Conventional wisdom says you need a real estate agent to sell your house, especially on a hot market, if you want to make other expena good profit. But is that really the truth? Nope!
In fact, you can sell your home without a real estate agent, provided you are willing to put in a little extra work. If you make it, you’ll pocket some extra cash since you won’t have to pay a realtor’s fee, plus a few other expenses.
Another option to consider is use online marketplace where you can get the highest price possible, how sundae.com reviews before deciding anything.
Sounds good? Let’s take a look at how you can sell a home without a real estate agent step-by-step.
Price Your Home Accurately and Competitively
Firstly, you’ll need to price your home accurately and competitively for your local real estate market. It can be tough to know what your home is worth, especially if you aren’t trained as a real estate agent.
Fortunately, you can use online tools like Zillow to check out recent sales for homes in your neighborhood. Figure out the price per square foot for homes that are nearby, then apply the same metric to your own property.
Don’t forget to consider any unique features or upgrades your home includes! If needed, try to search for a house that’s pretty similar to yours and estimate an appropriate asking price using that as a benchmark. Remember that you can always adjust the price of your property later down the road if needed.
Prep Your Home for Showings
Pricing your home is just the start. You’ll need to make it attractive and worthy of a home showing if you want locals to stop by and give it a look.
Do Repairs/Upgrades and Take Photos!
To that end, you should do repairs for any aspects of your home that need a bit of fixing up. Alternatively, if your home already looks good, consider implementing a few upgrades, like installing a new front door or installing fresh windows throughout the home. These improvements can boost your home’s curb appeal and let you price your house a little higher than otherwise.
Once your repairs and improvements are done, take plenty of photographs. The right photos can showcase your home in the best positive light and make it sell faster than you think.
Consider Hiring a Professional Stager
When it comes to taking interior photos, however, you might notice that your home is a bit cluttered. While it might seem homey to you, it could seem messy or disorganized to an outside observer.
You might consider hiring a professional stager to make your home’s interior look fantastic. They’re cheaper than real estate agents, but can set up your home so it looks as attractive as possible for prospective buyers.
Market Your Home with Real Estate Ads
Now it’s time to advertise your home. You can put your house on the local market through listings websites, though you won’t be able to list your home on the official realtor listings without a real estate license.
Nevertheless, you can advertise your home on marketplaces such as Craigslist, in the newspaper, and on any other listings sites you find.
Social Media Advertising
Don’t discount the power of social media advertising, either. Posting your home for sale on social media could allow you to easily draw the attention of locals looking for homes or people you know across the country who might want to move to your local area.
Whether you use social media platforms or other sites, you need to make your real estate ads pop and draw the eye. Use free tools like PosterMyWall to draw excellent social media graphics and other digital advertisements that showcase your home smartly and aesthetically to prospective buyers. Make sure that any posters or ads you put up include your phone number, email address, and any other relevant contact information.
Start Negotiating with Prospective Buyers
Sooner or later, you’ll start receiving offers from prospective buyers for your property. Many would-be buyers will come out of the gate with an offer if they’re pleased with your photos. Others may wish to take a physical two of your property before making an offer.
It’s up to you to make all these meetings work with your personal schedule. For example, you can host showings in the morning or evening before or after work. Or you can host physical showings on the weekends.
Regardless, as you start receiving offers, negotiate with prospective buyers to make sure you get a price you deserve and that’s worthy of your property. There might be some back and forth; don’t shy away from it! Haggling over real estate prices is a part of the process.
Draw Up Paperwork
Once you have an acceptable offer, it’s time to draw up the official paperwork enclosing contracts. You can download form templates for real estate bills of sale and other contracts. However, it’s a good idea to have a lawyer look over your contracts to make sure that there aren’t any loopholes and to ensure that your contracts are legally binding.
Close the Deal
Once that’s all done, contact a bank or other financial institution with an escrow account so you and the prospective buyer can transfer funds over accordingly. Close the deal, sign the paperwork, and have the buyer transfer the down payment or good faith deposit to the escrow account.
Don’t Forget an Attorney!
Once more, it’s recommended that you hire an attorney even if you don’t want to hire a real estate agent. The attorney should look over the paperwork, make sure everything is airtight, and can even deliver your paperwork to the county clerk’s office so it’s filed promptly. Then all that’s left is for you to shake hands with the buyer and start moving out!
That’s it! Once the paperwork is signed and your attorney drives off, you’ve sold your property and can rest assured the profits will end up in your bank account in no time. Take a deep breath and congratulate yourself; you’ve done something few ever attempt by selling a house without a real estate agent!
