When deciding to sell your house, some homeowners may choose to take on the process themselves to avoid paying commissions from real estate agents. While this can save cash, this process is far from easy.
“For sale by owner”, or FSBO, includes a lot more than just putting up a “For Sale” sign. It can be surprisingly time-consuming and emotionally exhausting to sell your house, especially if you’ve never done it before.
So before you make any choices, check out this step-by-step guide to see if it is right for you to sell your house. Read on to learn more about these tips.
Research How the Market Moves
Having a pulse on the local real estate market is the first part of learning how to sell your house without a realtor. You can decide whether you need a buyer or a seller, and understanding this will help you correctly price your home and determine the best time to list it.
A buyer’s market is an environment where there are more homes than active buyers. If you are attempting to sell your house on a buyer’s market, your home can stay on the market longer until you can secure a buyer because of the large number of properties available.
If more people are looking to purchase homes than affordable homes on the market, a seller’s market happens. This also contributes to multiple buyers interested in a single house, contributing to wars of bidding.
Collecting and Listing Your Home Information
Collect the data you would need to build your listing, including quantitative data, completed interior square feet, lot size, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. As well as specifics such as the layout of heating and cooling and parking arrangements.
The pictures of your home will make or break your list. Do your best to recreate it if you’d prefer not to fork out several hundred dollars for a professional photography kit.
Your definition should incorporate accurate details not covered in the regular listing information with a sales copy that attracts buyers’ attention.
Choose Your List Price
Placing the correct price for your home is one of the most significant steps when learning how to sell a house by owner. Firstly, to get an idea of how much your home is worth, you can use a home value estimator. Review up-to-date sales of comparable homes in your area.
For homes with similar square footage, several bedrooms and bathrooms, and lot size, look for sale rates. Start with a lower asking price when in doubt.
Overpricing your home by $10,000 will cause you to sit on the market and eventually force you to sell for less than if you had initially priced it correctly.
Know Where to List
Advertising is essential when you are selling your own house. To list your home online, find a few websites for sale by the owner (FSBO). Usually, websites like these charge a flat fee, plus the expense of extra services.
Also, you should consider listing your home on the MLS. Nevertheless, providers exist that will charge you a few hundred dollars by a “Flat Fee” to list your property on the MLS.
Go Beyond the MLS
Yard signs and FSBO pages listing your home and the MLS shouldn’t be the end of your advertisement campaign. You should also consider using any or all of the tactics listed below to advertise your home.
- Develop physical brochures or flyers that contain all the essential details about your home
- Tell your relatives, neighbors, and colleagues that your home is being sold
- Build a YouTube channel and upload your home’s professional-grade video tour
- Post advertising on Craigslist for your listing and share your listing on local and community sites, such as Facebook or Nextdoor
Know Your House’s Selling Points
Get ready to answer questions and expose your home to prospective buyers at a moment’s notice. It’s also essential that you know your house’s selling points, as you are the one promoting it to potential buyers.
You know better than anyone else about your house because you know the best features of your home.
Conclusion
All the contracts, documents, and fine print of a home sale deal are taken care of by real estate agents. You should find a real estate attorney without the support of an agent to discuss your home sale’s specifics.
Your lawyer will hammer out a purchase and selling agreement, help negotiate the terms of the deal, and review the documents and loan agreements associated with it.