How to Sell a House: A Guide for Homeowners

How-to-sell-a-house

Are you considering selling your house? If so, you’re not alone. The real estate market is booming right now, and there are a lot of potential buyers out there looking for their dream homes. In this blog post, Drew Doheny Property Management Team will provide you with a guide on how to sell your house. Each option to sell your house has its advantage and disadvantages. The right choice for you will depend on many factors. We’ll go over the entire process, from finding a real estate agent to pricing your home to closing the sale. So whether you’re just starting to think about selling or you’re already in the middle of the process, this is for you!

Traditional Real-Estate Agent

How-to-sell-a-house

source: bankrate.com

The most common way to sell a house is through a traditional real estate agent. These agents are licensed by the state and work on behalf of their clients to find a buyer for their home. They typically charge a commission, which is usually about six percent of the sale price. They will help you list, market, coordinate showings, negotiate with the buyer, and ensure that the deal will be successful.

Advantages and disadvantages of getting a Traditional Real-Estate Agent
Advantages:
  • Lots of help throughout the selling process.
  • Connections to vendors and partners (e.g inspectors, contractors, etc.)
  • Assistance with negotiations and contracts.
  • Less hassle on your part. They have the marketing tools and services that will make it easier for you.
Disadvantages:
  • The commission is typically six percent of the sale price.
  • The agent may not always have your best interests at heart – they are working for their commission after all.
  • You’ll need to be available for showings on short notice.
  • Requires your home to be staged and photographed for viewing

Choosing a Traditional Real-Estate Agent would be the best fit for you if you need aren’t very familiar with how the process works and need proper guidance.

Flat Free or Discount Agent

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source: pinterest.com

If you are willing to do some of the work yourself and don’t want to spend a lot of money on commission, using a Flat Fee or Discount Agent is a good option. These agents usually charge around $1000-$2000 to sell your home, but they typically will not offer as much support or guidance during the process compared to a traditional agent. They will help you list your home on the MLS, market it online, and handle negotiations, but you will need to do most of the work yourself such as staging, repairs/updates, and cleaning.

Advantages and disadvantages of getting a
Advantages:
  • Cheaper than the Traditional Real-Estate Agent
  • Access to tools and services
  • Offers SOME assistance with negotiations and contracts
Disadvantages:
  • May have less support or guidance during the process
  • You will need to do most of the work yourself such as staging, repairs/updates, and cleaning.
  • Requires that you do your own showings and open houses.

Flat Free or Discount Agent would be the best option for you if you are willing to do some legwork, you are somewhat familiar with the process of selling a home and you want to save on agent comissions.

Sell your home yourself

How-to-sell-a-house

source: bankrate.com

This is also called FSBO (for sale by owner). This will save the most money. This is a good option if you are familiar with the process of selling a home, you don’t mind doing some or all of the work yourself, and you don’t need help negotiating or handling contracts.

To do this, you need to market your house yourself on either Zillow or an FSBO-based website. You will handle the negotiations, contracts and other details needed in order to sell your home.

Advantages:
  • You have the total control of your pricing, negotiations, marketing and the showing of your house.
  • You control the time.
  • No commision, agent or other hidden fees.
Disadvantages:
  • No access to marketing tools and listing services
  • All the legwork will be done by you.
  • You may require a real-estate attorney or knowledge in real-state process.

Selling the house yourself is best for you if you’re not a huge rush to sell your home, knowledgeable in the selling process and comfortable in doing all the legwork.

Trading

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source: azbigmedia.com

If you’re selling your home and are looking to buy a new one, trading is also an option for you. There are companies that can help you trade-in your property. They will buy your home, sell it for you and use the money earned to find you a new one.

Advantages:
  • Making the process of buying and selling easier for you.
  • You can avoid 2 mortgages.
  • You can work with either new construction or resale property.
Disadvantages:
  • Not available for all. Only for certain markets and certain builders.
  • You may not earn as much profit as selling it to an open market.

Trading is best for you if you already have a house and want to buy another and don’t want to go through the process of listing, negotiating and showing.

Making the decision

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source: opendoor.com

If this is a lot of information for you, don’t worry! You don’t need to decide right now. Talk to a few agents, talk to those who have an experience in selling their home, research on a few website. We buy houses for cash and can help you get the process started. We buy houses in any condition, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you’re interested in learning more.

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