Selling your house without an agent: a step-by-step guide
Do you really need a real estate agent these days? Yes and no. Yes, you can absolutely sell your house yourself. No, it’s not as easy as you think, but I’ll walk you through how to do it below, should you decide to go that route.
With the rise of sites like Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia, the real estate industry has changed from a need-based industry to a knowledge-based one. You NO NEED to hire an agent anymore, in fact with many agents you might be better off doing it yourself. A good real estate agent will know how to negotiate, will be an expert in the community, a great marketer, and very knowledgeable regarding all standard contracts and state forms.
If you know enough to get in trouble, you will get in trouble.
Here are my steps to a successful FSBO (for sale by owner)
1. Determine your market value. Obviously, you can familiarize yourself with what’s selling in your area by visiting Zillow and such, but pay $30 for a smartzip Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to help properly appraise your property. A CMA will provide you with comparable sales and active listings. You must be informed if you are negotiating with a potential buyer.
2. Pay an MLS-only service around $300 to list your home on the MLS and offer at least 2.5% to any buyers agent who brings you a buyer. Use images from an experienced real estate photographer (yes, it matters) and stage your house if it’s empty or make it presentable if you still live there (yes, that matters too).
3. List your home on Craigslist and forsalebyowner.com using postlets or vflyer to create a virtual flyer.
4. Put up a sign in your yard with colored ruffles (you can put up some black and white ones for backup) and a web address linking potential buyers to your home.
5. Run a Facebook advertising campaign targeting engaged or married women between the ages of 25 and 35 in your area, and create a Google AdWords pay-per-click campaign for the keywords “[neighborhood (not city) name] houses for sale”, enter details better than just the name of the city.
has. ex.
I. Properties in Oro Negro for sale
ii. Yorba Linda High School
iii. Horse Property for sale
6. Ask for a good escrow company to help you with the transaction (this will cost you on average about 1% of the purchase price). The escrow officer is the “quarterback” of the transaction. A good one will make all the difference in the world. If your buyer is represented by an agent, they may insist on using your escrow agent. If you know his escrow agent is good, don’t let them talk you into using theirs. Here in Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills, the seller generally chooses the escrow companies.
7. Price it right! If you’re not getting a lot of feedback in your first 3 weeks. This is an indication that your house is overvalued.
8. Disclose, Disclose, Disclose. The standard California Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) used by any agent (at least a competent one) will require you to have all disclosures to the buyer within 5 days of submitting your offer. The disclosures will be different depending on the property being sold. Your escrow officer can help you with this.
9. Ask the buyer to eliminate their contingencies (if any). Contingencies are usually removed after 17 days of accepted offer, but again it depends on what is written in the contract. Read and understand the contract before accepting any offer.
Selling your home without an agent is similar to setting up your corporation or trust on LegalZoom, sure it can be done and save you money up front, but you never know how much it will cost you down the road or what small mistakes can hurt. your.
Educate yourself and you can definitely sell your house without an agent.