A couple holding house keys for sale overlay

How to Sell House Without Agent – Best Tips

Posted in How-to,Moving Tips & Tricks on November 17, 2021

The greatest thing about life is that most of us can attempt to get out of our comfort zone and do something we haven’t before. Maybe you’re doing the same by wanting to learn how to sell a house without an agent. If you’re prepared for stressful times and long days of planning, you can list a residence independently, and we’ll tell you how.

One might say there’s no such thing as stress-free relocation. The adrenaline rush you get from moving is hardly exciting, but it helps by giving energy for tasks you otherwise wouldn’t know how to do. If next to relocating, you’re also looking to get your old place on the market, you’re in for a ride. You’ll have to take notes and remember many things about this part, but when it’s done, you’ll feel like a master of an entirely new skill.

When You Learn How to Sell a House Without an Agent, You’ll See the Pros and Cons a Lot Better

It’s easy to figure out how to sell your house without an agent, but it’s not that easy to do it. Being eager to move into a new home isn’t going to make the process any easier, so we recommend you put the expectations and anticipation aside and make room for professional behavior and an open mind.

Why do you need to be professional and open-minded, you ask? It’s not like what you’ve seen on HGTV – while the Property Brothers know their way around flipping a property, they have a whole other legal team that takes care of sales for them. It’s great to channel your inner entrepreneur, but do it after educating yourself on the basics. That’s why taking the selling of your home seriously is more than necessary for this whole thing to work out.

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Your Lack of Experience and Expertise Could Make the Sale a Bust

Most people hire real estate agents because they already feel swamped by thinking about hiring services for moving across the country, packing, transportation, and battling the dreadful relocation anxiety. Having to think about how to pitch their residence to others while still being in it could delay the process significantly.

We’re not saying you can’t put emotions aside, but if you’ve never sold something, you won’t know how to stay firm in your demands or objectively see the situation. Not just that, but realtors have their fingers on the real estate market’s puls. They continuously know the range of prices, the volatility of the market, and a house’s prospects; it’s muscle memory for anyone who’s been a realtor for a while.

A man dressed in a shirt and tie standing in front of a house he's trying to sell
Looking and being professional don't always go together, so learn about the craft before dressing up

Selling a Home Without Real Estate Agents Is Called an FSBO – For Sale by Owner

When someone decides to sell their property without an agent’s assistance, they advertise it as “for sale by owner” or FSBO. People typically do this to avoid giving commission to realtors, which can come up to thousands of dollars; this is a significant loss after selling and may seem detrimental to the moving budget. And when the budget suffers, it’s hard to move out efficiently.

If you also want to learn how to sell your house without a real estate agent or as an FSBO listing, there are a few things to know. Firstly, you’ll need to do all the paperwork and prep alone. You can potentially hire an attorney to advise you on legal issues, but that’s not precisely a money-saving solution. Secondly, you can’t research the neighborhood’s trends and prices enough.

Still, it’s recommended that you get at least some professional help, whether it be packing services by movers to get the home prepped and packed before potential buyers arrive or ask a cousin that’s still in law school to give you a hand with documentation.

The Benefits of FSBO Are Mostly Financial, and That’s OK

Folks who decide to list their home as an FSBO mostly have financial gain (or balance) on their minds. The benefits of moving cross-country with lots of money in hand are numerous. You can go wherever you want, move from a house to an apartment or vice versa without worrying about the costs, and even get car shipping services instead of driving long distances to save up.

The thing is, money is the reason why anyone might list a residence for sale in the first place. For many, financial gain is good enough. If this is your only wish, too, it’s OK because doing it without the help of any company or agents will likely make it come true. Stay ahead of the curve by properly preparing to list your residence as an FSBO.

A model of a house on top of house plans and a piggy bank behind
Financial gain is the most common expectation of anyone auctioning a property

Evaluate the Property According to the Neighborhood Prices and Its Assets

Preparing your home for sale doesn’t only entail trimming the hedges and cleaning the windows; it also includes pricing it correctly and looking at the space objectively. What FSBO listings tend to skip are disadvantages.

When going house hunting, you tend to look at the property from both a positive and a negative aspect; that helps you weigh them and determine if the property was good enough for you. When potential buyers come to your listed property, they will do the same.

We’re not saying you should emphasize the downsides or give up on the listing completely, but admitting your property has faults could help better point out the positives. How does your home compare to the one at the end of the street? Work on making those parts of the property stand out, impress buyers, and be worth the listed price.

