Understanding How to Sell Your House Without a Realtor can be a bit overwhelming. However, there is a lot to gain if you are able to do this! It allows you to save money when it comes time to sell. At closing, the real estate agents split approximately 5% to 6% of the sale price as their commission. Without a realtor, half that money stays in your pocket. So let’s take away some of the mystery and talk about how to sell your house without a realtor.
Selling a House Without a Realtor
When it comes to selling your house, the process is pretty much the same with or without a realtor. The only difference is that you do not have someone holding your hand and offering you their experienced advice during the process. So, how do you sell a house without a realtor? Here are a few tips to help you through the process.
- Research – look at houses that recently sold in your area and choose some that are similar to your home. These are called “comps” or comparisons. This will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for a home like yours. Research to find out how long the homes are sitting on the market. If they are staying on the market long, reduce the price to get it to sell, if they are getting snatched up quickly you may be able to increase your price a bit.
- Prepare Your Home – In order to sell your home you need it to look perfect. Touch up any walls that need to be repainted and remove all personalization from the home. Family portraits and clutter should be removed or packed up. Buyers want to be able to see themselves living in the home, not someone else’s family.
- Get Professional – When it comes to pictures, professional real estate photographs sell. You need to get buyers to your home so they can see their family in the space. The pictures are what will bring them, the home will sell itself.
- Signs – Invest in a For Sale sign for your yard. Oftentimes, neighbors will tell their friends and family about a house for sale in their neighborhood in hopes to get them to move closer. Signs also help drive-by buyers find your house. Sometimes, families will take a drive in a neighborhood they want to move to, seeing a For Sale sign lets them know a home is available!
- MLS Listing – Although individual sellers do not have access to the MLS it can be done through certain brokerages. They offer MLS only services that can be bought by the service or by the hour.
- Get Help – Did you know that you can hire a brokerage firm to help with showings, negotiations, and offers? For a fraction of the cost, you can hire someone to deal with this part of the process. Just know that not everything has to be done by you.
- Negotiate and Be Responsive – You may have buyers make a low offer on your home or ask for repairs to be done. It’s up to you to decide on what you are willing to do and accept, but always answer offers and questions as you see fit.
- Paperwork and Closing – The closing process, and all the paperwork involved can be overwhelming to anyone not used to it. The rules and laws associated with selling a house vary from state to state. Be sure that you know the laws or hire a real estate attorney. Another possibility is to hire a transaction agent to handle the paperwork.
Cash Home Buying Option
One thing to consider before heading into selling your house without a realtor is the cash home buying option. What is cash home buying? Well, it is where a company buys your home for cash. No closing costs, no commissions, just a clean sale. You will not be asked to make any repairs to the home and cash home buying sales can be as soon as seven days. The process does not require you to research comps or learn legal jargon. You don’t even need to get your home ready for a showing.
The process begins with a call or email to a company that buys houses. They can give you a preliminary offer, if you accept the preliminary offer they will send out an inspector to inspect the home and at this point a final offer will be made. Keep in mind that this option does charge a service fee but there is literally no work that you need to do besides move out!
Selling Your Home Yourself – Tips!
It may be hard to do, but try to keep your emotions about the house out of the selling process. Buyers do not care that all three of your children learned how to walk in the living room or that you celebrated your 50th anniversary in the backyard. Do not price your home based on what it means to you and your family memories. Condition, comps, and market should be the only things dictating the selling price of the home.Be humble enough to accept that you can’t do it all. If you are not sure of the laws in your state or unsure of the paperwork needed for closing, reach out and hire someone. If you don’t have the time to show your home or you’re not good at negotiations, hire a brokerage firm to take over that part of the process. Get help when you need it.
To Sell With a Realtor or Without?
The answer to this question is personal. The information and tips in this article should give you what you need to know to decide if it is worth doing it yourself or not. For many, signing a six-month contract with a realtor just makes sense. However, for others, not so much. Weigh the pros and cons, consider your strengths and your weaknesses and make the decision that is right for you.