Thinking about selling your house? Here is what you need to know.
People often ask “what or how is the best way to sell my house?” While there are many factors that go into this decision, there is usually a best course of action for each situation. We will break down each, and help you decide which is best for you!
- A break down different ways to sell your house
- Steps to selling a house
- How long the process takes
- How to price your house
- Cost to sell a house
- And lots more!
Table of Contents
Breakdown of Different Ways to Sell
The most common and most understood way to sell your house is through a REALTOR®. This can be a great option because REALTORs® have experience and can help answer many questions that may arise in the home selling process.
If a home is in great shape and the homeowner is not in a rush to sell, this can be the best option. The condition of the home must be up to “market standards” and also up to the local municipality code.
If the home is not up to these qualifications, the home seller can always do the fixes themselves, or pay someone to perform them. If they do not have the money this may not be the best option. They will either have to take a steep price discount to account for these issues, or come out of pocket to make the repairs.
If everything is up to date and up to code in the house, selling with a REALTOR® usually works out great. We will get into the general cost break down of this later in the summary.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO)
A homeowner can always try to sell their property on their own, also known as For Sale By Owner. This can save the home seller money by not paying commissions to a real estate agent. However, this can limit the exposure a house gets on the open market.
FSBO homes are not listed on the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) site. That is the number one place real estate agents go to look new listings. If the home is in great condition and there is not rush to sell. This option can work; however, the homeowner does not have a real estate agent acting as a fiduciary in their favor, which does come with its own set of risks.
FSBO – Professional House Buyer
For Sale By Owner to a professional “as is” home buyer is the third main options. This one is usually the lease well known, but in the right circumstance can definitely be the best course of action for a home seller.
If a seller needs to sell quickly, this is the best option. Most typical home sales through a REALTOR® or FSBO on the traditional market can take 60-120 days to finalize a sale. Most professional “as is” home buyers can close in two weeks or less.
Fast Fair Milwaukee is one of the professional “as is” home buying companies and we are not different. We can close in a couple weeks or even less than a week if everything lines up properly.
The other main reason a home seller would want to sell to a professional house buying company is the condition of the property simply does not meet the market or the local building codes.
Most home buyers want a house that is fully updated with no deferred maintenance. They want granite countertops, new stainless-steel appliances, new floors, fresh paint, tile bathrooms, etc… Occasionally, you can find a buyer who wants a “fixer upper” but those situations are rare and usually require an extremely low selling price.
The other “condition” that may exist that requires a sale like this is local municipal requirements that need to be met to sell a house. If a house does not have an electric box up to code, or proper railings on the outside of the house, for example, it will not pass local occupancy.
Home sellers who sell to professional house buying companies do not have to come up with these fixes either.
Bottom line, if the house needs some work or there is a need for a quick sale, selling to a professional house buying company directly, may very well be the best option.
Steps to Selling a House
There can be many steps that go into selling your house. Depending on the method, the process can take a lot of time or be fairly quick. We are going to discuss those steps from each of the three ways to sell your house.
Steps if you are selling with a Real Estate Agent…
Selling with an agent is very common. Many home sellers choose this option. This is a great option if your house is in great shape and you are in no rush to sell. This route can take several months for the entire process to go from getting your house ready to sell to closing on the sale. There are several people that will need to be involved in the process from start to finish.
- Contractors – If the house needs any work to be done beyond general cleaning, many people will have to hire out the fixes to get the house ready to show on the market. Today’s buyers want everything updated and maintenance free. If there are issues that are not addresses beforehand, it will affect the time it takes to sell and the price the house sells for. You can find contractors by asking around, looking them up online or in the yellow pages.
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