Attempting to sell your house on your own may be harder than it looks
Selling a house by owner means handling every step yourself, from staging and photos to listing descriptions, showings, negotiations, and closing documents.
Expect to pay around $15,000 in agent commissions on a $250,000 home sale, though selling by owner still requires covering your buyer's agent fee.
You'll need solid knowledge of local and state real estate laws to avoid legal mistakes that can jeopardize your sale or land you in hot water.
Hiring a local real estate agent takes the pressure off by managing showings, vetting offers, and coordinating inspections so your sale stays on track.
Whether you’re hoping to save money by avoiding paying a real estate agent or believe that you can get more money by selling your home on your own, there are plenty of reasons people list their property “for sale by owner” (FSBO).
While there are a few perks to selling your home yourself, there’s a reason why the majority of people rely on professionals to handle their listing. Let’s take a look at what to expect if you attempt to sell your home without a real estate agent.
Before you consider attempting to list your house FSBO, it’s important to understand the work that a real estate agent completes when they take on the sale of your property. Once you sign a contract with an agent, they begin working on home staging ideas, hiring a photographer to take listing photos, drafting your listing description, and marketing your property on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
While your real estate agent helps you get your house ready to list, their job doesn’t stop as soon as the listing is live. They will continue to hustle for you by scheduling showings and open houses, putting signs up around your neighborhood, and marketing your home online.
Real estate agents are also responsible for tasks like:
Vetting offer letters
Helping you negotiate with potential sellers
Coordinating home inspections and appraisal appointments
Working with the title company to ensure your legal ducks are in a row
Communicating with the buyer’s agent and any other parties involved
Preparing closing documents
If those tasks sound manageable, you might consider acting as your own agent. According to the National Association of Realtors, seven percent of homes sold in 2020 were sold by their owners without the help of a licensed agent.
There are plenty of reasons to choose the FSBO route. Nobody knows the ins and outs of your home better than you. You know exactly what to highlight about your property—like how young families will love the space because it’s a short walk away from a fabulous park. Plus, you’re aware of less-favorable aspects of your home that you can fix to improve its resale value.
Additionally, you’ll skip paying an agent’s fee and commission. Sellers are on the hook to cover the cost of both their agent and the buyer’s agent at three percent each. For example, if you sell your home for $250,000, you can expect to owe the agents about $15,000. If you go the FSBO route, more of the sale’s profit can go back into your pocket. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to pay for the buyer’s agent’s commission.
There’s a reason why real estate agents make top dollar when helping to buy and sell homes: It’s a lot of work. Not only do agents serve as the coordinators between the sellers and buyers, but they’re also the go-between for other entities involved in the transaction, including home appraisers, home inspectors, title companies, and more.
Plus, real estate agents are very familiar with the letter of the local and state real estate laws. These professionals know exactly which steps to take to sell your home quickly and efficiently, as well as what’s required to facilitate a legal home sale. As a home seller, you’re likely not as knowledgeable about home sale proceedings, meaning you’re more likely to make a mistake along the way. Failing to follow real estate law can get you into hot water legally and jeopardize the sale.
Additionally, if you don’t have a real estate agent but your buyer does, you may still have to pay their agent’s commission fee. While paying for one commission is less expensive than two, you may not see the full value of FSBO unless your buyer agrees to pay their real estate agent out of their own pocket.
As mentioned above, marketing and selling a home can be a full-time job. That’s why it’s important to carefully consider whether you have the time and energy necessary to facilitate your own home sale. Plus, you’ll need to take into account the amount of time required to learn the laws and regulations surrounding home sales in your state.
Real estate law can be very complex and overwhelming when you’re not used to it. While you can likely find the answers to your questions online (or even by asking the title company), you should ask yourself how confident you are in your ability to understand what’s expected and needed of you.
You’re likely considering listing your home as FSBO because you want to cut out the middleman and save money. But before diving into the listing process, consider how much money you’ll spend in the process of listing your home and how it compares to the price of hiring an agent. Will you buy lawn signs? Place ads online or in the local paper? Will you hire a professional photographer to snap listing photos? All of these costs can add up quickly, so you should calculate how much you stand to save by selling your own home.
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