According to the 2022 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 10% of homes were sold as For Sale By Owner (FSOB) in the previous year. Selling a house without a realtor is taking an upward trend year after year.
If you have a property that you’re planning to sell, this could be your option, as well. Find out if you’re cut out for this task. Know the pros and cons of selling on your own. And learn the steps you need to do to accomplish it successfully.
Pros of Selling a House on Your Own
You might have heard stories from people you know about how satisfying it was to sell their house all by themselves. To get a clearer picture of the real experience, here are the pros of selling without the help of a realtor.
- Save some money
The biggest expense when selling a house goes to real estate agent fees. Agent commissions range from 2 to 4% of the total sale price. And when your buyer has their own realtor, you, as the seller, would likely shoulder that additional commission fee. When you opt out of hiring one, then you’re probably saving a lot of money.
- Complete control
When you’re selling FSOB, you have absolute control over every aspect. You call the shots on every decision. There’s no one to oppose whatever you do or how you want the sale to go. This could speed up the process.
- More personal
About 50% of FSOBs sold their house to someone they know. Since you’ll be the one talking with potential buyers, it would give you peace of mind when you’re familiar with the people you’re dealing with.
You can also give the transaction a personal touch which most people love. While doing house tours for prospective buyers, you can interject activities that you enjoy in each area of the house. This way, they can imagine themselves doing the same thing if they live there, too.
Cons of Selling a House on Your Own
Selling a house by an owner is definitely not a walk in the park. Be familiar with the hardships you’ll be facing so you know what you’re in for. Having a strong mindset and being ready mentally can prepare you for the task ahead.
- Sell for less
If you think that you’ll get more money since you’re not paying a realtor, then you’re sadly mistaken. From the NAR report, FSOBs sold for way less than homes assisted by realtors. The median price for FSOB last year was $225,000 compared to the median at which agents sold at $345,000.
It appears that realtors still get a better real estate offer than inexperienced owners. This is most likely due to estate agents being familiar with current market trends and having the connections to snatch better deals.
- Time-consuming
You have to do literally everything. Preparing the house, doing market research, setting the asking price, marketing the sale, setting up an open house, negotiating the price, completing all the documents, closing the deal, preparing the purchase contract, and all the intricate real estate transactions in between.
If you already have a full-time job, selling on your own will certainly eat up the rest of your time. Be ready for long nights ahead.
- Insufficient marketing
If you’re not in the business of flipping houses, you probably don’t have the same connections as professional realtors. They have access to more real estate websites and a larger buyer pool. Having fewer connections could lead to selling your house later than your projected date.
- Legal liability
If you’re not in the real estate or legal industry, preparing all the legal requirements for the sale might be difficult. If even one document is overlooked, the sale might not push through, or worse, you could be held legally liable. In the end, it might still be beneficial to get a real estate attorney to handle the legal documents for you.
Steps on How to Sell a House Without a Realtor
There are lots of minute steps that happen in the selling process. To make it simpler, we’ll focus on the major tasks ahead of you. Without the aid of a realtor, you will need to understand these processes yourself and be mindful of the details.
Prepare Your House for Selling
The word ‘prepare’ downplays this very important step. It makes the process sound easy. But, in reality, preparing your house means doing a lot of things.
First off, it involves getting your house inspected by a professional. This will reveal which areas need fixing, replacing, repainting, and upkeep. This will probably hurt your pockets to hear, but it will pay off when you successfully sell the house at a handsome price.
After doing the upkeep and repairs, you have to arrange the house to be more inviting. Remember that this is not your home anymore. What might be a convenient setup for you may not be attractive to others.
You have to make the house appealing to the eyes of potential buyers. To check if you’ve done this properly, have a family member or friend take a look to get a fresh perspective.
Once you’re satisfied, the property is now ready to be presented to the public. Take flattering photos of the house in preparation for your online marketing.
Set Your Price
Deciding on your house list price should be based on the current housing market conditions and a comparative market analysis, not just on your property’s worth. Your list price should be within the price range of other houses in your area to make it competitive.
Landing on the sweet spot is a bit tricky. It requires much research and computation to set on a fair market price that is profitable for you yet still attractive to prospective buyers.
Create and Add Your Listing
Setting up your property sale post on the market is the next main step. Be prepared to shell out on the application or listing fee. These fees are minimal, though, and some offer free listing services, so no need to worry.
When making your listing, always add as much detail about the property as you can. This would inform potential buyers and also gain their confidence that you’re not hiding major issues about the house.
Then upload high-quality photos to show off your property. People love window shopping and having lots of pictures to look at would greatly please them.
After adding your listing, don’t forget to always check your inbox and reply promptly to inquiries. Quick responses are encouraging to interested buyers.
In Conclusion
Now that you’ve learned the steps on how to sell a house by the owner, you can determine for yourself if you, too, should take that route. See if the pros greatly outweigh the cons for it to be worth your time and effort.
If you deem it too stressful, there are always other options. The best one being to sell directly to HouseMax, your trustworthy home cash buyer in Kansas city. Contact us today and get a fair all-cash offer for your house within 24 hours. You won’t even need to prepare your house, we’ll take it as is.
