Selling your house on your own can be quite the journey. Every home seller dreams of a simple process, a quick closing, and maximum profit. Before you sign up for Zillow, there are some things you should know–especially if you plan to sell your house without a realtor.
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Making The Right Choice: Do You Need A Realtor?
It’s definitely possible to sell your home on your own, but you should make sure it’s the right choice first. Realtors can be an invaluable support system for new and seasoned home sellers alike.
Things You Should Know
- Realtors work for commission.
- The standard rate for realtors is between 3-6%.
- That commission covers a range of services that will otherwise be your responsibility.
If you haven’t sold a home, you may want the extra help that a realtor offers. Moving can be stressful on its own. Selling a home is also a big undertaking.
What Realtors Do For You
Realtors handle a number of responsibilities throughout the entire home-selling process. The greatest thing realtors offer to clients is expertise and time freedom.
Below are some examples of how they do so.
Paperwork
Realtors tell clients what paperwork they need to collect in order to sell their home. Agents also help manage any new paperwork that will come up throughout the process.
Agents know how to read contracts and will help you negotiate offers when they come your way.
Staging
Before you list your home, it has to be ready for posting. Agents will offer design tips or may connect you with professional stagers they have worked with before.
Listing
Once your house is ready, realtors post your listing to all the appropriate websites and handle communications with potential buyers.
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Showing
After your home is posted, your agent will also show the house. They can field any questions, address any concerns, and act as liaisons between you and interested parties.
All of that being said, selling your house without a realtor can take a lot of time and effort.
If you’re up for the challenge, the rest of this article is for you.
Selling Your House Without A Realtor
Before you download any listing apps – there are a number of things you have to do first.
Selling Your House On Your Own: Preparation
Step 1: Declutter
If you’ve been meaning to donate, sell, or give unused items to your friends this is the time to do so. You can also move larger or more sentimental items to storage for safekeeping until you move into your new space.
You want to guarantee that your home is beautiful in pictures–go ahead and remove any unecessary decor or other items that feel overly personal.
Don’t forget to go through all the smaller and easily forgotten areas too! Buyers will likely open closets and other storage spaces when touring – help yourself win by organizing those spaces.
Step 2: Get A Home Inspection
This isn’t necessarily an essential step, especially if your home was built or inspected recently. If you have an older home or aren’t 100% sure if there are any major issues that could come up in negotiations you may want to get a home inspection.
Most buyers will get a home inspected independently if they’re seriously interested in buying.
It’s better to be honest about problems upfront if you aren’t prepared to repair them or to solve as many problems as you can before listing.
If the inspection comes back clean, you can go into the listing process confident you have all the information available to you.
Plus, getting an inspection will help you price your home appropriately later on.
Step 3: Repair and Clean
If your home inspection is not so sparkling, pick which things need to be repaired and start to get those repairs scheduled. Again, selling your house without a realtor is about making the negotiation process as seamless as possible.
While the repairs are getting taken care of, you can get a jump on deep cleaning.
When they’re finished, you’re ready for the next step.
Step 4: Staging
After your space is spick-and-span, you’ll want to either hire a professional stager or stage your home on your own.
Staging is just the process of making your home look as buyer-friendly as possible. If you have an eye for design, there are lots of guides to staging your home on your own out there.
If you think you need extra help, make sure you budget for it. The price of hiring a stager varies depending on the region and size of the home but could be anywhere between a couple hundred to a couple of thousand dollars.
Step 5: Take Photos
While it’s possible to photograph your home by yourself, we really recommend you hire a professional for this one.
Especially if you sell your home without a realtor in 2023; your photos could make or break your home’s chance of selling. Having great images is one of many ways to help your home sell faster.
Unless you’re planning on only advertising offline, these photos will be your home’s first impression. Make them count!
If you can, have your photographer capture things outside of just your home’s footprint that could be attractive to buyers.
Is your home in a beautiful community? Are there amazing amenities nearby? If it is, don’t forget to show these too!
When the prep work is all completed, you can get to the actual home-selling part.
Selling Your House On Your Own: During and After Listing
Step 1: Set A Price
Understanding the value of your home is essential to listing it at the right price. The best way to figure out the right price is by checking out “comps” or comparable homes in your area. Using the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s calculator can also help you figure out a good starting range.
Usually, you can find the most recent selling price of other homes in your neighborhood online. Make sure you consider homes that are similar in size and condition to yours.
Alternatively, if you feel uncomfortable setting the number yourself, you could get your home appraised.
Make sure you spend the appropriate amount of time getting this number correct the first time. It can be tempting to list your home on the higher end of whatever price range you come up with–but changing a price multiple times can actually turn buyers away.
Setting the right price from the get-go will save you time, and maybe money, in the long run.
Step 2: Show Your Home
After you’ve nailed the pricing, you can finally put your home on the market. It shouldn’t take long to hear from buyers about viewing the home.
The showing process can be one of the most challenging parts of selling your house on your own.
Make sure you’re emotionally prepared for any comments or questions that buyers send your way. Keep in mind that the memories you’ve made in your home are personal to you—to buyers, your house is only one of many options.
To improve the chances of selling your home, try to have showings on the weekends when people are more likely to have time and flexibility to attend them.
Step 3: Negotiate Offers
If your showings go well, you should start getting offers on your home. You’re almost there!
You have three options after you receive offers: reject the offer, offer an alternative, or accept the offer.
This step can also be tricky to navigate without help. Make sure to look at more than just the total dollar amount.
Some buyers may offer cash, while others offer a long-term payment plan. Some buyers may ask for additional projects to be completed before they move in, but others could ask you to leave appliances.
If you sell your house without a realtor, you may want to hire a real estate attorney instead. They will ensure that all of your concerns are being addressed and guarantee that you won’t be liable for anything regarding your home after closing.
Step 4: Close
Hooray! If you reach this point, and all the other steps have been completed, you’re almost finished with your home-selling journey.
The only thing that’s left is to make sure you have all the appropriate paperwork in order before handing over the keys.
Some of the major documents you need include tax records, mortgage and insurance information, the home’s original deed or purchase contract, and any other relevant negotiation paperwork.
If you choose to hire a real estate attorney, they can also make sure this process is watertight. Make sure you keep copies for your personal records too!
Review
Before you go, here’s a quick review of all the steps!
BEFORE YOU LIST:
- Declutter
- Get a home inspection (optional)
- Repair and deep clean
- Stage
- Take photos
LISTING AND AFTERWARDS:
- Set the price
- Show your home
- Negotiate offers
- Close
Conclusion
Moving can be a stressful time in life. Selling your home on your own might make things more complicated, but it could be a great learning experience.
The best way to make your experience as simple as possible it to make sure you understand each step of the process. Once you understand the expectations, you’re ready to open listing apps and sell your house on your own!
Grace currently lives in Nashville, TN. She grew up in the Southeastern United States and graduated from College of Charleston, in Charleston, South Carolina. Her degree is in Political Science with a focus in International Relations, but she has a passion for all things communication and writing.
