How safe and easy is it to sell your home without an agent?

Question

Do not ofcourse reply if you are an agent!

Answer 1

That depends on the market. Our ex-neighbor tried to sell without an agent to save money for 2 months. They put ads in the paper etc just like the agents do. Then he got an agent. The agent boosted the asking price of the home $26,000.00 and sold it the first weekend. They made MORE money by using the agent. And this was in a hot market. Newspapers reach X amount of people, agents reach Y amount of people. I guess if time is not an issue, sell it yourself. If you want to get rid of it fast, use an agent. Just make sure you don't underprice. Also remember that agents have contact with buyers from outside the community (military families, etc). Something your local newspaper may not.

As far as safety is concerned, I assume you'll be using a mortgage to buy the house. Your loan officer will give you all the info you need to make it safe. The bank will never let you purchase a property in a situation that jeopardizes their investment. I've only purchased one home. It was the first time the seller sold one and we had no agent and we were both novices. It all went well.

Answer 2

I've worked with "by-owner" sales, and it would be good for you to hire an agent just to do the paperwork, and you do the selling. The reason a person chooses an agent is so that the buyers are checked out and are authentic and that they have they money to buy. I'd dislike it very much going thru the hassle of selling a house only to have the buyer's check bounce. Agents are backed by their attorneys who are on your side which is a good thing for you. There are lots of things that can go wrong with the title, even if you've lived in the home for years, so either have your agent or the title company check that out thoroughly. Agents also make sure that if the wiring and plumbing isn't up to code that you bring it up to code and that way you can increase your profit from the sale.

In selling a home yourself, safety surely is an issue because anyone off the street can come to your door, or come back a second time and hold you up. Right now it's a buyer's market but buyers are aware that homes have doubled over the past five years and they aren't willing to pay that amount. In some places where there's a glut of homes naturally it will be difficult to sell for a while. There are a lot of repossessions out there (competing with your home) right now that have been discounted because of the bad loans that were handed out that were below-prime (to people who couldn't really afford the house). These days people are so overburdened with credit.

Answer 3

There is nothing to lose by trying to sell it without the help of a bored housewife in a blazer who passed a simple exam after a two week training period (I know several). Have a couple of agents in to give you a comparative market appraisal, which is simply a look at the recent sales prices of similar houses in your neighborhood (you can do this yourself). Use a lawyer, who will charge far less and will actually know what he's doing, to review the contract (use one even if you use an agent). Having bought and sold several homes, I know that realtors don't always sell homes quicker or for more money than an intelligent homeowner can do on his own. If you use one and they can't get the price they claimed they could when you signed, negotiate a lower comission (I paid 2% on one deal). There are plenty of articles on the net that can suggest what you need to fix up before selling your home. And you need to disclose all know defects, even the obvious ones.

Answer 4

Easy? - you have to put all the work into marketing your home which means placing ads in the Sunday paper, holding open houses during which you will want to collect names, numbers, and comments from anyone who sees the house. This way if there is something that is distracting, you can change it. You will need to put up flyers with your phone number on it. You open the door to a lot of potential risk in society today but you know the area you live. Make sure you highlight all the good things and recently replaced items. You may want to hire an attorney to draw up contract papers that you can use with a buyer so nothing is missed when they submitt a contract and the lawyer can review their submission with you. You have to decide ahead of time if you are willing to accept FHA or VA loans which will have certain requirements, accept contracts with seller paid closing costs - which by the way you will have some costs too; what will stay with the house what will not, what the earnest deposit will be and how it will be held (chk & not cashed until closing table", will you accept a buyer that a realtor brings in and give 3% commission to the realtor at closing? How long will you give the buyer to get a mortgage loan application in and appraisal done?

These are all things that you have to keep in mind when selling your home yourself. It may take longer on the market than with a realtor but that will depend on the house and location. There are several WEB sites that help ForSaleByOwer and another I can't think of right now.
It is a lot of work. You will have to remain detached from your home and keep the sale from becoming personal when negotiating the contract.
I helped a friend of mine last Spring with all of this. He finally went land contract but this was a flip.

Answer 5

It is not safe unless you are familiar with the contracts, legalities and know how to protect yourself. Easy it is not, we are in a very competitive market. Loans are harder to qualify for and you may not have a deal even when it may seem that you do. An experienced agent can help you price and market your property as well as qualify your buyers. The agent can also help you keep an eye on the buyers loan process and keep you informed of any potential problems. These days you can't afford to not have your property listed in the MLS and most realtors will not bring their buyer to your property unless there is some comission in it for them, that means you will have a very small percentage of people looking at your home.

Answer 6

there are many pros an cons to selling your own home
Pros
1. do not have to pay the commission

Cons:
1.have to advertise yourself ( it can be expensive)
2. have to do your own walk thrus with buyers (did this once and honestly it sucked)
3. may not get as much as its worth
4. negotiations (do you really know what your doing?)

Ok i can see how selling your home would be appealing because you dont have to pay an agent a percent but i dont think people realize how much work it is.... when i tried to sell my home, i had to pay lots of money in advertisements, took time from work and kids to show buyers the home and in the end guess what? i got a freakin realtor to do it... once i got the realtor i discovered my home was worth more than i thought and honestly i gained money even after they took there cut of the price...

I would say sell your own home if you have time, money and resources, if not serious its worth paying the commission cause all you have to do is site back and watch it happen.. found some cool seller tips maybe they will help
http://www.danagardner.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=1998846
good luck

Answer 7

You save money in do it yourself but there are legal things you may not have the education or experience to handle. The contract for the escrow so you don't get screwed if the buyer backs out. The new loan because you don't want them to assume yours because for so many years, like five, you are responsible legally if they don't pay.

Negotiate with a realtor about their fee. If they sell within 30 days it would be XXX but if 60 then XXX, etc.

I would never try and sell a house myself but then I know my limitations.