While it is not always recommended, it is definitely possible to sell your home on your own – in other words, without a real estate agent. If you’re organized and follow the steps below, you can potentially save 2-3% on real estate agent commissions. For the median home price, this means savings of $ 3,000 to $ 4,500!
Now keep in mind: this will mean spending around $ 1,000 up front to get everything done right. However, you can view this simply as a money-saving investment, once you actually sell the home.
Step 1: Have your home inspected by a professional.
Depending on the size of your home, this will cost anywhere from $ 200 to $ 400. Most buyers will get a home inspected, but I recommend that you, the seller, do it yourself before putting the home on the market.
The reason for this is simple: you need to know more about the home than your buyer does when it comes time to negotiate the price.
Typically, the home has a contract at a specific price, then the potential buyer has the home inspected. This puts you, the seller, at a disadvantage. The reason is that it is better for you to be aware of any potential problems when pricing your home, rather than finding out once you have a buyer.
Let me put it this way: do you know if your house is wired to code? Unless you’re an electrician, you probably aren’t. Now think about this: what would be better, so you know that your house is not wired to code and the corresponding price, or to find out after a buyer has your house under contract?
In a home negotiation, knowledge is power! It’s worth $ 300 to get the upper hand in this department.
Also be sure to get a termite inspection if termites are a problem where you live. Termites can destroy your home quickly and many times you won’t know it until it’s too late. The good news is that most termite companies will inspect your home for free as a way to earn your business. You can even have more than one company perform this inspection.
I recommend that you do these inspections before doing anything else. The home inspection generally takes about 3 hours and the termite inspection takes about 1 hour. Aside from letting the inspectors in, you don’t even have to be present at the house! Most inspectors can schedule their work to be completed within a week.
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