10 Home Selling Alternatives to Hiring a Real Estate Agent
Are you planning to sell your home, but not sure if you want to shell out thousands of dollars to hire a real estate agent? Don’t bother. Here are 10 ways to sell your home without having to share your profit with an agent.
1. For Sale By Owner (FSBO): Stick a For Sale By Owner sign out on your yard to let prospective buyers know that your house is up for sale and that you’re in charge of the entire transaction. Get the word out by using these methods:
- Advertising in local newspapers or other media;
- Posting fliers in apartment complexes and various public locations around town;
- Informing friends, relatives and acquaintances that you’re selling your home;
- Hosting an open house in which buyers can walk in and look around your house on a predetermined day;
- Sending out details of your house to local real estate agents.
2. Sell to the highest bidder: Auction your home on the traditional chopping block or online with eBay. Put up attractive details, set your base price and let buyers battle it out to snap up your home. Use eBay or other auction websites like uBid and Bidz or register with traditional auction houses in your area.
3. Advertise inventively: Are tried and true methods not working? Go for wild and wacky, then! Throw a high-profile party in your home and be sure to mention to all attendees that the home they are having a great time in is for sale. Or, grab the attention of everyone that passes by: rent a billboard to advertise your house.
4. Sell using a lease option: Allow buyers plenty of time to decide if they are really ready to buy your home for keeps: let them lease your house with the option to buy when the lease has run out. This not only allows prospective buyers more time to decide on the house, but it also provides you with some income in the interim.
5. Sell on the Internet: Take advantage of the popularity of the Internet to offload your home. Advertise on various web pages with attractive pictures. This is a low cost option that allows you to reach buyers in locations outside of your metro area.
6. Get on TV: Staging is becoming the trendiest way to sell your house. Reality shows span all genres and the real estate world is no exception. This is evident in programs like Sell this House, Get it Sold, Designed to Sell, Take this House and Sell it, and Buy Me. They allow sellers to see buyers’ reactions to houses up for sale and provide them with small monetary amounts. They also offer sellers helpful suggestions from real estate, design and home improvement experts to enhance their home’s appeal.
7. Upload movies on the Internet: Sell your house by letting prospective buyers take a video tour. Shoot videos of the various rooms in your house and upload them on video sites on the Internet. Besides the ever-popular YouTube, you have options like JumpCut, Motionbox, Video Egg and Grouper.
8. Use social networking sites: Do you have a profile on Orkut or MySpace? Use your network to get the word out about the sale of your home. Post pictures and video, then get everyone you know to spread the news.
9. Sell with an MLS Listing: You may not be interested in using the services of an agent, but many buyers use on. Instead of a full listing service, use flat-fee MLS so that buyers and their agents are allowed access to details of your house.
10. Sell to a franchise company: If you’re in a hurry to sell and not horribly concerned about the price, franchise buyers are your best bet. They buy your home at below market price after conducting appraisals to determine a price for your house. If you need to get a house off of your hands in a hurry, contact a franchise buyer to see what they can offer you.
No matter how you plan to sell your home, take these tips into consideration:
- Prepare your home: clean up the exterior and make sure the interior is free of clutter. A well-maintained home is the best advertisement there is.
- Set your asking price after doing a small amount of research. Try and estimate the real value of your home by taking into account the prices of similar houses in the neighborhood.
- Only consider offers from buyers who are pre-qualified for a mortgage.
- Make sure you have a good real estate attorney at hand to care of legal issues.
- Be prepared to handle the stress and tension of negotiations.