Selling a home without a real estate agent can be a drawn-out, time-consuming process. There are repairs to be made, buyers to be found and hurdles to jump. However, successfully navigating the real estate market on your own is not impossible. Dodging those costly commission fees just takes some research, time and ingenuity.
Some tips:
- Research – Pricing your home correctly is absolutely crucial. Sellers often fail to remain objective and price their beloved home over fair market value. While the memories you created in that home are invaluable to you, they are of no consequence to potential buyers. Take the condition of your home into consideration, along with the price of comparable homes in your area and the current real estate market. Pricing your home correctly makes all the difference.
- Prepare – Before you start showing your home to prospective buyers, thoroughly clean, make minor repairs and home stage. Your house has the best chance of selling if it looks move-in ready. This means removing personal items and de-cluttering. Furthermore, make your pet “disappear”. Remove all evidence that an animal has been living in your home. Also, set parameters for buyers. It is usually a good idea to make sure potential buyers are pre-qualified or pre-approved for a loan. You don’t want to waste time on people who are just interested in browsing with no intention or means of buying.
- Market – You definitely won’t sell your home if no one knows it’s on the market. Put ads in your local newspaper, list it on websites, make fliers, offer incentives and hold open houses. Hire a professional photographer to take photos of your staged home and utilize social media. Also, be flexible when it comes to showings. This is time-consuming, but people have to see your home, often more than once, before buying it. Follow-up with all potential home buyers.
- Negotiate – Be ready to negotiate a final price. Again, remain objective. If the offer is lower than your asking price, remember the cost and time of finding another buyer. Are you ready to go through all of that effort again? On the other hand, certainly don’t take a bad offer. Negotiate, and see if you can reach a fair deal. Many buyers also see that you’re working alone and try to take the commission fee right off the top of the asking price. However, this negates all of the extra effort you put into selling your home by yourself. If you were going to lose that money regardless, wouldn’t you have hired a real estate agent?
- Close – Make sure you’re familiar with all of the necessary paperwork required by your state. This can be complicated, so hiring a real estate attorney is often the best route.
If you have any additional tips for others looking to sell a home without a real estate agent, let us know!.
