Realtors don’t work for free. They may not cost you any money upfront, but you’re sure to pay in the end. If you sell your house for $300,000, you’ll wind up handing up to $18,000 to the realtor. This doesn’t include the list of things they’ll ask you to pay for (like repairs or remodels) that they believe will help you sell your home faster.
If you want to keep every penny from the sale of your San Diego home, you’re going to have to handle business without a realtor. It’s serious business, but if you’re patient and willing to do the hard work, you can certainly get things done on your own.
Getting Your House Ready
You wouldn’t try to sell a car when it’s full of junk and covered in dirt. The same goes for your house. You’re going to need to clean things up to the best of your ability and haul away any junk you’ve accumulated throughout the years of living in it. You’ll want to consider repairing apparent defects, like holes in the wall or leaky pipes.
You don’t necessarily have to completely transform the home, but you do want it to look cared for. If you have the time and money, painting certainly won’t hurt. Just be sure to choose neutral colors – a neon green kitchen may not sit well with the people who view the property.
Establishing the Facts
Determining the value of a home isn’t always easy. Your neighbor’s house might be worth substantially more than yours because of interior renovations that offered a massive return on investment. You can get a general idea by going here but you won’t really know what your home is worth until you have it appraised.
The appraisal will reflect any defects with the home, so you might want to consult with an inspector before your appraisal. If there are cheap and easy things you can do to improve the value of your home, they might be worth looking at first.
Running the Show
Since you’re in charge of every detail of the sale of your home, you have a lot to do. It all starts with taking excellent pictures of your home and writing a charming description. If you don’t know where to start, look at the descriptions of similar homes. Pick the most compelling ones, and learn to mimic the voice they’re written in. Don’t copy them word for word – just take some inspiration.
Try to take your pictures with as much natural light as possible. You can even use free program like this one to help with edits. Remove things like family photos and distracting decorations, so people will be able to see your home for what it is. The more photos you have, the better off you’ll be.
You’ll also want to consider how you’re going to stage the home. This includes swapping out decorations, moving things around, and setting things up specifically for the viewing. A lot of real estate agents use tricks like warming up vanilla extract (or real homemade cookies) in the oven to make the house smell like a home.
Getting People Interested
Once the house is ready, you have your photos, and your information is prepared, it’s time to start marketing and promoting your home. Some sites require you to pay to list your home. Since these sites specifically target people looking to purchase properties, it may be worth it to pay the money to be sure that your efforts are being seen by the right people.
You can also use free “for sale” posting boards and social media to promote your property. You should be careful about the intentions of others when you post your property online without watermarks on the photos. People may steal the images and description of your home and claim that they’re selling or renting your property, using the information to scam renters who don’t know any better. It may be a good idea to stamp your photos.
Showing Your Property
People are going to want to see your house before they buy it. You’ll need to set up appointments and tours. You should have information from your inspections and appraisal readily available, because potential buyers might have questions involving those documents.
You might need to open up your schedule to accommodate potential buyers. It would be a shame to lose out on a sale because the interested person could only meet during your normal working hours. Try to show your property during the daytime with all of the curtains and blinds open. Natural light will make your house look more spacious, even if it’s small.
Learning How the Deal Works
You may not have a realtor, but it’s likely your potential buyer does. If this happens, you’ll have to learn to communicate directly with that realtor. The realtor will make requests and bargain on the buyer’s behalf. They’re experts at this, and they’ll be able to talk you down on the price much quicker than you expect.
Whether or not you’re dealing with the buyer’s realtor, you’ll still need to know a few things. Selling a house involves a lot of paperwork. You need to research the kinds of paperwork you’ll need, the costs of that process, and establishing a closing date. Different situations might call for different specifications.
Creating Backup Plans
Buyers might fall through. If they aren’t pre-approved for a mortgage that would cover the cost of your home, they might find out after they make the offer that they can’t actually purchase the home. Keep showing and advertising your home until you know for sure that the buyer is ready to go to closing.
Letting an Investor Handle The Process
If you don’t want to do any of this, you don’t have to. Freedom Real Estate Solutions can help you bypass the entire process without spending a dime. We’re ready to prepare an all-cash offer for your San Diego home, and there’s no need for any realtors.
What we offer is cash we have available. Our offers won’t fall through, and we don’t expect you to pay for anything. We’ll buy homes in any condition. As soon as you accept our offer, the process is practically complete.
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