Many people find real estate agents’ jobs fascinating and dynamic, but if you plan to sell a house without an agent, you’re about to realize just how challenging this job can be. We’re not gonna lie – this won’t be easy, especially if you don’t have any previous experience, but it can pay off. Take a look at our tips and see if you can manage to do it on your own.
Selling a House Without an Agent Might Be Challenging, But it Is Possible
If you are wondering how to sell your house without a real estate agent and avoid all the relocation stress and potential complications that might come up, we can help you. It is important that you understand that this is a huge responsibility, especially for someone who doesn’t have any experience. Luckily, there is more than one thing you can do if you want to sell a house without an agent and you’re ready to follow our suggestions.
In the following article, you’ll learn how to understand the current real estate market and make your residence appear more attractive to potential buyers. We get that you might have many reasons to move and can’t wait to move to another state, especially if you’re relocating for love, but you need to be patient because this process requires some time and sacrifices – all for the greater good.
#1 Start By Investigating the Current Real Estate Market
Are you familiar with current listings and prices on the real estate market in your area? This is, without a doubt, the place where you want to begin with your preparations. Luckily, in the modern era, it is easy to get on track with everything in just a few simple clicks. It is also important that you know where to look – these need to be trustworthy websites or a company with years of experience in selling real estate.
You may not be hiring their agents, but you surely want to find out more about their work and the way they attract buyers. Take notes and write down everything – from the way their photos look to pricing ratio and factors that affect it. If you spend enough time on research, you’ll probably notice some patterns – how the location, size, and condition of the real estate affect the final price.
Sellers Need to Be Honest With Themselves When Evaluating Their Own Home
Now that you’re familiar with your competitors on the market, you need to be honest with yourself. Your home might have many flaws, but you still love it and find it very difficult to sell it for a lower amount. This is reasonable, but it will probably leave you stuck there forever without a possibility to find a buyer any time soon. Eventually, you’ll lower the expectations, but you’ll probably lose more money as time goes by.
This is why it is essential to be realistic if you want to move efficiently and quickly. Sure, if you’re not relocating at the last minute, you can wait even a few months to find a perfect buyer, but otherwise, high expectations might lead to disappointment. You need to recognize if some part of your residence is in bad condition and decide what you are going to do about it.
#2 Owner Is Supposed to Invest Some Money in Renovations and Small Repairs Before the Sale
Relocating on a budget might be very challenging and unpleasant, so it is natural that you want to put your residence on the market for a higher price and have more money for an upcoming move. That’s why it is recommended to invest some money and renovate your residence first. This is how you attract more buyers, and with more interested people, you can keep your price and standards higher.
If this sounds good to you and you have some funds to start with, you need to set up your priorities and decide what has to be done. For example, if walls are yellowish and you haven’t painted them for years, consider painting them before the viewing day. You should also consider doing some small repairs along the way.
Decide How Much Money You’re Willing to Invest Depending on the Price You Can Get for Your Home on Sale
Now that you’re familiar with listings in your area, you probably have an approximate amount on your mind. The second thing you want to include in your calculations is the potential price of requested relocation services. Your chosen state-to-state movers should offer you a free quote, so you’ll know how much required moving and packing services will cost you. Another thing to keep in mind is the prices in the area you’re relocating to.
If you’re moving from a small town to a big city where prices are high, you’ll maybe need to move from a house to an apartment. This shouldn’t be a problem if you’re moving to another city alone, but in case you’re relocating with a family, using some creative storage ideas is highly recommended – you can always get some additional storage services as well.
#3 Consider Hiring a Lawyer for Important Documents and Agreements
Keeping track and organizing important documents is very important. You want to have all of the important bills and contracts at the same place once the time for selling your residence comes. You’ll need to have ownership or mortgage contracts as well as some billing and utilities information in order to make a contract for potential buyers. If you aren’t familiar with law regulations, it is recommended that you hire a lawyer for this step.
A lawyer can also help you do a background check on future homeowners, their bank accounts, and so on. Once everything is settled, you should also transfer your utilities to a new address in advance. You don’t want to get mail from previous residents and pay bills for two different locations at the same time. Once you have a legal contract with your customers, you’re protected from potential issues, the same way that the contract with state-to-state movers protects you from moving scams and other problems that might occur.
#4 Keep Your Home Bright and Minimalistic
If you’re renovating your residence and painting it, try to pick lighter colors that will open up each room and make them look more spacious. These colors will give you a blank canvas which you can later upgrade with a few essential details.
- Beige,
- White,
- Light grey.
If you want to keep things interesting and give your residence a certain signature look, you can keep one statement wall in some eye-catching color or add wallpapers. The most important thing is to keep it simple and not overdo it.
People want to buy homes that don’t have too much going on inside them. That way, they can give them a unique look according to their own taste. We’re sure that you’ll have plenty of time to decorate your new place once you move to a new city.
Once You’re Done With a Makeover, Avoid Cooking Inside Before Viewings
Apart from looking all nice and clean, you also want your residence to smell good. How to achieve this, you might wonder? There are a few ways actually, but firstly, you’ll need to avoid cooking at least for some period. You can keep your windows open frequently and also get an air refresher. Lighting scented candles and reed diffusers is also recommended.
Check Your Appliances and Take Care of the Garden as Well
Another important thing to do is to check the appliances. This shouldn’t take you long, but it can make a significant difference. You should start with electricity, sockets, light switches and continue with taps. This is also very important for baby-proofing a home, especially if potential customers are relocating with children.
They wouldn’t want to move somewhere where installations aren’t working properly, so consider fixing everything before the viewing day. For those who are relocating with pets, your garden can also be very important. Consider giving it a proper makeover if needed – mow the lawns, fill out potentially dangerous holes, and so on. This will leave an overall better impression of the whole residence.
#5 Don’t Forget to Promote Your Home in the Best Way Possible
The more people hear about your property, the higher is the chance that you’ll find the right buyer soon. This is why you need to inform yourself about different methods you can use for promoting your residence. You can use some agencies, newspaper ads, online websites, social media, or leave flyers around the city and set up a clearly visible sign in front of your door. Try one or combine all of them to bring even more interested visitors.
Sellers Should Organize a Viewing Day for Interested Buyers
Now that you’re almost a professional agent, if you work daily and don’t have time to take potential buyers around the residence every day, you can choose some specific days and hours of the week and make a tour for all interested customers. This is also a good option because they can actually see if some other people are interested and maybe speed up their decision to buy your residence right away.
On this day, we recommend baking some delicious cookies to serve or lighting some cinnamon-scented candles. They’ll feel comfortable in this warm environment, so they’ll definitely take your residence into consideration. This video might give you some other interesting ideas and tactics for organizing an open house day.
Now That You Know How to Sell a House Without an Agent, You Can Easily Relocate Wherever You Want
Now that you learned how to sell your house without an agent by following our tips, you’re basically unstoppable. You can move wherever you like, and you’ll probably have enough resources to do it. Our tips are designed to help you achieve the desired price without having to invest too much. Once you find the right buyer, just try not to overlook any important parts of the contract, and you can settle everything else easily. Relocating was never easier – the only thing left to do is to hire professional state-to-state movers who can help you get to your new home in no time.