Overpricing and Underpricing a Home Equally Cost Money and Respect

Deciding where to live isn’t something many do on a whim. According to Zillow, 82% of buyers list the budget as the most important part of the purchase; after that comes the number of rooms for 77% and a private outdoor space for 72%. If you have many rooms, AC, and a backyard, you can evaluate the residence accordingly.

Another way is to look at the neighborhood market trends and see which amenities the houses on sale have. If they compare, you can list yours for a similar price or higher if it has something other homes don’t. Still, don’t overestimate the cost, because selling may take so long that you forget what your reasons to move were in the first place. However, if you undervalue the realty, someone will be happy about the transaction, and it won’t be you.

In the video below, two real estate agents talk about how property evaluation is done. The tips may help you evaluate if selling and for how much is worth it.

Don’t Skip Making the Property Sale-Friendly and Convenient

As we mentioned, potential buyers like to look at all aspects of a property before investing in it. That includes the exterior and the interior. Since you are moving out after successfully listing the property, we recommend hiring cross-country moving services for a speedy relocation. That’s one way to organize your move and save time.

If you plan to get your stuff out before listing the property, again, our long-distance moving tip remains the same – call movers and get the whole ordeal finished within a day or two. That will give you enough time to do some cleaning after moving out and polishing the place for viewing. In fact, the move-out cleaning process is probably the best thing you can do to make the residence seem worth the money.

Remove the Broken and Faulty Appliances

Some sellers don’t see the point in removing faulty appliances from the listed property, which could be a losing point. If the place is advertised as move-in ready but has dodgy stoves and washers, it’s far from ready. Many folks could back out of the purchase if they notice some parts of it aren’t honest.

So, when you practice how to sell a house without a real estate agent, the first thing you can do is check the property and decide what to get rid of. Then, you call long-distance movers and ask if you can store the broken appliances and other unwanted things at their storage units until you figure out what to do with them. A residence without appliances doesn’t seem like the most appealing purchase, but it’s better not to have them than keep broken ones. You can always adjust the price.

Polish the Garden and Backyard for Curb Appeal

Cross-country movers can secure and transport your shears and lawnmower, but don’t pack them until you’ve taken care of the garden and backyard. Many homes are appealing because they have a wonderful outdoor area for the entire family. Even those moving alone like to see it because it gives them the chance to plan and daydream about the future.

If you moved into the residence because of the ability to see your future family hanging out in the backyard, that’s how you should advertise it to others, too. The advantage sellers have over realtors is sharing stories about the space and making it seem like a beautiful place to live. For many, a good story about a residence is a relocation essential.

A man welcoming a couple looking to move into a new house
Make it possible for people to imagine themselves in residence, and it will be sold fast

Take Advantage of Online Income Calculators and Social Media

The internet can be your best friend in many situations, but home-selling seems to show how convenient it truly is. Before moving out or finding one of many where should I move quizzes to pass the time, look up online mortgage calculators that could determine how soon you can or should plan a move to another city. Most of them are free to use, so it’s easy. Evaluating your shots at a financial gain and a smooth transition into a new residence may be easier with these online calculators.

Promoting the Sale Online Might Speed up the Process

While every property being sold has to be put up on the realty websites and newsletters, you can go out of your way to advertise it on your website or social media page, too. While organic reach may not be easy to accomplish, the recommendations people get from your friend circle will be more reliable. You will also have insight into a potential buyer through the mediator and may even offer to take them out for drinks if the listing goes well.

If you are relocating to another state alone, then assistance will be welcome from all sides. Turning to your online friends and acquaintances can be fruitful in various situations, but for now, it’s still just one of those things people forget to do when moving. Don’t be one of them; use the power of the internet wisely.

A girl pondering while looking out the window and sitting in front of a laptop
The internet can be a great place, so it's good to take advantage of its assets

Consider Hiring a Real Estate Attorney for Legal Advice

Now that you know how to sell a house without an agent successfully, you can work on organizing your move according to the selling plan. Hopefully, you’ll save some money and become an owner of a brand new place. If anything goes wrong, though, don’t hesitate to call up a realty-specializing lawyer and ask about sellers’ rights. You won’t be able to beat the adjustment insomnia if there are more problems than solutions out there. Play it safe and work on your salesman’s appearance.

Gemma Collins

Gemma is an NJ local that has explored all the US states, making her the perfect person to write about moving.

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