How Hard Is It to Sell Your Own Home?

In this article:

• Common reasons to sell for sale by owner
• How do I sell my own house privately without an agent?
• Is for sale by owner worth it?
• Why do FSBOs eventually hire an agent?
• Alternatives to hiring an agent if FSBO isn't working

Just 10% of sellers complete the sale of their home without hiring an agent at any point in the process, according to the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2018. Another 10% attempt to sell for sale by owner (FSBO) but eventually turn to an agent for help.

As FSBO sellers sometimes discover, the job of a real estate agent isn't easy, and sometimes paying the agent's commission can be worth saving headaches and avoiding costly mistakes.

If you're patient and willing to take on the job of selling your home, FSBO might be the right path for you. But if you hate the thought of handling paperwork, negotiating, and coordinating showings and open houses, you might be better off calling in a professional.

Common reasons to sell for sale by owner

Here are some of the most common reasons sellers think they’ll be better off without an agent:

• Cost savings by eliminating commissions
• Time savings
• Confidence in their selling abilities
• Buyer already found
• Total control over the transaction
• Ability to manage showings and open houses
• Firsthand perspective to highlight features and location

How do I sell my own house privately without an agent?

To sell FSBO successfully, you need to take on all the listing agent’s tasks, including research, listing, marketing, negotiating, paperwork and closing. That’s on top of all the tasks you need to worry about as the seller of a home, like cleaning, staging and repairs.

Plan to spend every day, especially weekends, working on selling your home. The average home takes 96 days to sell, from the day the listing goes live to the closing date, and an owner-listed home that has less exposure can take even longer. During that three-month period, expect to spend a lot of time on everything from scheduling and attending private tours to handling paperwork.

Is it hard to sell your own house like a pro?

The challenge of selling FSBO depends on your strengths and the amount of time you can dedicate to the process, but your first step is to understand what a good listing agent does, then gain those skills so you can replicate them.

The most common tasks include:

• Become a local market expert.
• Create a pricing strategy.
• Complete staging research.
• Gather pre-listing paperwork.
• Hire and pay for professional photography, videography and/or virtual tours.
• List on the MLS (which requires a flat fee paid to a licensed agent).
• List on sites like Zillow and Trulia.
• Adhere to anti-discrimination laws.
• Adopt excellent people skills.
• Plan and host open houses.
• Schedule and attend showings.
• Handle info requests (often at inconvenient times).
• Vet qualified buyers.
• Negotiate price, repairs and other requests fairly.
• Remove your emotional attachment to the home.
• Know how to handle challenges like multiple offers, poor inspection reports, low appraisals and selective buyers.
• Understand the attorney review process.
• Gather closing documents.

Remember: You'll have to do all this while preparing for a move and finding a new place to live.

Trends show that younger sellers are more willing to attempt for sale by owner, and they desire maintaining control over the process. Location also plays a role; you’re more likely to try selling your house on your own if you live in the city. Turns out, 36% of urban sellers attempt FSBO compared to 29% of rural sellers or 24% of suburban sellers.

Is for sale by owner worth it?

Whether FSBO is worth it depends on how valuable your time is and how important approximately 3% of the sale is to you. Selling a home on your own can be very time-consuming, and if you have to take time off at work to sell your home, you might be better off paying an agent. Is the time away worth 3%?

Avoiding the 6% agent commission might sound motivating for many FSBO sellers, but remember you'll only save half that commission — 2.5% to 3% of commission goes to the buyer's agent, and since 74% of buyers use an agent, make sure to offer the buyer's commission so you don't inadvertently limit your buyer pool.

Why do FSBOs eventually hire an agent?

Is for sale by owner hard? Many sellers think so. According to the Zillow Group Report, former FSBOs cited the following top reasons for eventually hiring a listing agent.

Selling is easier with an agent

From facilitating showings to communicating with buyers and their agents, selling a house takes a lot of time and skill. If you work full time, it might be easier to enlist the help of an agent, especially if you plan to sell to a traditional buyer or if your skill set doesn't align with an agent’s.

It takes too long to sell FSBO

Timing your sale right is very important to most sellers, and it could be the difference between a full-price sale and a below-market offer. Good agents are well versed in market seasonality, they know the best days to list, and they have the marketing and advertising tools to get your home sold quickly — because there's nothing worse than a stale listing.

Paperwork assistance

There's a ton of paperwork involved in the home-sale process, whether it's title documents, pre-inspection reports, tax records or contracts. A good agent will gather and manage all these documents on your behalf, saving you time and helping you get your home on the market and under contract sooner.