Many people believe that by law, they need a real estate agent to sell their home or property, but no law exists requiring that a person hire a realtor to sell their home. Except in some states, they require homeowners to hire an agent to handle all the paperwork regarding the closing of the house. But, selling a house on your own can be done.
There are advantages and disadvantages for selling your own home. An advantage is that if you decide to sell your own house, you will be able to receive more money from the sale of your home because you will not be paying a realtor’s commission. The disadvantage, though, is that you are fully responsible for knowing all the laws, steps, and requirements for selling your own home, and sometimes that can be a lot to handle.
Steps to selling your home by yourself
First, if you decide to sell your house on your own, you are taking part in “For Sale By Owner” which can be a great way to get the full sale price of your home without paying all of the commission fees. But before you can get started, it’s important to do some research on the market in the area you live in. Is is a buyer’s market? If so, taking on the task of selling your own home may be difficult because you are going against real estate agents who know what they are doing, and dedicate their whole work life to selling homes. Whereas you will have to figure out how you are going to balance your life, job, and selling your house on your own. To eliminate stress, don’t sell when there is a buyer’s market, but sell when there is a seller’s market.
Legal considerations
Remember that before you sell your home, there are legal factors that have to be considered. First, you will need to learn about the laws of your state that have control over real estate transfers. By knowing the laws, you can then find out what kinds of paperwork need to be filled out. You will also need to find out if there any encumbrances that are on your home and then from there, figure out how to handle them. In some states, but not all, there are mandatory disclosure laws that need to be followed, and you will be required to list off certain characteristics of your home.
Listing your home
One of the best ways to market your home is posting your listing online. There are multiple websites that specialize in helping you sell your home, and it would make the process a little bit easier and faster too.
The best way to market your house is getting it listed on MSL (Multiple Listing Services). This website is nationwide and lists homes for sale that can be searched according to area.
If you are willing to put in the time in effort in order to receive full sale price of your home, hiring a realtor is not necessary. With proper research and preparation, you can sell your home all on your own.
