Take Matters Into Your Own Hands & Sell Your House By Owner
What Does It Mean To Sell A House By Owner?
Choosing to sell a house by owner means you’re going to represent yourself throughout the listing and sales processes, rather than hiring a real estate agent to represent you and work on your behalf. Selling a house by owner is appealing to many sellers, since it can reduce the costs associated with selling your home. Nevertheless, selling a house by owner doesn’t make sense in every situation — especially in cases where the seller is uninterested in or unwilling to put the time and energy into researching the best ways to sell a house by owner. Actually following through with all the required and recommended prep work, staging, marketing, networking, negotiating, etc. is a critical part of being successful selling your house by owner.
How To Sell A House By Owner
- Before you even put the property on the market, locate the different property-related paperwork you’ll need to sell your house by owner. This includes a copy of the:
- deed, title report, mortgage lender’s information, hazard and other homeowner’s insurance information, land surveys, blueprints, plans and permits, appraisals ordered when you purchased the home, receipts and warranties relevant to the sale, your latest tax bill, your latest utility bills, and a copy of the homeowner’s association handbook (if applicable).
- Get a home valuation estimate and pre-listing inspection (and retain the documentation from both!)
- Make any repairs and renovations you want, then stage and have professional photos taken of the property.
- Fill out a for sale by owner listing contract and arrange for your property to appear on the Multiple Listing Service, this includes submitting a residential property disclosure form.
- Market/advertise and show your home to prospective buyers.
- Make yourself available to buyers to receive, respond to, and counter any offers submitted on your property.
- Fill out the necessary purchasing contract paperwork.
- Retain a real estate lawyer or escrow agent to file the closing for sale by owner documents.
This Biggest Risks To Sellers Come From Incorrectly Filled Out Or Filed FSBO Paperwork
Generally speaking, unprepared, unweary, and unengaged sellers are more likely to misunderstand and overlook necessary for sale by owner documents, causing unexpected complications during the process of selling their house by owner. As a result, the internet is full of horror stories about unweary sellers who incorrectly fill out or file their for sale by owner documents and end up losing money or falling victim to real estate scams. While it is true that choosing to sell a house by owner is riskier than working with a well-qualified and experienced real estate agent, learning to navigate complicated FSBO paperwork can dramatically improve the selling experiences (and confidence of at least one-in-eight FSBO sellers).
