How to Sell A House Without A Realtor In Utah?
“Sell A Home Without A Realtor“!
So you’ve decided you wanted to sell a home without a realtor, or you might have searched on google, “how to sell my house”? This article will show you the most effective way how to sell your house without a realtor!
Maybe you are looking to downsize? Upgrade? Move out of state? Selling an investment property? Do you need to sell a fixer-upper? Or perhaps you are just tired of the maintenance on the house?
Let’s be honest; you’re here because you don’t want to use a realtor to sell your house on the MLS. You might have seen the costly commissions of 3-6% of agent fees plus services, including title fees ranging from 1-2%; that’s a total of 8% coming out of your paycheck. Ouch
Wait! Before you Keep scrolling! If you are serious about selling your house, we can help. A relator’s job is to help you find a buyer for your house. We are the end buyer, and we pay all closing costs and fees, saving you 8% when selling your home. Click here to get a free home offer!
How Do I Sell My House Without An Agent in Utah?
Selling a house without an agent scares most people. Why? Because most homeowners have never bought or sold a house without an agent. Sellers are nervous about the paperwork, negotiations, and overall process.
There are a handful of ways a seller can sell a home without a realtor, and depending on your goal, each option offers different benefits. Pro-tip! Each “how to sell my house” option will be ranked from the easiest to the most difficult, along with the pros and cons.
Let’s jump right in and save you some money – How to sell a house without a realtor.
PRO’s on How to Sell A House Without A Realtor: ✅
1.) Selling Your Home to A Cash Home Buyer Such As: “Ready Set Sell My Home”
- We pay for all closing costs and fees
- Seller Pays Zero Agent Commissions
- Seller picks closing date
- Sellers Make Zero repairs on the house
- Sellers experience Quick Closings
2.) Flat Fee Listings service:
- The seller has Access to List on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service)
- Cheaper than real estate agent service fees
- The seller saves a ton of money!
3.) Selling For Sale by Owner, AKA The Bootstrapping Way:
- Seller pays Zero commissions
- The seller has Complete control
- Seller represents themselves
Now Let’s Jump into some of the Cons of these three options!
CONS’s on How to Sell A House Without A Realtor: ❌
1.) Selling Your Home to A Cash Home Buyer Such As: “Ready Set Sell My Home”!
- Seller receives a Cash offer is based on the overall condition of the property and Market.
- Seller is still obligated to pay the capital gains tax
- Sometimes for sellers, cash doesn’t work for their situation
2.) Flat Fee Listings service:
- Seller still pays a listing fee for the (MLS)!
- Negotiate the 2% title closing service fees and decide whether the buyer or seller pays
- A seller could have their house sit for months being marketed
3.) Selling For Sale by Owner, AKA The Bootstrapping Way:
- Seller has no access to the largest buyer pool the (MLS)
- Zero access to the MLS for property comparables
- Seller must advertise to find their own buyer using (Craigslist, Zillow, Facebook, and bandit signs)
- Seller faces the risk of the house not selling for months
- Sellers often sell for less
Sell a home without a realtor – The Sales Process 📝
The process to sell a house without a realtor is very straightforward. We have included a simplified step-by-step process to get your house sold!
1.) Search for recently sold properties in your area – With this first step, we want to find solid and competitively priced properties.
A simple search on Zillow, Realtor, or any other free realtor service websites should work. Type in your address and make sure to search for recently sold properties.
Then narrow down the search of recently sold properties to match your property; this includes the same bed, bath, and rough square footage of your house.
If no results pop up, change the sale date from 1 month to 6 months. Still, if results go to 1-year max. Subtle changes, such as altering the bed bath count and square footage, might be needed.
🚨Tip for sellers make sure not to include sold properties crossing any major highways, waterways, or in a different city. The best practice is to stay within your neighborhood or adjacent neighbors. 🚨
2.) Find 3 comparable properties – Once you have completed your search and found 3 similar houses, we need to start adjusting the price.
A quick and dirty approach is to take the three properties and average their sale price. Note this is a risky strategy for competitive pricing.
