Are you thinking of selling your home, but think the commissions that realtors charge are just too much? After all, a real estate agent is owed 6% of the asking price on the home at the end when all the transactions are completed.
If you’re struggling to put that figure into numbers, have a look at this: if, for example, you’re planning on selling your home for $300,000, at the end of the sale you’ll owe the real estate agent around $18,000, which is a sizable amount of cash.
While you can bite the bullet and hire a real estate agent, as they will make life easier for you, it will come at the cost of making you less money from the sale. Or you can sell the house yourself and keep the money, which would have otherwise gone to the realtor. Let’s talk about what it means for the homeowner to sell their property by themselves - or to sell a house For Sale By Owner(FSBO).
Selling a house as the owner simply means you are attempting to sell the property by yourself, without the help of a licensed real estate broker or firm.
A recent trend we’ve seen is that millennial sellers, and sellers in urban areas, are more likely to try and sell their property on their own. Also, individuals who are connected to the internet and more physically active tend to sell their own houses. We believe it takes a unique individual that is willing to put in a lot of work.
There are many other reasons why someone would find this attractive but as touched on above, the largest incentive to sell your house property by yourself is not paying realtor commissions.
If you don’t get a realtor it means you, the homeowner, will have to prepare, list, and sell, as well as negotiate on the house, yourself.
Selling the “easy” way (in this case using an agent) also has its share of frustrations. You’ll have to put up with open houses that are a hassle to prepare for, as the home always has to be spotless. Liaising with the realtor about times, viewings, and feedback can also eat up precious hours. Not to mention all that time spent waiting for offers. And if you’re selling on your own, you’ll also be hoping for someone to answer your pleas of, “ I need to sell my house fast!”
While selling a home as the owner is financially attractive and entirely possible, it’s not for everyone.
It takes a savvy homeowner to pull it off. Remember, you have to take the role of a trained real estate broker and agent, handling everything from marketing the house to making sure it’s legally compliant. If you don’t know what you’re doing, selling your home by owner can end up taking more time, energy, as well as money than if you had just hired outside help.
But if you already have an interested buyer or are currently in a very hot real estate market, then selling a house for sale by the owner can be a choice. After all, if you sell it on your own - there are savings to be made.
Before you attempt this route, we should list the pros and cons of FSBO.
As mentioned, there’s no need to pay realtor commissions. This, as we’ve discussed, is a large chunk of cash saved. Also, it is especially important if you’re looking at keeping costs lower.
The second positive of taking the lead as the real estate agent on your property is you’ll have complete control over the listing, as well as the listing price and details. If you are an individual who is a micromanager, this can be a huge sigh of relief. Also, being able to control exactly how the marketing is done is a plus.
But arguably the best positive is you’ll be in charge of the schedule of showing the property when you’re ready to do home viewings. This means you’ll never be caught off guard by those last-minute appointments that real estate agents tend to fling your way.
Now that we’ve covered the positives, let’s look at the negatives.
As someone who isn’t a specialist, you may be bound to miss the mark when it comes to local expertise, marketing strategy, networking connections, and negotiation experience. These shortfalls result in FSBO homeowners securing significantly lower prices for their homes compared to houses sold by licensed real estate agents.
By listing a property at too high a sales price, you could be sitting with the property for months. And we all know you want a fast house sale.
It should be stated that marketing is a profession and a skill for a reason. This means that for a novice, it can take up money, time, and effort.
You will be responsible for juggling to get the home listed online, marketing it via social media and other digital marketing tactics, and maybe even printing flyers and brochures. After all, you need to steer foot fall through the front door of your home. And social media marketing, as well as listing sites, may not be free if you want to expand your communication reach. Another costly expense.
Also, you will need to make sure there is curbside appeal and street signage.
Then there’s client liaising.
It’s a skill that takes years to perfect, managing clients’ expectations and liaising with them. Between answering phone calls, texts, scheduling showings, and arranging an open house, it is a time intensive task.
