Selling your home is more complicated than selling one through an agent. For one, there are multiple laws that the homeowner may not be aware of that could make the selling process unintentionally illegal. At best, it will take you much longer to sell your home, and most homeowners that start to do so independently eventually turn to an agent.
Let’s look at the complexities of selling a property on your own in-depth so you can decide whether or not approaching an agent is the best option.
State Real Estate Laws
There are many laws that you simply must know before selling your home – these range from the simple to complex. As a positive, you won’t need to concern yourself with laws that pertain to the relationship between client and agent (also known as Agency law). However, you will need to know a fair amount of the following procedures and practices.
- Fair Housing: You cannot be discriminatory when selling your home, and you will be subject to a massive fee if this is deemed to be the case. The law makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of color, race, religion, sex, disability, national origin, and familial status. You also shouldn’t ask anyone to clarify these subjects over the phone.
- Land Use Limitations: The government directly controls how you use your property. Your potential buyer may ask about local procedures and whether or not they can add or subtract something on their land in relevance to zoning laws.
- Ownership Rights: These vary depending on the state. You’ll need to understand terms like community property, dower, courtesy, and whether or not the state recognizes the rights of survivorship or joint tenancy.
These laws only scratch the surface of what you must know before placing your home on the market. Even after, you must abide by the transferring of ownership and the paperwork that arrives after money is transferred.
Marketing and Networking
If you live in a nice area, the house isn’t over five years old, and you’re a decent marketer and networker, you’ll likely sell your home in a few months or less. However, most of us do not have the skills required to negotiate a selling price appropriately or have the ability to market their home as effectively as possible.
Agents sell 12-24 homes in a year, so they’ve done this song and dance multiple times already. You have to consider your local market, the right time to sell, the right price, the cost related to selling a home, and then how to negotiate. There are a lot of skills a homeowner may not even consider a real estate agent uses to sell a home. However, selling is a skill unto itself.
Time and Money Consuming
Selling your home is incredibly time-consuming. Real estate agents can take up to 12 weeks on average to sell a home. However, if you’re acting as the agent and the guide (the person who shows the house to potential buyers), it may take you twice as long if you have a full-time job, kids, and other commitments.
Another thing homeowners don’t consider is how uncomfortable a potential buyer is in another person’s home – especially if said homeowner is within the home while browsing. They are also less likely to ask you questions or to look through the house more thoroughly. It may be advisable to request a friendly member to act as a guide.
Finally, you’ll be spending a lot of upfront costs for marketing, and this will only increase the longer your home is on the market. Closing-costs are also pricey if you don’t have an agent to negotiate that price or have them factor that cost in with another add-on the buyer may want.
Overall, selling your own home as a non-agent is usually quite tricky – but it isn’t impossible. Be sure to do a lot of research before putting your home on the market, so you aren’t bombarded with fees and the added responsibility that comes with selling.