The alternative route is to take your three sold properties and take the average priced square footage on each house and multiply the price per square foot by your house’s square footage. Then make adjustments based on your property’s overall condition. Outdated properties need renovations, and full renovation costs and services are roughly 20K-60K depending on the severity. 🏚
The last and best option is to reach out to an appraiser. Appraisers are roughly 300-500 dollars, yet they are a great service, and they will take into account all the new upgrades and renovations. They will give you reasonably priced value and also have access to the MLS. Pro tip this helps adds credibility when negotiating with a buyer.
3.) Start marketing your house – The name of the game is to get as many eyes on your house as possible! Since most people are looking at the MLS and you won’t have access to the MLS, we need to get their attention through alternative marketing and advertising methods.
To Start advertising, start by listing your house on Facebook, Craigslist, For Sale By Owner website, and even Zillow. Also, a go-to technique is placing a for sale sign out with a number to call.
4.) Title Company or Real Estate Attorney – Congratulations, you found a buyer! The next step is to find a title company or real estate attorney with a quick search on google.
Call the title companies and let them know you are selling a house and want them to assist you with the paperwork and overall process. They will be more than willing to help with the sales process!
5.) Negotiate your terms and get it in writing! – The title company or attorney will add whatever you and the buyer have negotiated. They also should include any additional items that are to be sold with the property, such as furniture, appliances, and warranties.
6.) Schedule closing date and get paid 💵 – Finally, the time has come. You have a closing date, and the buyer has shown you proof of funds to close.
How to Sell My House (FSBO) For Sale By Owner 🏡
Although selling to a cash buyer or a real estate agent might not work for everyone. It’s critical to understand the cons of trying to sell your house without a realtor. Yes, the homeowner will save money but at what cost? Here is a short list of potential risks of selling your house without an agent.
How to sell my house (FSBO) Cons ❌
1.) Incorrect Property Values – (FSBO) or For sale by owners often lack the data that agents and real estate investors have, such as access to the MLS. This data helps create competitive comparables, which are recently sold houses with similar specifications such as bed, bath, and square footage.
2.) Unqualified buyers and hagglers – When advertising, lowball offers are guaranteed when trying to sell a home without a realtor. Why? Well, most people believe since it’s not listed with an agent and not on the MLS, the homeowner might need a quick cash sale. Or similar to a neighborhood garage sale, people are looking for a bargain. Also, other investors are also scanning for off-market opportunities and constantly bombarding homeowners to sell at a discount.
3.) All responsibilities are in your hands – When selling a house without an agent, homeowners take on all the responsibilities, such as marketing the house, screening the buyers, negotiating, sales, and managing communication between attorneys or title companies.
4.) Lack of nationwide buyers on MLS – The multiple listing service (MLS) provided by agents or flat fee listing service offers the maximum exposure over any other form of marketing and advertising. The (MLS) is full of qualified buyers ready to purchase a house anywhere in the US. Without this power, owners are limited to marketing their houses on bandit signs and social media.
3 Additional Options on How to Sell My House
Let’s assume our How to sell my house guide does not help your specific instance. Well, if a cash offer, real estate agent, flat listing, and an FSBO can’t work for your given situation. We’ll give you three additional choices to help you capitalize on your property.
How To Sell My House – 3 Additional Options – Part 1
Option’s Contract
1.) Options contract: Thinking about selling your property in the future? Maybe you have a new job opportunity, or you’re retiring or moving out of state. An option contract is where a buyer purchases the property in the future, gives you a downpayment to secure the property, and you both negotiate the terms for the future.
Option Contract Pro’s
- Ability to sell your property in the future – Seller chooses your closing date in a year or even 2 years in the future.
- Dedicated end buyer – With a buyer in mind, the seller doesn’t have to worry about listing your property at a later date.
- Receive Ernest Payment – Typically, a seller will obtain an Ernest payment for a buyer to secure interest which is roughly 1-5% of the total house value.
- Take advantage of Hot Selling Markets – Sell while the market has high-priced houses!
Option Contract Con’s
- Legally seller can’t back out – The seller is obligated to sell the property, and the buyer doesn’t have to follow through.
- Locked-in sales price – Seller is locked in at a price agreed upon; if the market keeps appreciating house values, your agreement value stays the same.
