How to Sell Your Home Without an Agent

Article Summary: Is it possible to sell your home without an agent in the current economy? Yes, but you'll have to prepare for the process and work hard along the way. Here are some of the steps you'll encounter when selling your home without an agent.

If you are like many people in our country, you have seen a rapid decline in the real estate market and home values in your area. Homeowners who need to sell right now are in a tough position, and many are looking for ways to save money. If you are in that tough position of selling your home in the current declining market, you need to get every penny you can from the sale.

Most real estate agents will ask you to sign a contract allocating 3% of your home's sales price as their commission for guiding you through the process of selling your home. In many states, the seller is also responsible for paying the buyer's agent 3% as well. This means that up to 6% of your sales proceeds could be paid to the real estate agents involved in the transaction. For example, if you sell your home for $250,000, then $15,000 of your "profit" (if you are fortunate to make one) will go into someone else's pocket. Wouldn't it be great to cut that fee in half?

Sell your Home By Owner and Save Thousands!


One way to save a considerable amount of money is by selling your home without an agent and listing it as For Sale By Owner (FSBO). You may not think you have the skills or knowledge to do so, and you may not even know where to start. But it's possible to sell a home without an agent if you do the proper research and take the right steps. Here's how to go about it.

Start this process by asking yourself the following question: "What does a selling agent really do?" For starters, they will help you come up with a realistic sales price for your home by using recent comparable sales in your area. You may think they have exclusive access to certain databases to extract that information, but you'd be surprised. You may have a friend or relative in the mortgage or finance business who can help you access that information. Or, you can pay a nominal fee (in the range of $200 -$500) to hire a certified appraiser to prepare a full appraisal of your home including those comparable sales.

Once you come up with a fair and competitive sales price, the next step is to get your home included on the Multiple Listing Service or MLS -- same as that selling agent would do. There are many FSBO services out there that will do this for you for a reasonable fee. Many of these services will also provide you with yard signs, a lockbox, copies of contracts and other legal documents and advice when needed.

Our recommendation: Sell your Home By Owner and Save!


It is at this point you may want to consider staging your home so the photos on the MLS will be appealing to a wide range of buyers. Clean away all of the clutter. Freshen up the paint where needed. Arrange furniture so it increases the feeling of space. Make sure you have some good curb appeal out front.

Now that your home is valued and listed, it's time to start marketing it. Start by putting some highly visible "For Sale" signs in your yard, as well as house flyers with color photos and contact information (in case the buyer wants to schedule a visit to see the inside). You may also want to list your home on websites such as Craigslist.com, or in the local newspaper classifieds section.

Now that your home is listed and you are actively marketing it to potential buyers, it's important to keep it staged, tidy and clean. When you choose to sell your own home without an agent you basically become the selling agent. This means that when a buyer or buyer's agent wishes to see your home, they will contact you to schedule a showing. Often, they will do this with very little notice. It's important to make a positive and lasting impression, because it may be your only chance to show off all the great things about your home to that particular buyer.

The next several stages of the process are usually handled by the buyer's agent. These include making the offer, preparing the sales contract, scheduling the termite and/or home inspection, etc.

If the buyers have included any items they would like you to address in their offer, such as repairs or replacements, you will need to accept them or negotiate the offer, and then follow through on those repairs as needed. You may also want to have your FSBO service or local real estate attorney review the sales contract if you are not comfortable with the language and terminology.

In the final steps of this process, you will have to show up for appointments, inspections and the final closing process, as instructed by the buyer's agent. Lesson learned … do your research when trying to sell your home without an agent (you can find plenty of information online). Educate yourself about the entire selling process, and consult your FSBO service as needed.

Selling a House in Tough Economic Times - Home Seller Crisis Guide

Times are tough for home sellers right now. In a general sense, I know this just by watching the news. In a more specific way, I know this by talking to a couple of my neighbors who are trying to sell their houses right now.

I can't change the fact that we are in an economic crisis that makes home selling tough. But I can offer some tips on how to sell your house in touch economic times such as these.

How the Economic Crisis Affects Home Selling

In most areas of the country, people who are trying to sell a house right now will encounter three primary obstacles -- all a result of the current economic crisis we find ourselves in:

1. Home values dropping in most places
2. Record numbers of foreclosure homes available
3. A shortage of buyers due to the credit crunch

The first problem for sellers is that home values have dropped in most markets, and in some places they have dropped significantly. So the first thing you must do is determine what your home is truly worth in the current market -- not what it was worth when you bought it, and not what you think it should be worth. This is more of a problem in some areas than others, but it's still a problem for sellers nationwide.

One of the reasons property values have dropped is the vast number of foreclosed homes currently on the market. As we know, this is the result of the mortgage crisis that cost so many subprime borrowers their homes. So when you try to sell a home in the current economy, you may find that you're competing with foreclosure properties that are priced below market value (even below the depressed market value).

The third reason it's hard to sell a home during this economic crisis -- and probably the biggest challenge of all -- has to do with a shortage of buyers. A lot of people are having trouble getting mortgage loans right now, and for obvious reasons. Lending standards have gone up considerably (credit score criteria, debt-to-income ratios, etc.), and a lot of banks are afraid for their very existence right now. So unless you have nearly perfect credit, you're going to have a hard time getting a mortgage.

This is the problem my neighbor his having up the street. Her house has been on the market for about three weeks now, but she's only had a couple of potential buyers walk through. Other agents have told her listings agent that their clients can't get mortgage loans, so there's no point in bringing them by the home.

Through our other website at HomeBuyingInstitute.com, I was contacted by a person from NBC Nightly News. They wanted me to help them find people to interview for a story they were doing. The segment was about this very issue -- people who are having trouble getting mortgages because of the economic crisis (even people with good credit scores).

Tips for Selling in Hard Times

Times are certainly tough for sellers right now. And you probably won't sell your house for the amount you would like. If you can stay put and wait out the crisis for a while, that's probably the best strategy for now. But if you simply have to sell (for a job transfer, financial reasons, or whatever the case), there are some things you can do to expedite the process.

The following tips will help you sell your house in the tough economic times we find ourselves in:

• I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Proper pricing is critical when selling a home in this kind of market. On top of that, the value of your house has probably changed since you bought it. So you need to find out what comparable homes are selling for you in your area at the current time. If you hire an agent, this is one of the key steps he or she will help you with.
• Staging your home effectively is also extremely important. Sellers need every edge they can get in this economy, and presentation goes a long way in this regard. In many cases, the difference between a properly staged home and one where the sellers made no effort is the difference between an offer and no offer.
  
• Because there's a shortage of qualified home buyers right now, you need to do everything you can to market your home effectively. You need to reach the largest possible audience to increase your chances of finding the right buyers. If you have an agent, they will handle much of this for you. If you don't have an agent, you can still get national real estate listing without the commissions
  
  

Selling a home during this financial crisis is certainly a challenge. But it's not impossible. You may have to reduce your asking price, and you should definitely spend the time needed to stage and promote your house properly. But it can still be done.