Selling your house can be a stressful time, and it’s a familiar pain to many Americans. Believe it or not, over 5.6 million homes were sold just in the year 2020!
If you’re about to embark on that same journey, you may be asking the age-old question; do I need a realtor? Well, that’s a complicated question to answer, and it depends on your circumstances. Let’s talk about the pros and cons before you sell your home without a realtor.
Why You Should Not Sell Your Home Without A Realtor
Okay, let’s start with the cons of selling your home by yourself. Realtors undoubtedly offer a lot of valuable services. It wouldn’t be such a large industry if it didn’t! Here are some of the biggest reasons why you should go with a realtor.
Limited Reach
If you’re selling a house yourself, you’ll still be somewhat dependent on realtors. You will be able to post your sale on certain online platforms, but some realtors won’t show it to their eager buyers. If they see “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO), they will be less likely to recommend the property.
Because of this, it does limit your reach of the buyers who likely have the money on hand and are seeking trusted properties through a realtor. Many of them will only show an FSBO house if it’s listed at a ridiculously low price or if there’s nothing else on the market. In a seller’s market like the one we’re seeing now, that’s a hard sell.
Not only that, you won’t know all of the best platforms for posting the house, you may miss opportunities for a better sale without realizing it, and there will be a lot of questions left in the air about your marketing strategy.
Lack Of Expertise
Realtors, whether you love them or hate them, know the business. They know where to post, who’s most likely to buy, and how to maximize the sale. They are seasoned veterans in the art of negotiating and maximizing a sale.
Negotiating may sound easy, but have you ever negotiated a home before? If a potential buyer has a realtor handling the process for them, you’re already at a disadvantage. They’ve been put through the ringer time after time. It’s not as simple as high-balling and working down by a couple of thousand dollars. You need to know the features of the house, all of the amenities, the market value in the area, and a lot more before you can even enter the discussion.
There is also the problem of local laws and regulations regarding the sale. Realtors are forced to become near-experts on these, and that gives them a huge leg up when it comes to making decisions for the sale to avoid any major issues.
They’ll also be familiar with the local market, the best marketing platforms, and networks in the area. Yes, you will have to pay them a substantial fee, but the right realtor may be able to get a much better deal for your house, which will wind up working in your favor.
Hands Off
Selling your home is an emotional process, so being removed from the situation may be best in certain circumstances. You’ll also be a lot less involved in general, leaving your life more or less uninterrupted.
The only thing you’ll have to do is sign some paperwork and answer some phone calls for updates or to answer questions. The realtor will handle contacts with contractors, other realtors, and potential buyers. You’ll be able to sit back and relax, keep working at your job, or doing whatever you want!
Selling real estate, even if it’s just one piece, will be a full-time job. That’s why realtors exist. If you’ve never sold a house before and you try to do it all on your own, you’ll likely have to take time off work and handle a lot all at once.
Knowing The Right Buyers
Realtors know which buyers are serious and which are not, and they will be able to weed out the ones you don’t need to keep. They’ll be able to stay on track to get the most out of the sale and avoid interruptions from curious dreamers. Experienced real estate agents are more than familiar with these people and can spot them from a mile away.
Options
There are literally over 106,000 real estate agencies in the US, meaning your options are almost endless, even within your local region.
When you choose a realtor, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. Every city and metro area has realtors in the area, and you’ll be able to ask around to see who can fit your needs. Ask your friends, family, and coworkers who they’ve used and if they have any recommendations.
You can also look at online reviews, check your local Chamber of Commerce, and read testimonies. Once you find a few that you’re interested in, ask them for references and success stories to make sure you’re getting the right help for the right price.
Why You Should Sell Your Home Without A Realtor
While realtors offer plenty of valuable services, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need one. There are plenty of benefits you can get from selling a house on your own. Here are just a few of them!
Save On Commission
This is the obvious primary benefit of selling as the owner. Commission adds up to a large chunk of change, so if you can keep that for yourself, you’ll save a small fortune.
