Selling your home is a big deal—literally.
Real estate market transactions are likely the most significant purchases in your lifetime. There are a lot of stressful factors, costs, and moving parts to consider.
When looking at the whole process, some homeowners ask: can I sell my house without a realtor?
While this can be an option, there are many factors to contend with if you choose this route.
First, let’s check if you can sell your own house without a realtor and the benefits of an all-cash deal.
Can I sell my house without listing with a realtor?
Perhaps the better question to ask is: can a realtor sell their own home? The answer is yes. So, why can’t you be your own real estate agent?
A National Association of Realtors survey shows many homeowners choose to sell their own property themselves (act as their own agent). In 2020, roughly 7% of all homeowners across America sold their own homes. About a third of these “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO homes) don’t bother with any advertising and end up selling their homes to people they already know.
But the most significant incentive for home sellers to sell their own homes is the cost savings.
Real estate agent commissions
As an article in Consumer Reports pointed out, working without a realtor can save you 6% of fees.
For a $300,000 home, that savings will translate into $18,000. That’s a saving that is hard to ignore!
FSBO home sale problems
Keep in mind that the process of selling your home yourself is not an easy one. There’s a lot of time to invest with paperwork, showing the home, marketing, and negotiating the final sale price.
You’ll also be responsible for all the financial and legal paperwork—something many homeowners find a hassle. Many homeowners start the FSBO process only to throw their hands up in frustration and hire a real estate attorney to process the legal side.
According to the same NAR survey, the most challenging factor homeowners found in selling their homes themselves was having renovations and upgrades done, plus overall prepping the home to be in sales-worthy condition.
Other major headaches cited by FSBO sellers
- Assessing the proper list price for the market value
- Performing and understanding the paperwork
- Finding the time to devote to the sales process (like open house showings)
- Finding potential buyers
- Helping potential buyers secure a lender
But going the FSBO route is not the only option. Perhaps the better question is why you want to sell without a realtor.
When is it in your best interest to sell property without a realtor?
Beyond the savings on the realtor’s commission, there are some specific scenarios where selling without a realtor makes sense—especially in the scenario of an all-cash deal.
When speed is a factor
With all-cash offers, the time it takes to close a deal and get your payment can be a fraction compared to conventional real estate sales.
Not having a lender to deal with can avoid hassles and headaches. Sales through conventional means (with a seller’s agent, a buyer’s agent, and a lender involved) can take a month to complete—at a minimum and frequently longer.
On the other hand, an all-cash offer typically takes around two weeks to complete—a short sale time that is about half the minimum period for conventional purchases.
An all-cash sales process usually involves submitting a few necessary documents, having them approved, and adequately filling them.
If you need to move to a new home quickly or have some commitment that makes processing time a big factor, this can be a significant advantage.
When fewer fees are important
Beyond the extra time it takes to sell a home, there are many fees associated with home sales.
If you go the conventional real estate route, there isn’t any way to avoid these fees—they are built into the structure of the sales process.
However, you can avoid many of these costs through an all-cash offer, especially those related to lenders and mortgages. No borrowing is required, so no mortgage fees and associated documentation are waiting to be processed.
A simpler real estate transaction
In the big picture, all-cash offers are less work than engaging a listing broker.
With fewer people involved in this kind of real estate transaction, you’ll simultaneously save time and money.
Furthermore, most all-cash buyers won’t require the homeowner to do many renovations or improvements. Instead, the buyers often do any repairs themselves, especially if they are interested in fixing and flipping the house.
If the buyer’s agent requests some repairs, you can always offer to shave off some of the sales prices to save you the hassle of doing it yourself.
No marketing required
Homeowners who act as their own agents may choose to bypass marketing their own properties altogether.
There’s a lot of effort in marketing your home. From social media to ads in multiple listing services, there are many methods to attract a potential buyer. But, each one requires time and effort to create and monitor.
With an all-cash real estate transaction, sellers and buyers often connect directly. If you aren’t skilled in technology and the latest apps, this can avoid many marketing headaches while still getting the best price for your home.
When you need to avoid stress
Stressful situations have been medically shown to be a significant detriment to your health. Depending on your overall wellness, the particular stress that comes with selling your own home might make your condition worse.
All-cash deals can eliminate many of the stressful aspects of home selling, including:
- Dealing with the buyer’s agent
- Lending, buyer financing, or mortgage issues
- Open house events or showings—generally, a single home assessment is done that requires no special upgrades or even house-cleaning to be done
- Little to no negotiation of the final sales price is needed
All-cash deals involve fewer people and a much smaller amount of paperwork, typically making the process much less stressful than conventional real estate sales.
Take charge of selling your own home
Simple Home Offer works with homeowners to assess their situation and provide recommendations and options that can fit their unique circumstances.
It’s in our best interests that we refer homeowners to a real estate investor that fits the best for everyone. This feature is how we measure our success.
Reach out to one of our trusted experts at Simple Home Offer for more information, and let’s see how quickly you can sell your home for the best price and the least hassle.
Photo by Kindel Media