And as the expression goes, “Time is money.” Also, this time doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get to answer your looking for.
The last negative is a real kicker.
Yes, after all that work of avoiding a real estate agent commission fee, if your buyer works with a realtor, they will still require a percentage for their work finding your property. Which might take the wind out of your sails.
There is an alternative. Selling your house to a reliable home buying company.
Currently, there are many home buying companies out there. While certain players in the industry might deliver different levels of service, they do accomplish one great thing. They allow you to sell your house for cash.
There are a number of huge benefits of taking these home buying companies up on their offer. Also, they streamline the whole house selling process which you’d have to tackle if you were dedicated to taking the FSBO route.
These include:
Spending any time in the real estate game you will know, cash buyers are rare. This means most potential buyers need 3rd party financial help. Every financial institution requires an appraisal on homes for which their clients are asking assistance in purchasing. This may not be required when it is a cash buyer.
This appraisal is done by an outside, unbiased specialist, who will appraise the value of your home and assess whether the agreed-upon price matches their evaluation.
These appraisers are normally looking for general issues around the home such as:
Electrics
No exposed wiring
Testing to see heating and cooling systems work
Roofing
Pests
Water and sanitation
Mold
And drainage
After the inspection is completed, it can take 10 days to finalize their report, which is then sent to the bank. If there is an issue, your buyer can submit for a new appraisal, but this will restart the entire process again.
This really throws a spanner in the works and would be completely avoided when accepting a cash offer. And if there is a lower evaluation, it will give them a good position to renegotiate the price when closing the deal.
If the appraisal valuation has come in lower, expect the potential buyer to renegotiate the selling price on the home. And as an FSBO you will be on the back foot already, so this could eat into profits. The report that was generated by the appraiser will indicate the reasons for their recommended price, which the homeowner can address.
Or you can include some new contingencies and even reduce your price as the homeowner. A difficult task for a first-timer.
But once you’ve ironed out the issues it’s time to close the sale. The documents you’ll require are:
The settlement statement
The deed
The promissory note
And deed of trust or mortgage
And once everyone has signed on the dotted line, you might need to wait a few more weeks for the capital to reflect. But, at the end of the day, you want to find a cash buyer and avoid having to take the entire FSBO route!
So, let’s talk about what you’ll be required to do if you go with an express home buying service - or House Buyers of America.
We buy houses for cash. Our Real Estate Consultants are ready to take your call at 855-705-5706, or you can use our online form to get started!
Finding the perfect home buying company has never been easier. And most importantly, we’ll make you a fair cash offer. Don’t take our word for it, you can ask our customers.
Once you give us a call or fill out our online form, you will receive an offer within 10 minutes.Which is much easier than trying to sell your house by yourself.
If you accept the offer, you will be assigned a dedicated Real Estate Consultant who will organize a time to meet at your house, and will also bring along the paperwork to sign.
House Buyers of America will handle all of the paperwork and we’ll do it quickly if you’re ready to sign on the dotted line. Once you’ve signed the contract, you will see the cash in your account in a matter of days.
While there may be several other express home buying companies around, what sets us apart from the rest?
Since 2001, House Buyers of America has been in the business of buying and selling homes. We pride ourselves on being a company our customers can trust. House Buyers of America has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and in fact, we even have an A+ rating with the BBB.
We bring our experience and outstanding customer service record to the table. This means our staff is able to assist with nearly every situation because we’ve been there, bought and sold thousands of houses. Also, because we’ve been operating longer than almost everyone in the game, we can guarantee that we can make the offer, which is critical when you are in a tight spot.
Currently, House Buyers of America will buy homes in Washington DC, virginia house buyers, Maryland, and all throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
It doesn’t matter if it is a single-family home, townhouse, condo, semi-detached, or apartment, we’re interested in buying your property. And, even in financially difficult times, we’re interested in making you a fair cash offer.
If you’re looking for someone to buy your house for cash, give House Buyers of America a call today!
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