Jackline from Auburn sent us this question: “Can I sell my home without a realtor?”
Many homeowners have this question. We got in touch with the team at The Connor Group for some insight into this question. For our readers, The Connor Group is a real estate firms that manages luxury apartments around the country. For example, you can go to their site to search for luxury apartments Austin.
We posed the question to The Connor Group and they sent us the following information:
The biggest investment most people ever make is owning a home. When you want to sell the home, it’s standard practice to hire a real estate agent to find a buyer on your behalf. When the sale is concluded, the agent will typically take 7 to 10 percent of the sale price as commission. The commission can be quite a huge sum.
One question you may be asking is, “Can I sell my home without a realtor?”
Selling a home on your own is not difficult if you know what real estate agents do. Typically, an agent does the following:
- Puts your property in the market with Multiple Listing Services (MLS).
- Markets the home online, through newspaper ads and fliers.
- Is available to show prospective buyers the home.
- Acts as a broker when negotiating price with prospective buyers
- Accompanies you to the closing.
As you see, there is no step that is too complicated to be done on your own. Selling a house on your own will not only save you on paying agent commission fees, but the process will quick and hassle-free.
Follow the steps below to sell a home on your own:
- Set the right price. Before listing your home, price it correctly. The price should be competitive to that of comparable houses sold in your neighborhood over the last six months.
- Obtain listing on MLS at a flat fee. The MLS is available to realtors across the US. However, there are services that allow you to list your property for a flat fee on the MLS. Search for these services in your area.
- Market your property. Apart from listing your home on the MLS, advertise it by creating brochures and fliers, putting up “for sale” signs and even posting on websites like Craigslist.
- Hold an open house. You can also get prospective clients by holding an open house. Put up signs in the neighborhood and notices in local publications regarding the date of your open house.
- Know your house’s strong points. Capture the attention of prospective buyers by listing the main selling points of your property. For example, including information on price, location, lot size, number of bathrooms, number of bedrooms and so on.
- Prepare to show the house. Make sure your home is ready for viewing by cleaning the floors, kitchen counters, and carpets.
- Show the house. Be ready to show the house to prospective buyers or real estate agents. If you are at home, you can show the house yourself. If you are away during the day, you can place a key in a lock box and verify the identity of the callers before giving out the lock box combination.
- Negotiate with potential buyers. Check the buying contract that the buyer submits and negotiate price from there.
Selling a home on your own can help you get more money and close transaction quickly. The above are the steps to follow to sell a home on your own.