Selling a home can be difficult. This is doubly true if you’re trying to sell it without the help of a real estate agent. However, it’s important that you know: it can be done.

Thinking about selling your home sans real estate agent? Need some help doing so? Here is how to sell your home by owner.

Here’s How to Sell Your Home By Owner

Selling a home by owner is a little different than selling a home via a real estate agent. Here are the keys to getting it right.

Price it Correctly

First and foremost, you need to price your home correctly. Failure to do so will lead to a lack of buyer attention, leading to a house that sits on the open market for months.

The question is: how do you get the price right? There are a few different strategies you can utilize, but the best option is to find the sale prices of similar homes in your neighborhood. If a similar house sold for $215,000, you should think about pricing yours at $215,000 as well.

Note, however, that there are other factors to consider as well. For instance, when pricing your home, you need to remember the buyer agent fee.

This is a sum of money that you pay to your buyer’s real estate agent upon the completion of the sale. In most cases, it consists of between 2.25% and 3.5% of the total sale price.

Don’t want to lose money paying this fee? Increase the listed price of your home to make up the difference.

Make Enhancements

If you want to sell your home at a reasonable price, you have to make it something worth selling. Most buyers aren’t looking for homes with 20-year-old appliances and antiquated floors. They’re looking for modern.

This is why, before you put your house up for sale, you need to make enhancements to it. Update the appliances, replace the flooring, siding, and roofing, gussy up the yard, and do everything you possibly can to make your home more appealing to prospective buyers.

When showing your home, ensure that it’s free of clutter, removing items which aren’t absolute necessities. Make sure to keep personal items to a minimum, as they can make it difficult for prospective buyers to envision themselves living in your home.

In essence, make your home the best home it can be. The cleaner, fresher, and more modern it is, the greater chance it has of selling.

Market Aggressively

When it comes to selling a home, marketing is of utmost importance. Ultimately, the goal is to expose your home to as many buyers as possible. The more buyers who see it, the greater chance you have of selling it.

There are a number of ways to market your house to the public. First and foremost, you have to list your house online. Zillow, HomeFinder, Rightmove, Facebook, and Craigslist are just a few of the sites where you can and should list your home. These sites are scoured on a regular basis, and will undoubtedly secure exposure for your home.

A yard sign should be utilized as well, as it will alert passersby to the fact that your home is for sale. Any prospective buyer is bound to focus in on this sign and make a mental note of your home.

When holding open houses, it’s wise to post direction signs in proximity to your home. These signs could catch passing eyes, and could even result in a previously-unaware buyer becoming familiar with your home.

Get the Negotiations Right

One of the most challenging aspects of selling a home by owner is dealing with negotiations between yourself and prospective buyers. Regardless of your listed price, prospective buyers are going to try to low-ball it. You need to be able to stand your ground and compromise reasonably.

It’s advised that you set a minimum amount of money before going into negotiations. This will ensure that you don’t end up losing money over the sale.

Once you’ve come to a verbal agreement with a buyer, you will need to have said buyer submit a written offer. To facilitate this written offer, you’re advised to create a written offer sheet. This should state not only yours and the buyer’s terms, but the date of closing, the closing location, and other pertinent information.

During this process, make sure that you receive a mortgage pre-approval letter from the buyer. This is necessary to ensure that the buyer can actually afford your home.

Close it Out

After you’ve received a written offer from a buyer, you can begin the closing process. Depending on the state you live in, your closing will take place either in a law office or a real estate title company. It’s between you and the buyer to decide on who exactly will handle the closing.

Fortunately for you, you won’t have to handle the technicalities of closing the deal. While you may be contacted for specific pieces of information, the lawyer or agent assigned to your sale will handle all of the complex aspects.

Your responsibility during this phase is to remain open to communication. The agent handling the sale, the real estate agent representing the buyer, and the buyer itself could try to get into contact with you about something or other. The quicker you are to respond, the quicker the sale will go through.

Seeking More Real Estate Information?

And there it is, that’s how to sell your home by owner. By following these tips, you stand a good chance not only of selling your home quickly but of getting as much money for it as possible.

Seeking more real estate information? Life is an Episode can help. Our blog is chockful of real estate tips, helping prospective buyers and sellers to make sound decisions.

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