical move that must be completed correctly. If you undervalue your home, you’ll make less money from the selling than you should. However, if you set the price too high, the house would remain on the market for months without sale. At that moment, the only option is to reduce the price to where it should have been in the first place.
There are three main methods for determining the worth of your home:
Make Use Of Real Estate Appraisal Websites on the Internet
You will sell your house on a variety of websites. Check out Zillow.com and Trulia. These resources would provide you with a free estimate of the worth of your home. They are, though, just projections and may be wrong by tens of thousands of dollars.
A Real Estate Agent Will Provide You With a Competitive Market Study
A real estate agent can do a detailed review of your home focused on similar property sales in the market. This service is usually free, and the calculation is generally correct.
However, since the agent is doing the research in the hopes of listing your home, you will be subjected to a sales pitch. The agent can even send you a high estimate on the property in order to persuade you to list with him.
Engage the Services of a Certified Appraiser
This can provide you with the most precise estimation of your property’s worth. When discussing the selling price with the sellers, you should still use the appraisal as a point of evaluation.
The expense of an appraisal is the only disadvantage. The majority of appraisers will charge between $300 and $500 for a report. Since you requested the appraisal yourself, it would not be accepted as an appraisal for the buyers’ mortgage application.
Step 2: Get the House Ready to Sell
This step begins with a slow walk around your home, seeing it through the eyes of a potential buyer. Ask yourself, “What aspects of this house would I dislike if I were to buy it?”
You begin with a negative, but that is precisely the argument. When a customer inspects the house, they are acutely conscious that any flaws may become their concern after the sale. They are still considering the overall presentation. Is it attractive from the street? Is there a smooth transition? Is it comfortable?
Because you own the house, this is difficult to accomplish. However, you must maintain objectivity. If you can’t, it’s better to get advice from a third party. You won’t be insulted by what the individual reveals if you do. Their insights would be crucial to the effective selling of your house.
Here are some changes you may like to make unless you keep your home in showroom condition under normal circumstances.
- Make any small fixes that are needed. This involves dripping faucets, sagging door handles, squeaky locks, and broken electrical switches and lamps. If you have a garage door opener, make sure everything is in perfect working order.
- Touch up or repaint some tired-looking rooms in the house. Since shoppers choose neutral shades, always use them.
- Remove all of the junk from your house. Closets, the attic, the cellar, and the workshop are also included. Often, keep the amount of furnishings and other appointments in each space to a minimum. This would aid in improving flow awareness.
- Make sure the whole house is tidy and smelling nice.
If you don’t have time or don’t know how to do any of those changes, consider hiring a home staging company. They will take care of it for you – for a price.
Step 3: Promote Your Home for Sale
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to selling a home on your own, so below are several general guidelines:
Begin With a Well-Designed Yard Sign
You’ve already seen this in front of about every house you’ve ever seen for sale. You’ll have to follow suit. They’re normally available at office supplies shops. It’s preferable to pay a little extra to have a decent model.
Make Promotional Flyers or Brochures
You’ll need resources on hand to give to those who come to look at your house, as well as anybody else who shows an interest. These can be made with a Word document, so some eye-catching graphics won’t hurt. You should also be sure to include some pictures of the property’s interior and exterior.
The flyer should also provide the property address and contact details, including phone and email addresses. It should also provide information about the home, such as the selling price, the number of rooms, and any contextual sales pitches, such as a rundown of the community and school district.
Advertise the House on the Internet
This can be done on a variety of well-known websites. Zillow.com, once again, is one of these sites, with a dedicated For Sale By Owner list. HomeFinder.com is another famous website. You can even consider advertising the property on Facebook and Craigslist.
Organize an Open House
This is where you practically invite the public into your home. It’s best done on a Saturday or Sunday, and it’s better accomplished when the weather is good.
You can begin promoting your open house at least a week ahead of time, and then place signs on main roads around your home or subdivision to guide visitors in.
Step 4: Negotiate the Purchase
You’ll have to deal personally with any potential buyers when you’re not using a real estate agent. It’s a give-and-take condition that you’ll have to embrace right away. Almost definitely, the bidder would make a bid that is less than the asking price. They can also impose certain stringent requirements, such as requiring you to cover the closure costs.
You’ll have to go back and forth if the original bid isn’t appropriate. Hopefully, when you lower the amount, the customer rises to the occasion. You’ll have to determine how deep you’re prepared to fall.
The initial discussions would most likely be informal, so after you’ve agreed on the fundamentals, the buyer must make a formal bid. You will want to keep a limited stock of real estate contracts unique to your state on hand for this reason. These can be found by doing a web search.
Any aspect of the selling must be specified in the deal, including the sales price, closing discounts, products to be included in the sale, the closing date, and the closing place.
Contingencies would still need to be written into the deal. A customer can, for example, insist on a home inspection. You can also demand a copy of the buyer’s mortgage approval within a few days of rejecting the bid.
Depending on the state’s customs, the closure may normally take place in the offices of a solicitor or a title firm. The place must be agreed upon by both you and the buyer.
Step 5: Take Care of the Closing
Closing on a home is a fully legitimate process. That ensures a particular procedure will be followed, and that will be done by either a closing counsel or a title agent. If you’ve decided who this group will be, they’ll walk you through the necessary steps.
The closing agent can do most of the tasks related to the closing. However, you may be asked to include any documents along the way. Be sure you get it to them as soon as possible.
You can also make sure that you keep in touch with customers between contract approval and closure. There will be disagreements, however effective communication will help you get past them.
In most real estate deals, the buyer’s mortgage remains the most significant closing stumbling block. Keep on top of similar changes, even though you have a copy of their mortgage approval. Between the period of approval and closure, most mortgage applications have provisions that must be met. Any of these issues aren’t as minor as they seem. If the buyer fails to satisfy any one of these requirements, the loan approval will be revoked.
Try to include the mortgage closing representative in the back-and-forth details as far as necessary. An anxious buyer would always offer a closing agent more detail than you, the seller.
Final Thoughts
Selling the home without the help of a real estate agent is more challenging. However, if you succeed, you can save tens of thousands of dollars. And it’s for this reason that people want to do it all the time. You, too, have the capability.
Recommended Reading:
- 6 Ways to Stop Feeling Guilty About Your Debt and Regain Control
- Earny Review (2021): How The Earny App Could Help You Save Money While Shopping