How To Sell Property Without A Realtor in Southwest Florida

How To Sell Property Without A Realtor In Southwest Florida

Selling a property without a realtor automatically saves you up to 6% in real estate agent fees. But selling an outdated property or one that is in poor condition can be worrisome. If this is the case, you could be wondering if listing it for sale by owner (FSBO) can help you secure a good deal.
Well, all home sellers are always looking to lock in the highest possible return on investment during closing. Listing your outdated home on traditional markets or choosing to work with a realtor might not be the best route for you to take, as you will be faced with additional expenditures for renovations.
Here is more on what is involved when selling a home without a realtor.

Do Thorough Market Research

Now that we have already established that selling a house without a realtor saves you up to 6% in agent commissions, you should note that choosing this route means that you will now have to do every task that an agent would ordinarily handle.
Since you might not be an expert in selling houses, this means that you will have to invest more time in handling negotiations, preparing for showings, and crafting marketing campaigns. Sounds like a lot of work, right?
While doing market research forms the basic foundation for determining favorable pricing and valuation for your home, it is one of the biggest challenges to most FSBO sales. This usually becomes worse if you want to sell your old house that is in poor condition.
Listing outdated properties as FSBO usually is intimidating because home sellers automatically have to deal with several other challenges that typically end up costing more, stall the home selling process for a longer time than expected, or both. Some of the leading home selling problems that usually hinder successful FSBO home sales for owners with houses in poor and outdated conditions include home inspections issues, costly repairs, financial and appraisal contingencies.
Any failure to meet the minimum requirements for the stated conditions in the conventional home selling method will automatically ruin your contract.

Price it Right the First Time

This is a significant step since you don’t get an opportunity to re-do it. When you initially list your home, that price becomes part of the internet’s data aggregate, and any changes are reflected on various platforms that potential buyers use for information. This can diminish negotiation leverage on your end.
If you initially price your home too low, for example, you will not have the opportunity to negotiate the price upwards. Your potential buyer will buy it. However, if you price it too high, subsequent price reductions will become visible to some degree for people browsing listings. This negates nearly all negotiating power, increases the time the property is for sale and results in additional costs for the homeowner.
Well, there are a few online property pricing calculators that can help you get a realistic price for your property. Since your home is already in poor condition, you can use Zillow Zestimate or the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Calculator to get a rough idea of the best asking price for your property.
Knowing how important this is your FSBO home selling process, choosing to work with Woodruff Property Managers will cut through the pricing guesswork and offer you a competitive offer based on its current condition and market standing.

Make Sure the Home is Show-Ready

Unlike selling modern properties, a few creative staging tactics and marketing hacks will not be enough to entice buyers to bid on your outdated property. First off, the house is in poor conditions, and buyers will probably ask for renovations or generally want to swindle you at the closing table.
Since the house is not show ready per se, getting a curb appeal seems like the best way to entice buyers. Well, a curb appeal generally refers to the overall attractiveness of the property. If you consider it, getting a curb appeal for your outdated house can drastically revamp its aesthetic looks and give prospective buyers a good impression from the outside.
Before you even think of getting a landscaping makeover, you might want to give your neighbors a heads up before a potential open house. Volunteering to help them spruce up their yard too, could mean the whole neighborhood looks more inviting. Although the dramatic increase in property value, a curb appeal would generally mean squeezing an extra $20k-$50k out of the FSBO sale.
In addition, getting the right curb appeal for a property in the poor or outdated condition is usually very difficult. This may be especially true for homeowners who don’t have the time or financial means to complete property renovations. The renovation process for such properties often includes dealing with unethical contractors that break deadlines and overcharge, spending a lot of time researching suitable materials, and overrunning renovation budgets that can sometimes be 2-3 times higher than the original budget.

Do Not Be Afraid to Get Help Where You Need it

As an individual seller, you will not personally go online and create an MLS listing, but this does not mean you cannot get listed. Many brokerages will offer an à la carte service of an MLS listing for your home, often for a flat fee but paid by the hour in some cases.
This way, you can still be sure of getting more from the brokerage without hiring them to handle property sales fully. In many cases, you can hire a realtor or agent from a brokerage to perform specific tasks like showings on your behalf. They may also be available to field and negotiate your offers for a flat fee or handle the paperwork and the contract review at a small rate.
This could potentially undercut the cost of a potential percentage-based commission realtor fee. But it will still be difficult for homeowners who do not have the time and financial backup to entertain such additional costs when selling their outdated properties.

Be Responsive and Open to Offers

One of the biggest complaints that homebuyers have with owner-sellers or the FSBO process, in general, is that when a potential property is found and an offer is made, the seller can take too long to respond. In some cases, the offer will only be valid for a short while, and delays on the seller’s end can mean a lot of wasted time. This can get compounded when there is an offer-counteroffer situation and the offer expires.
While discussing offers and acceptance, be sure that you are giving due consideration to all reasonable requests. Even if you receive an offer lower than what you initially anticipated accepting, but you haven’t gotten any other offers and the listing is growing stale, it may be worth a small concession in price to avoid listing the property a second time which could substantially increase the buyer’s leverage for negotiating a lower price.
Ideally, faster responses ensure that homebuyers are kept warm in the negotiation process. This usually applies to negotiating repairs versus discounts, but sizes are an issue if you choose to sell your imperfect home with us.

Finish the Paperwork and Close the Deal

This is another area where the assistance of a Realtor can be just priceless. If you have ever purchased a home or been present during the closing of a home sale, you know there is an incredible amount of paperwork involved in the final stages.
The contracts needed for the closing process can also be complex and challenging for those inexperienced in organizing them. The paperwork requirements will also vary from state to state, with each state has its laws regarding large transactions like homes or sales over specific values.
If this is your first home sale doing FSBO, you may want to have a real estate attorney give your contracts a good once-over and perform any needed filing.

Final Thoughts

Home selling is part and parcel of the home ownership journey, but selling property is commonly more challenging that many would think, especially if you are doing it all by yourself. Whether you want to wait and sell your property as the market appreciates or not, Woodruff Property Management is here to help. We are a Florida-based team of highly professional property managers ready to help you with any of your property management struggles.
The article highlights some of the main points to consider when selling property without a realtor and still make profits. We understand that the traditional way of selling property is always full of uncertainties, worries, and stress. But why go solo when we are here to help? Call (239) 920 8799 or email info@woodruffpropertymgmt.com now for more professional assistance.