How to Sell a House

Selling a house has never been an easy task. Add to that the current state of the economy, and if you are planning on selling your house, you definitely have your work cut out for you. Although it may be difficult, selling a house is not impossible, and with the right information and resources, you can make the process as stress-free as possible. In addition to the information provided in this guide, there is one key piece of advice that you need to keep in mind: most houses take some time to sell, so if you accept this from the beginning and keep a patient state of mind, your stress level will remain much lower.

Choose a Method for Selling for Home

Before you do anything else, you need to decide how you are going to sell your home. Home sellers have two options: hiring a real estate agent or doing a For Sale by Owner. Since a real estate agent will receive a 2.5 to 3 percent commission from the selling price of a home, the reason that home sellers choose to do a For Sale by Owner is to avoid paying this commission. Although choosing a For Sale by Owner and saving thousands of dollars by avoiding a commission sounds great in theory, trying to sell a home without the assistance of a professional is much more difficult than many people realize. In fact, surveys have shown that up to eighty-five percent of people who choose to do a For Sale by Owner eventually end up hiring a real estate agent. It is possible to successfully do a For Sale by Owner, but just be aware that it is going to require a huge investment of time and effort on your part.

If the idea of a For Sale by Owner sounds too overwhelming and you decide that you want to hire a real estate agent, you will want to make sure you hire someone who is not only competent and experienced, but that you are also comfortable working with. When you are interviewing potential real estate agents, one of the strongest assets they can have is familiarity and connections within the general area of where you are selling.

Select a Price for Your Home

Once you have selected a real estate agent (or made the decision to pursue a For Sale by Owner), the next step is selecting a selling price for your home. If you have hired a real estate agent, they should be able to appraise your home by evaluating not only your home, but the local market it is located in. If you have any problems with the price your real estate agent comes up with, you should sit down and have a discussion until you can compromise on a price that you and your real estate agent are both comfortable with. Just keep in mind that a real estate agent is a professional, and that you shouldn’t let your emotions interfere with any sound advice that they provide about pricing your home.

If you are doing a For Sale by Owner, you will need to do some research on your local market to get an idea of how your home compares to similar ones in your area. If you are having trouble deciding on a price, you can also hire a property appraiser to come and evaluate your home for you.

Publicize Your House Being For Sale

If you choose to hire a real estate agent to help you sell your home, they will take care of the task of publicizing that the house if for sale. However, even if you do have a real estate agent, you can still help by spreading the word among your friends and family that your home is for sale. You should talk to your real estate agent about exactly what they are doing to publicize your home being for sale. One major advantage that a real estate agent has over someone that chooses to sell their own home is that the real estate agent can list homes in the Multiple Listing Service. The MLS is a private database that allows real estate agents to share listings among each other.

If you are doing a For Sale by Owner, you will need to publicize your home being for sale on your own. In addition to placing a sign in your front yard, placing ads in local publications, offering fliers to potential buyers and using word of mouth to tell others about your home being for sale, you should also use the Internet to publicize that your home is for sale. By posting listings for your home (be sure to include multiple pictures of the interior and exterior of your home) on classified websites like Craigslist, you can attract more potential buyers for your home.

Show Your Home to Potential Buyers

Once you begin publicizing your home, you should begin to receive inquiries from interested buyers. If you have a real estate agent, it will be their responsibility to show your home to potential buyers, so you should leave the house when buyers visit your home. If you are selling the home yourself, you can show potential buyers through your home, but you should avoid pressuring them or making them feel uncomfortable.

Regardless of whether you have a real estate agent or are selling your home yourself, it is your responsibility to ensure that your home is clean before any potential buyers visit your home.

Close the Deal and Sell Your House

If you have a real estate agent, when you receive an offer, you will review it with your agent and most likely make a counter offer. This process can continue for multiple cycles, so don’t get discouraged; it’s simply part of the selling process. If you are selling your home by yourself, you may want to seek the assistance of a lawyer to help you review any offers you receive.

Once you accept an offer, the escrow process will begin, and the buyer will have an inspector evaluate your home. As long as you and the buyer are able to come to an agreement on a selling price and any additional clauses, you and the buyer can close escrow, finalize all of the necessary paperwork (once again, you should have a lawyer assist you with this step of the selling process), and if nothing falls through, you have successfully sold your house!