For Sale by Owner: Pros and Cons of Selling Your Own House
What does it mean for a home to be for sale by owner? What are the implications of selling your home yourself? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? On the internet you will hear numerous arguments both for and against selling your own house–many of them on both sides quite valid. The truth is that it is impossible to make any generalized statement about by-owner home sale; how effective this method is inevitably varies case-by case, based on a number of factors including the amount of equity you have, the price of your house, and the amount of time you are willing or able to spend advertising and finding a qualified buyer.
Pro:
- No commission payment. This is one of the biggest reasons why some people choose to put up the “for sale by owner” sign. The standard commission paid to an agent is somewhere around 6% of the house’s worth, which can amount to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars, depending on its price. This means that selling your own house, even if it costs you substantial time and effort, can be well worth it in terms of monetary return. As long as you are willing and able to take on the task of doing a significant amount of research and legal work yourself, you will ultimately keep thousands of dollars that would have gone into the hands of your agent.
- Increased independence. Selling your own house will give you the freedom to determine a number of factors relating to the sale of the house for yourself. For example, you will have the ability to choose and subsequently negotiate the sale price for yourself, as well as market the property independently, for a significantly smaller cost than would be incurred by going through a realtor.
Con:
- Significant amount of time and work involved. One of the most common deterrents from the “for sale by owner” route is the amount of time involved in setting up the sale, doing the paperwork involved and taking the time to communicate with and give tours to prospective buyers. For some people, the extra money is simply not worth the required amount of effort. For others, work schedules or other responsibilities prevent them from electing to sell their own houses.
- Legal risks. Whereas via the conventional route you are fairly safe from legal ramifications if anything goes wrong during or after the sale of your house, and most responsibility is lifted from your shoulders to those of your realtors, when selling a home independently, you risk being sued or fined for missteps. This risk applies when selling your home to an individual party, rather than a professional that handles these transactions regularly.
- Monetary, legal and personal risks. Various other risks are involved with selling a house yourself, including the possible loss of money if you price your house incorrectly or make some similar mistake, the legal repercussions that could occur if you fail to correctly use the right paperwork or are scammed by a buyer, or the personal risk incurred by letting a stranger who has not been vetted by your realtor into your house. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to determine whether these risks are worth the potential gain or not.
Blue Marble Properties: A Perfect Medium?
One reason why cash-only home sales to companies like Blue Marble Properties are increasingly popular is that selling to professional buyers allows you to reap many of the same benefits that “for sale by owner” realty offers–without the insecurities. If you would like to learn more about this process and whether or not it could be right for you, contact Blue Marble Properties today for a free consultation.