6 Tips To Help You Sell Your Home By Yourself Without a Realtor

Are you thinking about selling your home by your own… Without the help of a real estate professional?

Many choose to travel down this road with the idea that they will save on commission by doing so. Commissions can cost a homeowner up to 6% of their sales price. While that’s no throwaway money it is to be noted that there is good reason agents are paid the premium they are. If you are going to go at this without them you should be prepared to do the work you would expect of them.

You will have to commit your time to show and market your home to negotiate the final price and conditions of sale. Along with that, you will be responsible for understanding and acting according to the fair housing laws. The paperwork needed for completion is also no walk in the park, however… If you are prepared for those things it can be profitable.

Here are 6 tips to sell your home by yourself

#1 Get a home inspection

Expose major/minor repairs. Assess whether or not you want to repair or acknowledge and give accommodation by way of seller credits or price reduction. Doing this upfront will leave less wiggle room for a prospective buyer to use new findings as leverage in negotiations.

#2 Determine an ideal buyer for your home

Who will find the most value in your home and why? Ie growing family, established family, fix and flipper, buy and hold investor, etc. Sometimes the home can fit multiple buyers. Identifying this will certainly help determine what actions you need to take.

For example, if my ideal buyer is a family I may have to consider doing a bit more to attract them to my house based on the other homes available in the market.

Or on the other hand, if my ideal buyer is an investor I may need to just make sure I highlight the overall condition of the home and give an as-is price.

It is worth it to note that traditionally those retail buyers are generally looking to pay top dollar for the home that they most desire. Most often these homes are found on the MLS listed by realtors who incentivize other agents to bring their buyers with commissions.

#3 Accurately price your home

Use your inspection, target market, and comps to determine the price. There’s nothing wrong with getting the help of an agent for a competitive market analysis on your home. Some will want to see the house first, some will ask detailed questions and make assumptions. If you have your inspection to handy it would be even easier to determine price, because depending on your strategy you will be able to put a value on the actual repairs needing to be made to the home.

Over-pricing your home and seeing what happens sets a bad precedent for when you inevitably discount the home. This shows a lack of knowledge and will encourage prospective buyers to test you on what they think you know or don’t know.

I would highly recommend regardless of how nice you feel your home is pricing your home slightly below its value will help create a solid pool of buyers. Having this pool of buyers promotes competition

PRO TIP: KNOW YOUR NUMBERS… SALES PRICE IS GREAT BUT NET PROCEEDS IS REALLY WHAT YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON…

#4 Adequately market & describe your home

Knowing who your target buyer is will help you tremendously here, ts will help you identify where you need to be marketing to get in front of the buyer you’re looking for. Is that on the MLS, Zillow, Craigslist, Facebook? If you are selling by yourself without the help of an agent network then you will want to make sure your home is visible to as many people that fit your ideal buyer as possible

If you are competing with an open market for the attention of families you will want to get professional photos. It’s a nominal investment with a larger return a good cleaning and decluttering before photos go a long way as well. Keep in mind the order you display the marketing photos in. The idea is to make the digital experience similar to the one in real life. Pictures should feel as if I am walking through the home for the first time. from the front door and on.

If you’re marketing to investors you will need to make sure you display the important things for sure even if you don’t get professional photos. For example HVAC system. roof, electrical panel

When it comes to the description of your home make sure you are highlighting the key things for the ideal buyer. For example, a family or retail buyer may be interested in the available space while an investor wants to know about the condition & age of the key parts of the home when upgrades were made, etc. Use the description to paint the picture of opportunity to whomever your prospect is.

#5 Get a cash offer

When selling your home by yourself one of the hardest things to do is determine the value of the home. Professionals spend years perfecting this craft, it’s so important that it cannot be learned just once. It is a skill that has to be worked on consistently. I like to think beyond what any data says the best way to determine value is to see what someone is actually willing to pay.

What is nice about seeking a cash offer is these buyers are often looking at providing convenient selling solutions reducing commissions, avoiding multiple showings, & no sign in the yard for more privacy.

These cash buyers often come in the form of investors looking to profit so it probably would be in your best interest to work with a professional like myself who could potentially get you multiple cash offers to compare. If you want to know a little more about how to better work with these buyers click here.

I would be happy to help you receive a cash offer on your home just visit me here to connect. As an investor myself, I focus on helping consumers see all the costs associated with selling to get a better understanding of net proceeds.

#6 Avoid unnecessary middlemen

Did you know that hosts like Zillow act as lead-generating sources for agents looking for buyers? When it comes to your for sale by owner consumers can get confused and connect with an agent instead of connecting with you costing you a potential commission. Working with an agent in some capacity should be anticipated however it’s unfortunate that these sites are set up to intercept engagement meant for you and a potential buyer. To avoid this make sure the number and email you want prospective buyers to contact you at is at the beginning of your description.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED ANY REAL ESTATE RELATED HELP PLEASE CALL OR TEXT AT (302)300-6899. MY EMAIL IS TERRANCE.L.CLARK@EXPREALTY.COM