What do I need to do to sell my house by owner. I would like to cut out the middle man and save the money. I live in a small community and by word of mouth it has gotten out that we will be moving in May. I have already had 2 people contact me saying they want first chance at buying it. I just have no idea what paperwork I would need and who pays for what....HELP please!
2007-02-27 02:08:03 · 10 answers · asked by oklady 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
If you are asking this question then you probably should use a Realtor. People who are very familiar with the process still tend to use GOOD Realtors who they know will sell their house for good money in a short amount of time.
In the State of Washington, 80% of homes sold by owners get caught up in legal issues (no joke). In the end it costs you more time and money. Also a lot of buyers won't even look at a home being sold by the owner. Usually due to thinking that the owners are trying to sell a lemon of a house or the buyers are asking the same questions you are.
Think about this also, if an Agent approaches you with a buyer would you be willing to pay that agent a commission? Usually they won't inform their buyers if they aren't going to get paid.
This is probably one of the biggest financial decisions you will make in your lifetime. I don't recommend anyone to do it if they don't know EXACTLY what is involved. Hire a professional to do it right.
Hope this helps, good luck!
2007-02-27 04:57:02 · answer #1 · answered by The Drew 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Definitely sell it yourself. I did it myself and it was not hard at all, and didnt cost much time or money. You need a disclosure statement, a proper offer letter from the buyer, and thats about it (at least in my state). Its up to the Buyer to arrange for the closing, so no worries there. You should try to come up with an accurate price fro the house to make sure you arent getting ripped off- but you can use Zillow.com or Domania.com to go a long way towards that. You should also get a Real Estate Attorney to help make sure everything is being done properly, but that shouldnt cost much- it will save you thousands to do it on your own! You can also try a web site like forsalebyowner.com, where for a certain fixed price, they will sell you all the information you need and walk you through the process- since you might already have a buyer, you would just need the lowest/cheapest service they have available which wont cost you a whole lot either.
2007-02-27 10:18:26 · answer #2 · answered by bmwdriver11 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
BMW driver couldnt be more wrong. The Federal Trade Commission, among others are suing zillow.com for fraud. They are using taxed value to come up with their values, not market value. This guy may have lost thousands and doesnt even know it. I bet he got a willing buyer right away- who laughed all the way to the bank. Dont get ripped off because you dont know what you are doing. Same with attorneys, who have absolutely no clue what market value is.
Find a discounted Realtor. People who use Realtors, studies show, get about 16% for their home on average than For sale by owner. You can negotiate anywhere from 4-6% range with a Realtor. Im not trying to hock off someones Realtors services, but they are the best and smartest option to make the most for your home.
Lets say you sell your home on your own for $180k from a value from some cheap website then find out later it was worth 225k. If you used a real estate agent, you would have made 31k more.
2007-02-27 10:28:19 · answer #3 · answered by Mark P. 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You need a good real estate attorney to help you prepare the proper forms, contracts, etc., but if you already have people lined up to buy your home, then a realtor is probably not necessary. Just make sure you find out what comparable homes in your community are selling for (not the asking price... what they are actually SELLING for...), so you price it correctly.
If you don't have a sale lined up already, use www.forsalebyowner.com or some similar website. They have selling kits / tools to help you.
2007-02-27 10:11:44 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
How do you know how much your house is worth right now? You need to make sure you get the right price. If you are selling by owner, hire an appraiser to find out what the correct price is - that'd probably cost you around 250$. Also hire an attorney - that would cost up to 500$, but lawyer will help you with paper work and making sure everything is legit.
2007-02-27 10:11:37 · answer #5 · answered by Michael R 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've been in the business since the 70's and Im an expert witness in real estate matters in my district court so in fairness to you I'm biased and can not tell you that you should attempt to do this your self. We live in an extremely litigious society and one wrong move will cost you way more than what you saved in paying professionals to make sure you are protected. In the worst scenario work with a real estate legal begal and a reputable title company.
Buena Suerte
2007-02-27 10:54:44 · answer #6 · answered by newmexicorealestateforms 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well first of all, you do need a middle man in order for you to have the required paper work. So i would suggest that suppose u want $70,000.00 dollars, well tell people that you sell it at $80,000.00 that way u can get the money u want and the rest give it to the middle man.
2007-02-27 10:19:56 · answer #7 · answered by gamer_caro 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could do it, if you want to. It involves a lot of work, effort and time. If you have no experience with real estate you are better off paying someone else to do it for you. Otherwise, if you want to do it on your own,at the very least hire a lawyer for contracts part of it.
2007-02-27 10:12:52 · answer #8 · answered by Muga Wa Kabbz 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
give it a shot. find a company that will list your home on the MLS for a set fee, like mrlisterrealty.com
Usually $400. that's still cheaper than 3%.
2007-02-27 12:24:25 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You really need a real estate attorney.
2007-02-27 10:51:46 · answer #10 · answered by KathyS 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