So, you wanna sell your house without an agent? That’s fine. We all like to be adventurous sometimes. Selling your home without an agent can prove to be quite difficult, and costly, for inexperienced home sellers.
What do you need to do to sell your home without an agent? Buckle up kids, it’s gonna get bumpy.
#1: Get your house ready
All those small items you’ve been avoiding – like chipped paint, etc. – you need to handle up on those items now. Just because there is no agent doesn’t mean your house shouldn’t look it’s best.
#2: Figure out a Price
I know you may think you have looked at comps on Zillow, but I have some news for you. The State of Louisiana doesn’t publish sold data to Zillow and Realtor.com. That Zestimate or assumed value you will find online is likely very inaccurate.
You should consider getting an appraisal done to help determine a list price for your home. Keep in mind that the value is only what someone is willing to pay for it.
#3: Put out a sign
This one small thing keeps many people from knowing your house is even for sale. Since you won’t have the luxury of using the MLS (the multiple listing service that agent use to input all of our listings that automatically feeds to hundreds of websites people use to search homes one), you will at BARE MINIMUM need a sign.
Selling your home without an agent means that no one else is taking care of a sign or flyer box in your front yard.
#4: Utilize the internet
Facebook Marketplace, Trulia, Zillow, and Craigslist are all places you can list your home for sale.
#5: Documents
Be sure you have the correct documents when it comes to listing your home for sale by yourself. Even though you don’t have an agent, you still legally have to provide property disclosures to the person purchasing your home.
#6: Offer the buyer’s agent commission
You’re likely selling the home yourself to “save some money.” However, many people will still have a real estate agent handling their side of the transaction. Offering 3% of the sales price to the buyer’s agent is going to be worth it. They will end up handling a lot of the work.
#7: Be prepared to negotiate on your own
Without a licensed real estate agent, who does this every single day, you might be shocked at the amount of negotiation involved. It’s easy to take things personally without a person in the middle handling all these little details.
#8: Don’t forget inspections
The buyer for your property will get property inspections scheduled for your house. After inspections are completed, be prepared to negotiate again.
#9: Repairs
After inspections, you will likely have to get some repairs done on your house. Without a real estate agent and their arsenal of handy people, electricians, etc. you may find yourself making a lot of phone calls to get your repairs done.
#10: All the in-between
Title companies, elevation certificates, appraisal, and all the other stuff in between – that’s just when you have an accepted contract. Before you even get to that, I would suggest getting a Google phone number for all the inquiries you might receive on your home. From potential buyers to nosy neighbors, and real estate agents trying to convince you to list your home with them – you’re going to get bombarded.
Selling your home without an agent will prove to be a challenge for many. There are many things that will happen in between all of this – as all transactions are different and varied.
Listing with a licensed professional can make the whole house selling process less stressful. Not all agents are created equal though. Make sure you interview a couple of them!
Ready to talk about selling your home? Schedule a meeting with us!