3 Ways to Sell Your Home

Multiple Options When Selling Your Home

In today’s real estate market selling a home can be a very stressful. There are several options to choose from which can mean the difference between selling your home for a profit or barely breaking even. Depending on your situation, below are some of the options available to you when you make the decision to sell your home.   

1. Selling Your Home Using a Real Estate Agent 

A real estate agent can be a very valuable tool if you have the time and the equity to spare. An agent will come to your home, evaluate your property and assist you in coming up with an asking price. They will be responsible for marketing your home, presenting offers to you and guiding you through the negotiation and closing process.  

If you make the decision to sell your home using a real estate agent there is a trade off; less profit for you. Typically an agent will earn 3% commission for assisting you in the sale of your home. Another 3% commission will go to the agent who brings you a buyer. You can expect your home to be on the market for 6 months up to 1 year or longer when using a real estate agent. 

2. Selling Your Home For Sale By Owner (FSBO) 

Deciding to sell your home FSBO will definitely save you money, but can cost you a large amount of your time. FSBO will require much more work out of you and usually takes quite some time to sell. Be prepared to handle everything on your own, such as numerous phone calls requesting information on the price and property, as well as the marketing and open houses.  

Selling your home FSBO often means less exposure of your property to the real estate market. An agent lists your home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which lets other agents know your home is for sale. Using plain FSBO signs and newspaper ads severely limits the amount of people that know you want to sell your home. A FSBO sign in the yard is usually a red flag for an agent; meaning that you don’t want to pay a realtor’s commission. This will usually result in fewer agents telling their clients about your property even if they see your sign or ad in the paper. 

Of course you could get lucky and find a buyer relatively quickly. Leaving all that money you saved on an agent going right into your bank account. If you make the decision to sell your house FSBO in this market, be sure to have a good marketing strategy and a lot of patience. 

3. Selling Your Home Using an Investor 

Investors are people who buy and sell houses to make money. They usually sell the homes for profit, rent them out, or hold in shaky markets. The biggest benefit if you decide to sell your home to an investor is the how fast the home sells.  

Typically an investor will be able to get you the money, possibly in cash, within a few weeks. There are no ads to run, no commissions to pay, and very little stress on the you. Everything can be taken care of in little time and you can take the money and move with your life. 

Investors do tend to try to break down the price of the home more, you have to remember they want to help you, but they want to make some kind of profit as well. The speed and lack of stress to many is the primary reason for choosing to sell to investors.