Whether you’re selling a house for the first time or are an experienced veteran when it comes to residential real estate, you’ve probably taken some time to consider whether you should try to sell your house on your own or with a realtor like Emily Jones Real Estate, especially if you’re looking for ways to cut costs during the sales process.
Selling your house without the service of a realtor is certainly possible and well within your right as a homeowner. A more pertinent question may be, should you sell your house without a realtor? There are pros and cons to both selling a house yourself and hiring realtors to help you out, but the final decision is yours alone.
Selling Without A Realtor
If you want a job done right, do it yourself. That’s a common saying that applies to real estate as much as it does anywhere else, but only if you know what you’re doing. Before you choose to sell your house independent of realtors, you need to understand what you’re getting into. Below, we break down what you need to know about selling your house.
Licenses
You need a license to become a realtor, but do you need one to sell your own home? Fortunately, you don’t. It’s your right as a private homeowner to sell your property as you see fit, without a license. Just don’t try to sell someone else’s house without a realtor’s license, even if it’s a close family member or friend.
Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork
To sell a house, every single piece of paperwork needs to be in order. Make sure you have the following documents organized and ready to send to your lawyer.
- The deed to your property.
- Mortgage information.
- Recent utility bills.
- The latest tax bills.
The Pros and Cons of FSBO
FSBO (For Sale By Owner) and selling with the help of realtors wouldn’t be the options available to you if there weren’t pros and cons to each method. In this post, we focus on the pros and cons of FSBO to give you a better idea of what you may be getting into if you want to sell on your own.
The Pros
Saving Money
When you enlist the help of realtors, you need to pay them. It naturally follows that if you decide to sell your house yourself, you will be able to avoid paying the realtor’s commission—a simple way to save yourself some money during the selling process.
Be In Control
The help of a realtor takes control of the sale out of your hands and into theirs. That’s great if your goal during the process is to stay hands-off and avoid the nitty-gritty details. But suppose you don’t like the idea of surrendering control of your biggest financial asset to someone else or worrying about the realtor’s methods and opinions. In that case, FSBO gives you total control over the whole process.
Working with a realtor can also make you feel like there’s additional pressure to sell on their timeline, not yours. Selling independently lets you dictate how and when you’d like to sell.
The Cons
Lack of Publicity
Most FSBO listings end up being sold to someone that the seller knows personally. But, if you are hoping to find a buyer from the general public, it can be difficult to generate the same amount of public interest that a licenced realtor can.
Difficult To Price
Operating without the knowledge and experience of the local market that a realtor would have makes it tough to price your property appropriately. It’s not uncommon for FSBO listings to be overpriced and sit on the market forever or underpriced, leaving money on the table.
Time & Effort
Selling a home takes a lot of time and effort that most people aren’t willing to take on alone. Realtors give you the ability to focus on other projects or areas of your life that require your attention. By hiring a realtor, you can get a good price for your house without all the headaches and pressure from the paperwork, lawyers, and negotiations with the buyers.
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