Selling your home without the support of a realtor can be an overwhelming task if you don’t know the process. However, if you get used to the steps involved and commit to the process, you need to be able to manage selling your home. Make sure you are prepared to take on the responsibility of promoting your home. Many tools such as books, legal forms and for sale by owner (FSBO) websites are available to assist you with successfully promoting your home. Remember that you have the choice to employ a real estate agent if the process becomes too overpowering.
Preparing Your Home
Before placing your home on the market, prepare it for sale. Complete any necessary repairs so that your home is in the very best condition and makes the best impression. In addition, do routine maintenance on things around your home like cleaning the gutters, altering blown-out lighting bulbs and removing weeds from the lawn. Complete any home improvement projects like painting or replacing outdated fixtures until you put your home on the market. Finally, remove all clutter and excessive furniture from you home, therefore it appears open and spacious.
Marketing Your Home
Marketing your home is important so as to get it sold. You may register for FSBO websites that allow you to record your property for sale. The majority of these websites charge a fee for your listing. List your property for sale in local papers, and place a For Sale sign in your lawn. Create fliers with full-color photos of your home and appropriate contact information and make them available for potential buyers.
Necessary Paperwork
Selling your property involves several varieties of paperwork. You require legal forms like a disclosure form and a sales contract, in addition to copies of documents like your survey as well as the deed to your property. Since having the appropriate paperwork is paramount to getting a valid and legal sale, you may need to employ a real estate lawyer to guide you through. The expense of hiring of attorney may well be worth it to protect against any legal issues that can happen with your sales trade.
Benefits
The biggest advantage of selling your home is saving money. Since you’re not having a realtor, you won’t have to pay a commission, that is a proportion of their sales price. Commissions on typical run about 6 percent of their purchase price, so on a $100,000 sale, you would pay $6,000 in commissions prices. That’s a large amount of money. Other benefits include the fact that you have more control over who sees your home, and you’re always home for all showings. Finally, you control all of the negotiations and all facets of the trade, so your needs and wants are put at the forefront.
Disadvantages
Selling your home is a big responsibility, and there are several disadvantages. You are accountable for all of the financial and legal aspects to the trade. You’ve got to be diligent about verifying that all of the paperwork is in order, so the sale doesn’t fall through and is lawful and binding. In addition, you have to create your own possible buyers using various advertising avenues. You are also responsible for all of your marketing costs, that can be quite pricey. Furthermore, selling your home is a time-consuming process. You’ve got to be available to show your home, hold open houses and respond to questions concerning your property. As a result, you have to give up much of your free time to handle this process.