I sold my condo without a realtor. I honestly can't believe I did it.
I was so intimidated by the whole process, it seemed very overwhelming at first.
But now that it is all over, and we are 6% richer, I am so happy that I sold it by myself.
Although I consider myself no expert, I definitly know more about the whole process now then I did a few months ago...so I thought I would share a little bit about my experience.
For me, the first step when thinking about selling my home was determining a price.
Since I was not convinced that selling by owner was the way I wanted to go, I met with a realtor to talk about listing it. She was kind enough to print off comparable, recent sales, and determine a price that she would list it at. I was very open and honest with her before me even met, telling her that I was leaning towards selling it myself. Since I was so impressed with her, I verbally agreed to list the property with her if I decided to go that route.
My marketing strategy was very simple and but it worked! Here is what I did:
1. I listed the property on my local online classified sites. We have two in Utah...KSL & Craigslist.
2. I made a simple flyer listing the price, features, and pictures.
3. I advertised on my Facebook pages, blog, and Instagram.
4. I told my friends to spread the word!
I consider myself very lucky. We showed the property about 11 times in 2 weeks. I had tons of calls, 2 offers, and lots of interest.
Once you place your property online as For Sale By Owner, your phone will start ringing (like 10 or more times a day!). Unfortunately, most of the calls will be from realtors wanting to list your home. After being stuck on the phone multiple times for way longer than I wanted to be, I finally learned how to answer the questions.
Realtor Question: Is your home listed online still available?
My answer: Yes
Realtor Question: Have you had lots of interest, showings or offers?
My answer: Yes
Realtor Question: What are you doing to market the property?
My answer: I have it listed online, flyers, on social media websites, and lots of friends spreading the word.
Realtor Question: I would love to come view the property and show you my marketing strategy, can we set up at time?
My answer: I appreciate your interest, but I already have a realtor that I plan on using if I do decide to list it.
Realtor Question: If I can show you a way to get you more money, would you be interested in setting up a meeting?
My answer: I appreciate your offer, but I already have an agent lined up if I do plan on listing.
Once I figured out how to answer the questions, my phone calls were much smoother and a lot shorter.
I think one of the reasons I had so much interest in my condo is because of the staging and photography. Here are a few of my tips:
1. Hire a professional photographer or use a good camera to take your own photos. Since the pictures are what get the buyer in the door, good photos are a must.
2. De-Junk and remove any extra furniture and accessories. I took down pictures, placed large toys in closets, and removed any clutter. This helped make my condo feel bigger and cleaner!
3. Make sure your home is clean! I would vacuum, polish faucets, mop floors, and dust everywhere in preparation for each showing.
4. Have fresh flowers. I added fresh flowers in as many rooms as I could.
5. Open all windows prior to showing. This helped me air out my space and make it smell fresh. I also burned a candle during my showings.
1. Determine sales price.
2. Photograph home.
3. Make a flyer.
4. Market, market, market.
5. Schedule showings.
6. Accept an offer
7. Wait for conditions to be removed (the buyer will get an appraisal, have a final walk through, and secure financing).
8. Find a title company (they will walk you through the closing), write the disclosures (telling buyer about any problems you know about) and get the buyer HOA information if your home is part of one.
9. Sign closing papers at the title company.
10. Exchange keys.
11. Celebrate!
We just went online and found the forms we needed.
Here is a list of forms we needed:
1. Real Estate Purchase Contract. We used this one.
2. Addendum (used if any changes are made to the offer). We used this one.
3. Disclosure Form. We used this one.
I'm not sure if these forms are only good in Utah, but you can easily find similar ones online.
Overall it was a very positive experience and saved us 6%!
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Anyone else have good (or bad) luck Selling By Owner? I'd love to hear.
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