Commission for a real estate agent could be anywhere from 3% to 6% of the sale price. If you have a $400,000 home for sale, that’s anywhere from $12,000 to $24,000 you’re losing on the sale. If you believe you can sell that $400,000 house for anywhere above $390,000 on your own, you already saved a lot of money.
If you’re looking to retire, buy a new home, or invest that money, an extra $20,000 in your pocket gives you a lot more purchasing power. It may be a lot of work to sell it on your own but think about that in terms of an hourly wage. If you put in 100 hours into getting the house ready and making the sale and get an extra $20,000 out of it, you were just paid $200 per hour for your troubles.
There are often a lot of fees associated with selling a home, and a realtor may try to extract the most out of you that they can. If you have any legal fees or anything else, they add up. Eliminating the biggest expense, which is usually commission, will save you a lot of money.
Control
If you’re selling the house on your own, you’re in total control of the sale. That means you can do whatever you want to try to maximize the sale. Now, this does come with extra responsibility but it also comes with freedom.
Looking to get the most out of the sale? You’ll be able to make necessary repairs, control the negotiating process, and add any features all under your own control. You can even make upgrades that will be good for short-term profit maximation like putting a pond in your backyard (check your local regulations).
You Can Dedicate Your Time
If you hire a realtor, chances are that they have more than one project going on at a time. Because of this, it makes for common distractions and miscommunications. If you only have the one house you’re selling, you can focus all of your efforts on this.
Even if you’re working full-time, using some vacation or personal days is not a bad idea to maximize your effort. Once the sale is completed and to your liking, you’ll be glad you did!
Now, if you can’t take too much time off work, this can be a burden. Accomplishing a large task like this on the weekends isn’t feasible for most, so having tight deadlines may be the only way to get it done.
No Communication Errors
If everything is on you, there won’t be a game of telephone going on between you and the realtor. When realtors are selling a home, they have to focus on a lot of moving parts including potential buyers, contractors, and you.
This leads to all sorts of communication issues, which can lead to trouble down the line, like at the time of the sale. If you’re in control of everything, you won’t have to worry about playing telephone with anybody, and you’ll be able to focus on making the sale in a reasonable time frame.
How To Sell Your Home Without A Realtor
If you want to know how to sell your home without a realtor, the answer is simple. Find somebody who is always buying and get an offer. The best news for selling a property yourself is that you don’t even need a realtor on the buyer’s side to promote your property. You can sell it directly for cash, and you can do it fast.
Our team will get you the right price and pay you the money as soon as possible for your home. If you’re looking to sell your house quickly, there’s no need for a realtor at all, or even to take time off of work to make the sale We have a team of ready buyers who will buy your home in any condition, and we can make you an offer almost instantly!
If you want all of that work off your back without a high commission fee, that’s your best bet!
Be Reasonable On Price
Have a minimum and an ideal price in mind before going into the sale process. Understand that you’re selling it yourself and you may not get the most out of the sale. Set a price that you would accept and be happy with but also one to reach for when you’re selling, and start the listing and negotiating processes from there.
Avoid Common Mistakes
We gave you plenty of reasons that a realtor is valuable, so take some of that value into your own sale. Don’t take too much on at once, don’t overspend on renovations, and try to avoid some of the other most common house selling mistakes. A little research could save you a small fortune when it comes time to make the sale, so don’t neglect it!
Set A Time Frame
You don’t want to hold onto this house forever, do you? Taking a week off of work is one thing, but it becomes a problem after a bit of time. Have a strict time frame set to avoid stretching out the process for too long, and set a time frame for each step along the way.
For example, you could try to have the physical property ready within a week, have it posted within two, and find buyers within the month. Of course, you could adjust those times to fit your needs, but try to stick to the time frame as closely as possible.
Get The Best Deal Today!
Now that you know how to sell your home without a realtor, there’s no time like the present to get started. Our team can give you an offer as early as possible without ever needing to call a real estate agent. Read up on our latest real estate news, get selling, and check out some of our testimonials if you’re interested in a fast cash offer!