Selling and Buying a House Without a Real Estate Agent
When selling and buying a house you do not need to turn to a real estate agent. While this process can be overwhelming, it is not as complicated as it seems. It is an important step in most people’s lives. For many people the purchase of a home means an investment in their future, something that can look at and say, “This is mine.” Selling that home can, in turn, be a source of great excitement and is the primary way that the average person increased his or her net worth. The real estate market is, in essence, a great big game of haggling.
The primary reason that people are hesitant to begin this process is because they are unfamiliar with the buying and selling process. A recent survey showed that the average individual or family buys and sells a house an average of two and half times in their lifetime. Many people only go through the process once in their lifetime. This means that most people have no idea about the processes involved in real estate transactions. This lack of experience could translate into thousands of dollars lost in these transactions which could be the difference between building a strong financial future and financial ruin. However, buying or selling a property is as easy as securing a loan or finding the right buyer. Any bank will walk you through the complicated paperwork that follows.
A second reason that people fear the process is that they don’t know how to maximize their profit from such transactions. Large sums of money are usually involved (sometimes a person’s entire life savings) and there is a persistent fear that we are being ripped off (either by selling our home too low a price or by paying too much for a particular property). When dealing with an individual who is selling their home the profit margin can be increased dramatically by researching the surrounding real estate market. What are other homes selling for? Have other homes in the area sold recently? Call a real estate office and ask to be shown some houses in the area that match the qualities of your house (you may have to pretend to be buyer). It this way you can get a feel for what you house should sell for.
When purchasing a house, increasing your profit can be less tangible.
Instead of earning money by increasing the asking price of a property, you can save money by lowering the asking price of the property you are trying to purchase. You can achieve this goal again by studying the surrounding market place. View several homes, both below and over your price range in order to get a clear picture of the real estate market.
Selling and buying a house can be a tricky, time consuming, and even overwhelming process for the average person. Large sums of money, high pressure sales men, and unpredictable market prices make potential transactions intimidating. However, by keeping your cool, remaining confident, and studying surrounding real estate markets anyone can buy or sell a house.
Nathan Big
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/selling-and-buying-a-house-without-a-real-estate-agent-747647.html
13 Responses to “Selling and Buying a House Without a Real Estate Agent”
I want to sell my house without a real estate agent?
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 12:41 pmMy husband and I live in Ohio. We are wanting to sell our house ourselves. My main problem with this is I need a contract. There are a ton online to buy but how do I know I’ll be able to understand it, or will it be what I want. Some say seller has to pay for inspection, etc. I don’t want one like that. I also know laws vary state to state how do I know this one is legal in Ohio? Is there anywhere to get one for free or a good book to get. Maybe some software. I just want to see it before I buy it. We also don’t want to spend a lot on it. Our home needs work and we are just wanting what we owe. Any and all help is appriciated! Thanks!!
We probably already have a buyer. A man owns practically our entire block and rents all the houses out. He has inquired several times about us selling to him. He knows how much we paid- we offered more than him so we got the house. He is not going to pay a lot. A friend of ours actually had to borrow money to pay their real estate agent- we definitely don’t want that. We just really want to be rid of it. That helpusell.com site doesn’t seem to be working- I’ll try again. Thanks!!
try http://www.helpusell.com
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:43 pmReferences :
This is why you need a real estate agent. You are setting yourself up for a lawsuit.
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:45 pmReferences :
Real Estate Agent
There are numerous fixed fee services like helpusell.com as noted. But you can also just hire an attorney to do the legal work for you, and they will likely quote you a flat fee or hourly rate and save you thousands on commission.
Read up on how to sell your home, and I mean everything from how to make it look, how to price it, and then have your lawyer ready to do the paperwork for you when the time comes.
You can post ads for free on craigslist.org too; and at least in my neck of the woods it has a lot of visibility.
My final bit of advice would be to go ahead and get the real estate agent. Being in the multiple listing service is critical to being found. You can sometimes find an agent that will list your property there for a few hundred bucks, but most will not unless you list the home with them. Negotiate a lower commission; no need to pay 6% when places like HelpUsell will do it for so much less.
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:47 pmReferences :
Get an attorney. The legal fee shouldn’t be more than $500-$1000. The attorney will draw up the contract the way that you want it and protect your interests much better than a realtor ever could. The legal fee can be paid out of the amount you receive at the closing.
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:49 pmReferences :
I don’t know about the laws in Ohio. I can tell you what you could do if you were in PA and then you can call someone there to see if they do it in Ohio…
In PA there is something called "Transaction Licensee". This is a term that refers to a real estate salesperson who doesn’t represnt either the buyer or the seller. This person would just do the paperwork associated with the sale. This way you would have someone who knew what they were doing filling out the correct paperwork. Here in PA a real estate agent can do this for a flat fee which is negotiable.
Also, you can hire an attorney to draw up a sales contract rather than do the entire thing yourself.
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:51 pmReferences :
You need a real estate agent. You’ll get more exposure with less headache and worry. Just raise the asking price to how much the real estate agent wants and tack on a little bit for other fees you need to pay.
If you want to contact an appraiser for a very "general" idea of what the house is worth, that might rest your mind on what the asking price should be.
I think you might have bitten more than you could chew on this one and getting the house off your hands and into a good real estate agent like Keller Williams or Reece Nichols (I work for neither but have worked with them.)
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:53 pmReferences :
If the buyer already bought several houses on the block, I’d be really careful. Maybe you can just ask an agent for a consultation only? Then it shouldn’t cost so much.
Yes. You are a target. The president of the National Association of Realtors says that on average Americans make 16% more when using a Realtor vs selling by owner.
You are prime target for a real estate investor! Beware!
Use a good Realtor. Get exposure!
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:55 pmReferences :
I’m a Realtor. Go to http://www.BurlingameRealtor.com to read more about why not to attempt to sell your home by owner.
Belive me when I say that it will save you a big headache if you hire a professional. Here are some statistics for you to consider…… Nationally….
- 89% of for sale by owners list with an agent
- 11% of for sale by owner transactions end up in lawsuits
- 86% of homes listed by an agent not only sell quicker, but also get higher offers on them than FSBO
There is no "book" that is going to be a quick fix…. Let me ask you this question and I am not trying to be condesending …just trying to make a point… If you needed life saving surgery would you go to Mexico for $100 or pay a professional $10,000?? Take my advise and DON’T TRY TO SELL THIS ON YOUR OWN… The stress alone is not worth it…. You’ll have people CALLING YOU at 9:00 at night wanting to come see your house… you clean it all up and they are a no show…. have that happen a few times and your ready to explode….
If you need a good agent I can refer you to one… I’ve been in the mortgage business for a long time and don’t like to see people as stressed out as you will be if you list this yourself….
Comment made on November 7th, 2009 at 5:57 pmReferences :
I want to start blogging too, what do you think, which blog cms is good for noob?
Comment made on May 24th, 2010 at 4:41 pmGreat info, thanks for useful post. I’m waiting for more
Comment made on June 18th, 2010 at 3:09 pmI was just talking with my coworker about this last week over lunch . Don’t know how we landed on the topic actually , they brought it up. I do recall having a excellent fruit salad with sunflower seeds on it. I digress…
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Comment made on January 31st, 2011 at 8:26 amLeave a Comment