What is the first thing you do when you want to sell your home? Call a realtor, right? Not necessarily.
Real estate agent’s commission rates have remained unchanged for almost a century, but you can still expect to pay an average of 5.65% of your home’s price for their services.
That translates into a lot of money on a high-priced house. So, if you want to save on paying commission to a real estate agent, you might wonder, ‘how hard is it to sell your own house?’.
Find out more about the pros and cons of the for sale by owner option, here.
Why Sell Your Home Yourself?
Many homeowners swear the FSBO route is the best way to sell a home. Here’s what you stand to gain from selling your own house:
Save on Commission
We’ve already covered the topic of agent’s commission for your realtor, but did you know you’ll need to pay another 3% to the buyer’s agent, too? That’s over 8% of your profits for their professional services.
When you go it alone, you’ll only need to pay the seller’s agent, if they have one.
Control Issues
What’s more, you have total control over the sale. You can dictate your home’s listing price, what improvements to make, who to show it to, and who you sell it to.
Inside Information
Nobody’s better positioned to promote a home in your neighborhood than you are. You know your community inside-out and can share this insider knowledge with prospective buyers on the spot.
You can offer advice and information that helps them put aside any qualms buyers might have about traffic in your area, potential security issues, or convenient access to amenities.
Commitment to Selling Your Home
Selling your home is a top priority for you when you market your own property. Yet, when you work with a realtor, your home’s just one of many they have on their books at a time.
There’s no way a real estate agent can put in as much time and effort as you will when it comes to selling your house.
The Drawbacks of Selling Your Own Home
If you choose to sell your own house, you can expect to encounter a few difficulties along the way. These are the main ones:
Settling on a Price for Your Home
It’s difficult to price your own home objectively. Plus, there’s no way for you to access the data to help you attach a price to your home without a realtor by your side.
Without this data, you can’t figure out what homes in your neighborhood sell for. Without the benefit of experience, you won’t know the value of your home based on its size or amenities either.
An expert real estate agent can offer your home at a fair price that’s attractive to both you and potential buyers.
The Nitty Gritty of Real Estate Transactions
Let’s face it, you probably have no experience in the field of real estate. That means you’re ill-prepared to handle every detail of the transaction, especially the legal finer details.
Working with a realtor gives you peace of mind, knowing that everything’s above board and that you’ve ticked all the necessary boxes.
Real estate acronyms, legal terms, and jargon may confuse and overwhelm you during the sales process.
Homeowner Bias
Real estate agents can offer valuable advice on which home improvements and upgrades help sell houses faster. Without their expertise, you may waste money on aspects that went out of fashion long ago.
What’s more, you love your home and your interior design. Potential buyers may not agree with your sense of taste.
A real estate agent can help you tone down, or remove undesirable aspects of your home’s decor to increase its appeal to potential buyers.
DIY Marketing
Real estate agents have access to all the marketing channels necessary to get your home sold quickly. They can market your home online as well as via their email newsletters.
They can easily access the network of real estate agents across the country for insider information on buyers looking for a home in your area.
Time Constraints
You’ll need to invest a lot of time in marketing, improving, and showing your home when you decide to go it alone.
It takes a long time to sell a home yourself. So, if you want to avoid endless to-do lists and get your home sold as fast as possible, selling it to a cash buyer is a good alternative.
How Hard Is It to Sell Your Own House to a Cash Buyer?
If you’re struggling to get your home sold, or you can’t afford any necessary home repairs, approaching a cash investor might suit you.
These companies have long lists of willing buyers and can even sell a home as-is to keen house flippers, or developers.
You’ll usually have an offer within a few days, and they’ll take care of all the rest on your behalf. It’s by far the fastest way to sell your home if you’re in a hurry to get your hands on some cash.
Selling your home this way is a big step, so read more about home cash offers before you go this route.
Are You Ready to Take the Plunge?
Now that you have the answers to the question, ‘how hard is it to sell your own house?’, you might think twice about going this route, or you might love the idea even more.
If you’re relatively well-informed about real estate issues, decor trends, and home pricing, you’re better placed for selling your own house. So brush up on these topics before you opt for this exercise.
You can get started by browsing our website for more of the latest information about real estate.