- Buyer can back out – A buyer is not obligated to purchase, but if they forfeit that right, they also lose their earnest money, and it goes to the seller.
If an option’s contact sounds like a good fit for your situation, we would love to make you a cash offer, and we’ll handle all the paperwork!
How To Sell My House – 3 Additional Options – Part 2
Lease to Own / Option’s Contract
2.) Lease to Own: Do you have renters? Or are you a homeowner with multiple properties? Maybe you have a property, and you are trying to avoid paying capital gains. In rare instances, maybe you are trying to help someone purchase a house that can’t obtain bank financing.
With lease options similar to option contacts, it allows the buyer to purchase the property at a later date, along with a 1-5% downpayment. However, as the name implies, someone is renting or leasing the property from the homeowner.
Rent to own means a renter makes monthly payments for a specified amount of time; then, there is typically a balloon payment or lump sum payment at the end of the lease period. At the end of the lease period, the tenant has the option to purchase the house or forfeit their downpayment and rent payments.
Lease Option Pro’s
- Seller obtains monthly income- You become the bank and an investor by receiving monthly cash flow.
- Seller reduces capital gains tax – By spreading out payments, this helps lower the upfront capital gains tax.
- Seller Receives a downpayment – Typically, a downpayment is 1-5% of the total house value.
- Win-Win outcome – Seller helps a tenant purchase a house, and you still receive the asking price.
- Tenant forfeits option – If a tenant can’t obtain financing by the end of the lease option, the seller is able to keep all rent payments and downpayment.
Lease Option Con’s
- Longer term investment strategy – Selling a house via lease option can take anywhere from 1-10+.
- Locked-in sales price – Similar to an option contract, the seller is locked in at the contracted sales price.
- Possibility of buyer unable to obtain financing – Although this is not so bad for the seller because they are receiving payments the whole time, it does impede the selling process.
If a Lease Option sounds like a good fit for your situation, we would love to make you a cash offer, and we’ll handle all the paperwork!
How To Sell My House – 3 Additional Options – Part 3
Seller Financing / Contract For Deed
3.) Seller Financing: A real estate agreement that allows a buyer to pay the seller “homeowner” in monthly installments until the total purchase price is paid off. This sounds identical to lease options. However, seller financing involves the seller acting as the bank and allowing the buyer to make monthly payments for the total purchase. Imagine a buyer simply paying the equity back to the owner with some additional compensation such as interest or downpayment.
Seller Financing Pro’s
- Based on property condition, buyers can pay more than retail – Because the seller is acting as a bank, you receive interest or a higher purchase price for providing financing.
- Seller becomes the “BANK” – Just like you don’t call the bank when your toilet breaks, your new buyer will not call you either because they are the homeowner.
- Seller receives Passive Income – If you own your home free & clear, this is a great way to slowly drain your equity out of the house.
- Seller obtains Favorable terms – You can ask for a higher purchase price, interest, or downpayment.
- Buyer forfeits you can foreclose – In the event that a buyer misses a payment, you can foreclose on them, keeping the property and all equity they have paid.
Seller Financing Con’s
- Not an instant sale- Similar to lease options, this process can take anywhere from 5-30+ years, depending on your terms.
- Not A lump sum Cash Payment – The whole point of this strategy is to reduce capital gain taxes on the seller. Not to obtain a fast cash sale.
- Binding Sales Agreement – With seller financing, a seller can’t sell the property to a different buyer because of a higher asking price or because the market appreciated.
If Seller Financing sounds intriguing, we would love to make you an offer, and we’ll handle all the paperwork!
Sellers If you still have a mortgage, we can purchase the property!
How to Sell My House The Easy Way
Within this blog, we have covered six ways to sell a property and went over the complete process of “how to sell a house without a realtor.” If at any point this sounds like too much work, we would love to make you a free, no-obligation cash offer.
Even if you wanted to try and sell a home without a realtor and list it on the MLS, we can still give you a cash offer for a backup plan.
We purchase houses all over Utah and even in other states. We don’t use realtors, we pay for all the service fees, and we can pay cash. The best part about all of this we can close in under two weeks.
We pay cash and close fast in as little as 2 weeks. Give us a call now at 385-283-0991 or fill out the short form over here.
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