By Owner Success
Realtors are a crucial cog in the wheel of selling and buying houses. However, they are quite pricey and earn between 5% to 6% on average in commissions. This often comes out from the pocket of a house seller, significantly depleting their potential earning power. If you are keen on saving this amount and fast-tracking the selling process, then you need to learn the ropes on how to sell a house without a realtor.
Is the process easy to do? Not entirely, especially if this is your first try. Is it doable? One hundred percent possible. To make this even more plausible, about 10% of potential house buyers explore the option of a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sale.
In this article, we provide practical steps on how to sell a house without a realtor. We also consider the pros and cons of being a sale owner out in uncharted territory.
Selling House Without A Realtor—What Gives?
A real estate agent usually facilitates the ownership of a building from one individual to another in the traditional sense. However, the technology boom in the past decade has given several house owners options for selling their homes without involving these middlemen.
As a sale owner, there are several things you need to put in place when opting for a more personal selling experience. So, what options are available for selling a house without a realtor?
There are three main options on how to go about this. These include:
- Selling to a cash buyer.
- Contracting a real estate attorney to prepare documents for a sale to a potential buyer.
- Trade in your current house and buy another.
- Tackling the sales process via the for sale by owner (FSOB) route.
Selling to a Cash Buyer
If you are in a hurry to sell your house, selling to a cash buyer is the best route to explore. However, the potential offer is usually lower than what is obtainable if the house is listed on the open market.
Nonetheless, cash offers present its own set of advantages besides the lower net proceeds. For one, you can sell your home in its current state without being anxious about home inspections. This way, you don’t have to make any structural repairs which would normally be required if a home inspection is conducted.
Sell with a Real Estate Attorney
You will have to wear many hats if you want to sell your house without soliciting the expertise of a real estate agent. These are usually legal disclosures that are mandated by the government of the region you reside in. Diving deep into these laws all by yourself can consume a lot of time. The trick out of this rabbit hole is to contract a real estate attorney.
Real estate attorneys bring the full powers of the law into the sale of your home, even if you are selling to your best friend or your sister’s husband. This way, everything is captured in writing without any issues cropping up down the line. In most regions, attorneys are usually required to be present during the closing stages of a house sale, even if a real estate agent is involved.
Trade-In
This option is the least explored in the how-to-sell-a-house-without-a-realtor ecosystem, but it is still a viable option to tap into. You can sell your home while actively trying to purchase another one. Some companies like Opendoor offer this service. This has the added benefit of removing issues around contingency clauses or financing, as you can simultaneously buy and sell respective houses all in one place.
Going the For-Sale-By-Owner (Fsbo) Route
This is the last option on the table, and one many sale owners are actively exploring. The FSBO route cuts out real estate agents, allowing you to save on costs and have more control over how the entire sales process goes. However, this comes with a ton of responsibility. You would need to prep the house for viewings and inspections, take pictures, set a sale price and list the home on relevant platforms.
But if you have a knack for marketing and home design and are a strong negotiator, then the FSBO route is the way to go to save costs.
Steps on How to Sell A House Without a Realtor
If you’re keen on going down this path without using a realtor, then these are the steps to close a house sale successfully.
Choose the Best Time to Sell
According to ATTOM Data Solutions, the best time to sell a house is the end of spring and early summer. The ATTOM Data Solutions report showed that seller premiums stood at an impressive 13.4% in May, with June coming a close second at 11.7%. Part of this is linked to the weather, especially in places where the winter season is brutal. Target this period to list a home for sale as a potential buyer would be keen on viewing a home in pleasant weather rather than a dreary winter.
Select the Best Option of Selling
Going solo will take time and require you to take on a host of responsibilities. Hence, you will need to choose what is the most important item on your list. Do you want to close the sale quickly, or are you after a profit? If you want quick closure, then a cash offer might be the best option to pursue.
Price Your Home
The next step is to put a sale price on your house. However, the smart way to do this is first to secure a cash offer, even if you don’t want to go this route. This will give you an idea of how much your house can secure. Then, put a realistic figure on your house to get started.
Prep for Home Tours
Once the price has been set, it is time to fix up any little details that might deter potential viewers and buyers. This will give the impression that a potential buyer can move in immediately without making too many repairs to the house.
A sound idea is to pay for a pre-listing home inspection. This will help you identify any oversights you might have missed in the process of fixing the house up.
List on MLS
The next step is to put it out there for potential buyers to see. The first option is to list homes on the multiple listing service (or the MLS) - a database for house sales on the Internet. This comes with a flat fee, though. The price is unique based on your local MLS fee. However, this stands between $250 to $400.
Find the Right Offer
Once offers begin pouring in, it’s time to sieve the chaff from the wheat and zoom in on this. Besides the amounts that will be offered, you will have to consider how quickly a sale can be closed and vet the potential buyer’s mortgage financing plan.
Close the Sale
Once you have a definitive offer on the table, it’s time to close the sale. However, a real estate attorney needs to be involved at this stage. As we mentioned, they help cover all bases from the legal angle, ensuring you transfer the ownership of the home officially.
Meanwhile, you’ll need to pay a recording and title insurance policy to cement the sales. Once the respective documents are signed, then the house is officially off the market.
Pros and Cons of Selling a House Without a Realtor
Like most things, going solo in selling a house has merits and potential drawbacks.
Pros
- Save on commissions that should be paid both to sell and buyer’s real estate agents.
- Owner FSBOs don’t require extensive repairs to get sold.
- You get to negotiate the sale price of your house directly with the buyer instead of a third party.
- Faster closing sales time.
- You get complete control of the entire sales process.
Cons
- You’ll have to wear many hats to pull off a sale successfully.
- Choosing a sale price that is too high or low is a high possibility.
- You may not have enough MLS coverage due to the lack of a professional handling it.
- You may not be legally protected if contingencies occur.
Conclusion
Seizing the initiative to list and sell a home without a real estate agent is tedious but doable. In this article, we have provided practical and cogent steps on how to sell a house without a realtor and put your home in front of buyers like a professional.