Let’s take an in-depth look at selling a house for sale by the owner, and the pros and cons of the process.

A house sale by owner is easier when the market favors sellers, but it is still not simple. As a home seller, you naturally want to make as much money as possible from your home’s sale. But, just be sure you realize selling a home for sale by owner is a lot harder than you think! Ensure you know the drawbacks and benefits to the “for sale by owner” process

Pros to a House Sale By Owner

1. You May Make More Money From The Sale.

When you sell the home yourself, you don’t have to pay for the help of a real estate agent. Typically, real estate agents charge a percentage fee based on the sale price, so you could save thousands of dollars by doing it yourself. Saving a commission is the biggest reason homeowners attempt to sell for sale by owner.

2. You’ll Have Complete Control Over The Home Sale.

When you do it yourself, you are in complete control of the sales process. You do not have to listen to anyone’s opinions about how you will market the home, how you will price it, how you negotiate, how you prepare the home for sale, or any other decisions. It’s all up to you. There is, of course, good and bad with this.

While you are your own boss, you’re losing the valuable counseling and expertise of a potential professional. A house for sale by owner means just that – you’re on your own.

However, having time is only an advantage if you really do have it. If you work during the day or evening when potential buyers want to see the home, and you’re not available, it’s going to be even more difficult to accomplish a house sale by owner.

Cons to a House Sale By Owner

1. There May Not be as Much Financial Benefit as You Imagine.

While you will not have to pay a real estate agent, you will not likely fetch as high a price for your home as you would if you worked with a professional. Here’s why:  One of the biggest reasons for sale by owners fail is an incorrect asking price for the home. Without the guidance of a competent real estate agent, pricing the home correctly can be extremely difficult. Without the right price, it is nearly impossible to sell a home. Being overpriced is the #1 reason homes do not sell!

 Along with pricing, Marketing is a huge factor in selling a home. The purpose of a well-designed real estate marketing plan is to get as many qualified buyers in the home as possible.

Without having both pricing and marketing on target, a for sale by owner loses the potential for multiple offers, as there just aren’t going to be enough people that find out your property is for sale. When selling a home, your goal is to get multiple offers from different parties; putting you, the seller, in the driver’s seat.  With multiple offers, the price often gets bid up over the asking price.

2. Marketing a Home is Not Easy – Especially Without an Established Network.

You can list your home online without much effort. But so can everyone else. Good marketing ensures that your listing is noticed, and noticed by buyers that are a good fit for what you have to offer. Sure, an agent will list your home online. But he or she will also get the word out across a network of agents working for buyers in your area.

This is part and parcel with the multiple listing service (MLS) and established online real estate sites such as Realtor.com. Your agent can reach people that your online listing never would, and in a way that is far more compelling than one of the thousands of listings on a web page. The best real estate agents have their own websites that are prospect magnets.

3. Selling a For Sale by Owner is Hard Work.

If you want to do a decent job selling your home, you will need to devote a considerable amount of time to the sale. Your home needs to be inspected, repaired as necessary (but only repairs that will make for a better sale), photographed, filmed, listed, shown, and more.

When you do get interested buyers, you will need to be available to answer their phone calls, to show the home when they are available, and you will need to negotiate a good price. Plenty of people sell their own homes. Few of them do it well, so you need to be prepared to put in the work.

4. You Need to Qualify The Buyer.

If you are lucky enough to find a buyer on your own, it’s going to be imperative to make sure they are actually qualified to buy. One of the problems with selling by owner is not having any skills in determining a buyer’s qualifications. Sure, you may be thinking all I need to do is get a mortgage letter. Not so fast.

There is a huge difference between being pre-approved for a mortgage vs. pre-qualified. I have seen specific instances where for sale by owners were burned because they didn’t understand the distinction between the two. Often a pre-qualification isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

In short, many people choose to sell a home themself to avoid paying a real estate agent, which is understandable. The potential is there to make more money when selling without a Realtor. Frankly, real estate agents do make a lot of money. Having been in the business for thirty-three years, I realize this.

I would never blame an owner for trying to save money by selling their own home. Just be sure you realize selling a home for sale by owner is a lot harder than you think! Ensure you know the drawbacks and benefits, and legalities, to the for sale by the owner process before taking the leap.

As an established and respected real estate agent, I know how to market your property to the right buyers, price it competitively, and negotiate based on the hard facts about your home. I’m a top-producing Realtor who gets the pricing right from day one.