What it Takes to Sell a Home without a Realtor

What it Takes to Sell a Home without a Realtor find more.

The real estate market can be intimidating and aggravating for anyone; veterans and novices alike can be driven to the brink by potential buyers who hem and haw over a sale. One thing that can be especially annoying for someone selling their home is the brokerage commission. A real estate agent can take as much as 6% percent off of the closing price, and that can be a sizable amount of money even for an inexpensive property. As such, some people have decided to sell their homes themselves. It’s a workable solution, though not one without pitfalls.

Requires Lots of Time

For starters, selling your house by yourself can be a time consuming option. If you work a demanding job that leaves you with little free time, then you’re going to end up missing opportunities to show the house to prospective buyers. Realtors not only make this their business, they’re also fluent in the contract language needed to secure the sale. Again, selling it yourself is a perfectly viable option; just make sure you know what you’re in for before you commit to the process.

Establish a Price

The first thing to do is to establish the price. Start by taking a look at similar real estate in your area; there is likely a wealth of property that you can compare yours against. Next up, strangely enough, is calling a realtor or two for a comparative market analysis of your property. Be honest, and make sure they realize you’re doing this to get figures for a private sale. This will rarely be a deterrent, as they’ll be waiting on the side lines if you end up changing your mind. Once you have a fair market value (FMV) for your house, in addition to FMVs for the houses around yours, you’ll have all the information you need to establish your own selling price.

There are multiple strategies here. One is to put the house for the full FMV, and call it a day. This can be risky, as there is no shortage of properties for sale. It’s going to take a lot of time promoting and showing the house, which can have a dramatic effect on your paycheck. As such, Be honest, and make sure they realize you’re doing this to get figures for a private sale. This will rarely be a deterrent, as they’ll be , is to put the property slightly below fair market value. Dropping the price by two to four percent can make your house look like a steal, while still allowing you to come several thousand dollars ahead of the realtor fees you avoided.

Promoting Your Listing

Lastly, but most importantly, is getting your house promoted. Listings can be a low key as a local newspaper, or as high profile as a professional listing service. Any method that gets the word out there is a good thing, but keep in mind that being stingy here can cost you money in the long run.

Selling a home as a buyer can be a rewarding process or a giant pain in the neck; quite often it’s both. Just make sure you do your home work, and commit to the work load. Doing so will ensure that you turn over your house without turning over some of the money to a third party.