Selling Your Home Without a Realtor is Money in Your Pocket

Selling your home without using the services of a professional realtor can save you thousands of dollars.  Many sellers are so intent on just getting the home sold, they forget about just how much money is paid to the realtor.  The average home, selling at $150,000, could cost you $9,000 to $12,000 on average.  As a seller, just think of what you could do with that money. How does the home owner decide if acting as their own sales agent is a role they are ready to play?  Before making that important decision, it is recommended that a consult be scheduled with a qualified property and land transfer attorney.  The attorney can outline the legal process, provide you with the proper sales agreement form recognized by your state and instruct you on the real estate title transfer laws for your state. 
Well, let’s take a look at a few characteristics of the selling process.

1. The selling of your home can take longer than you think.  There usually is a lot of competition and now that economic conditions favor a buyer’s market, the home may take longer to sell.
2. The sales process requires that you are able to handle rejection well.  Every home showing to a potential buyer is of different quality.
3. Family schedules may be interrupted or altered.  However, remember that showings must be made by appointment only.  This allows you to obtain buyer information over the telephone and arrange for appropriate security.  Showing your home alone is never recommended. 
4. Since you are the home owner, acting as a sales agent, developing a script to keep you on message regarding the unique and highlighted characteristics about the home is recommended.
5. Complete both your curb appeal assessment and interior assessment, prior to placing the For Sale sign in the yard. 
6. When showing the home, be certain that all lights are turned on in the home.  Be certain that all clutter and personal photographs are removed. 
7. The selling process requires patience. 
8. Determining the selling price of your home can be obtained by looking at your competition’s asking price for similar homes in your neighborhood or area.  Start in your neighborhood to determine if there are any homes for sale.  If so, determine how closely they resemble your home in terms of square footage, age of home and lot size.  Then compare all of the homes asking prices and determine a reasonable price for your home.  Remember to select a selling price.  Again, you want to select a price at which you can sell the home.  Many home owners fall into the trap of setting a price of what the home is worth rather than a selling price and the home sits on the market while other homes around them sell. 
9. Brochures or printed material should be well organized, error free, contain several photographs to highlight unique areas of your home and bulleted factual information about your home.  Remember the disclaimer that all information is approximate such as room sizes and do not represent absolutes. 

Screening buyers is a necessary tool to save you time and money.  First, be cetain that your buyers are pre-qualified to buy your home.  A letter from the buyer’s lender should be presented to you.  Secondly, securing a reasonable down payment from the buyer is necessary and usually ranges from $1000 to several thousands of dollars depending upon the asking price of the home.  If the sales contract is breached by the buyer, under certain circumstances, the down payment may not be refundable to the buyer.  Your attorney will provide you information regarding the down payment.

Selling your home is a process.  It begins with assessing your home’s curb appeal and moves to the interior to assess what areas need to be updated or renovated.  Consulting with a qualified land and property transfer attorney is key because the attorney will provide you with all of the state specific laws, rules, and forms including the state recognized sales agreement form.  The process takes time and requires you, the home owner, to assume a new role as sales agent.