Is it a hassle to sell a house by owner?
Answer:
I know that from a buyers standpoint, a realtor is a more sensible choice.
Realtors protect your interest, buyer and seller both.
Realtors are trained to tell you exactly what needs to be done, and generally do it for you.
Realtors list your house, negotiate prices and set up open houses only when you are ready for them. For sale by owner houses can be visited at any time by a potential buyer, thus making it hard to live in your house once it is staged for selling.
Realtors know what to do to maximize price potential. Sometimes a little trick can bring in big results.
A lot of buyers will skip you completely solely because you don't have a realtor.
Don't let the cost of a realtor scare you away from them. Often having a realtor will get your name out and help you recuperate the cost in selling price.
Yes a lot of hassle. Also you get a better outcome going thru a realtor. He can act for you at arms length without you involved. It is worth paying a good and honest realtor
You can sell the house yourself. Use the Internet to help advertise it. But, I suggest you hire a lawyer to draw up the necessary paperwork so there are no mistakes.
I bought my house via a sale by owner. All that was needed was a lawyer for the sellers and myself and a contract.
Hassle is entirely too weak a word, especially if you don't know the routine, the law, the tradition of how it's done in your area, and everything else.
You will save yourself a lot of hassle by using a realtor. And not only will they help you through the maze of paperwork, they can give you suggestions on how to increase the value of your house, can suggest a good asking price, will handle your open houses, etc. etc. etc. They really earn their money.
I believe getting a realtor has its benefits. One condo was put on market last year by owner, who priced too high (640K) and it remained on the market until this year.
Seller agent had to price lower to accomodate current market condition. If the owner asked an agent to do it last year, he or she could have sold it close to 600K, rather than 540K this year.
If you are not in Texas or Seattle area, housing market will continue to cool. A correction may last for a couple years. May be you can rent it out to ride it through?
If you happen to find a buyer with a Realtor it would not be too hard. Although, you need to keep in mind that even if he facilitates the process, he will be representing the buyer.
If is between you and the buyer that is going to be a hassle and a possible legal disaster.
If you have no buyers then without a Realtor you won't find one. The Realtor have total control of the buyers and if you are not working with one your house would not be shown. Product that you can't see it won't sell. It might sound unfair but let me know of a business that is fair. If you decide to do it, it will cost you too, in trying to get people to see it and lawyers, not to mention that it could take forever to sell.
My suggestion is to try to negotiate with the Realtor the commission. Call like 4 or 5 and give them appointments back to back at your place for a listing presentation. That way they will see each other coming in and out. Also, gather a few of Realtors business cards and place it on top of the table, in plain view so they can see it. Another good idea is to call small firms instead of the big producers.
Hope that helps, Good Luck!
Hire a Realtor to represent you in your home sale. There are laws, disclosures, etc. you don't want to miss. Hire a professional and get the job done right the first time.
There must be a lot of Realtors answering this question. It is very easy to sell your own house. I have done it twice. You only need an attorney to draw up the purchase and sales agreement. Shoot me an email and I can walk you through it or point you to a good web site. Realtors will try and tell you it is very hard and a hassle. They just want the commission.
Carter
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