Selling On Your Own
When it comes time to sell their home, many homeowners think about selling the home on their own, without the help of a Realtor®. The motivation for this is that they will be able to save some money. After all, Realtor® fees can be significant - often as much as 6% of the home's sale price. On a $500,000 home, that's $30,000! That is a powerful incentive to try the go-it-alone approach.
Selling on your own is not an easy undertaking. It requires a significant amount of time to study the process, understand your obligations, and do some of the complicated work that a real estate agent does. In addition, selling on your own requires extra help from outside professionals, such as accountants, attorneys, appraisers, etc. for some of the jobs that require specific expertise.
The following are some major pitfalls to avoid:
- As a personal safety measure, only show your house to those individuals with whom you've made a prior appointment that's been confirmed by phone.
- Don't price the house so low that it sells too quickly - consider paying for a market value appraisal by an experienced appraiser.
- Hold out for a buyer with written pre-approval from a lending institution.
- Find out your legal obligations.
There are many books and web sites that will help you find your way through the Home Selling process on your own. Several good web sites are:
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