Why sell your house by owner? Because of the thousands of dollars you can save by avoiding costly real estate agent commissions. Let’s say that your home is listed for $300,000 and you paid out a 6% commission once it was sold. That equals $18,000! Ask yourself, do real estate agents deliver $18,000 in value? The simple answer is no.
Want to successfully sell without an agent? Here is a recap of some of the extra work that you need to do to put that extra money in your pocket:
Before putting their homes on the market, savvy home sellers take the time to learn everything they can about the entire real estate process, from start to finish. This includes studying up on the state of the housing market, as well as becoming familiar with state and local real estate laws.
‘For Sale By Owner’ home sellers are solely responsible for marketing their homes. This involves managing their online listing, promoting the property on Craigslist every 7 days and frequently sharing the listing with Facebook friends. Spreading the word is imperative for a swift home sale.
Home sellers must find the time to promptly respond to all inquiries about their home, whether it is via phone call or email. A timely reply means that the ‘by owner’ property won’t be eliminated from buyers’ consideration set due to lack of response.
Being dedicated to selling a home means sellers are available for showings 7 days a week. This flexibility entails holding showings before, during and after work hours. Homeowners need their homes to be accessible, not around their own schedules, but per the buyers’ schedules.
There are many details that a home seller is accountable for when selling a home by owner. This includes, but is not limited to, keeping track of potential buyers contact information, staying on top of local home sales’ activity and collecting key documents such as title, survey, mortgage and insurance paperwork.
So, with all of the work listed above, why would anyone choose to sell their house by owner? Smart homeowners know that they can recoup up to 6% of the lost equity in their home by selling it without a real estate agent. Now, the difficult part is deciding what to do with all of that money that you’ve saved.
