A Complete Guide to Sell Your House For Sale By Owner 2022

Table of Contents:

How Selling By Owner (FSBO) Works

Steps To Sell A House By Owner

FSBO Mistakes To Avoid

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to pay taxes on the sale of your house?

Summary

How Selling By Owner (FSBO) Works

Many home sellers are considering figuring out how to sell their house as a sell-by-owner home in today’s market. Usually, a house is a person’s most significant financial asset. Therefore, selling their home on their own can be desirable to save on realtor commissions and keep more of the house equity. With the current market as hot as it is, the desire to do so has increased with an even higher incentive to keep more of the home revenue when it sells.

However, there are some risks to selling a home without a realtor in 2022. This complete guide to selling your house FSBO will walk you through all the details.

This guide is a general resource, and every state has its regulations. Always check with an attorney or advisor for legal support.

FSBO is when you sell your house without using a real estate agent. As the seller, in an FSBO, you take on the duties the real estate agent would typically manage, such as market research, pricing, open houses and deal negotiation. If you were to use an agent, the commission on the sale of your house is around 3%. The commission is deducted from the home’s final sale price at closing. However, you will still have to pay the buyer’s commission, which is around 3%, regardless of the type of sale.

For clarity, you will still need help selling your house FSBO. However, it will be in a different capacity than the traditional method. Primarily, you will need support in the legal documentation. You will need to hire an attorney for legal document management.

Top Reasons for FSBO Sale

• Desire to not pay the realtor commission.
• Sold to a relative, friend, or neighbor.
• Buyers contacted the seller directly without going through a real estate agent.

Positives Of Selling A House By Owner

• Savings on the listing agent’s fees of about 3%.
• Control of the sales process of your home.
• No “middle-man” in your home selling process.

Negatives Of Selling A House By Owner

• FSBO listings, on average, sell for less than traditional home sales.
• FSBO listings can take longer to sell and sit longer on the market.
• The listings can be time-consuming, managing all the communications, open houses and showings.
• Negotiations can be a challenge without expert help.
• Deciding on price can be risky without an expert’s help.

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Steps To Sell A House By Owner

Here is the step-by-step process to sell your home FSBO.

1. Prepare your house for sale.

You will want to get your house in top condition to sell it for maximum revenue. Before you have any showings, here are a few to-do lists.

Indoors

• Remove clutter from the floors, shelves, and surfaces throughout the home.
• Repair minor damages like leaky faucets.
• Do a minor update with new light fixtures, faucets, or cabinet hardware.
• Refinish any hardwood flooring.
• Repaint bold walls to a more neutral color.
• Stage the house with fresh flowers or produce.
• Get rugs and place them strategically in the house to create defined spaces.
• Get the house cleaned professionally.

Outdoors

• Mow the lawn and manage the landscaping.
• Get fresh mulch for the flower beds.
• Add some updates, such as a walkway or shrubs.
• Freshly paint the front door.
• Get a new garage door if the old one looks worn or does not work well.

2. Do the work necessary to set a competitive price.

Setting a competitive price can be tricky. The best way to do this without an agent is to use an online home value estimator. Several sizeable online listing sites, including Zillow, Redfin and realtor.com, can support you with this service. Additionally, companies such as Richr.com are recommended specialists for FSBO owners in the Florida market.

You can also search the listing sites to see what homes are selling for in your area. These are called competitive or “comp” properties. Here are some recommendations on filters to narrow down your search to the most accurate competitive set.

First, filter your searches for areas close to your house, a few blocks away if possible. Then, you can expand the map if you do not find any immediate results.

You’ll also want to filter results by details like:

• Status of the listing
• Bedroom count
• Bathroom count
• Square footage
• Type of home (single-family, condo, or another type)

From there, make sense of your research. Compare your home with the homes found in your searches. Look at the key features of each home and the pricing of each house to see how they align with your home’s features. You can make adjustments based on what you find.

3. Takes stellar photos of your home.

Remember, buyers’ first impression of your house, in most cases, will be through photographs they see online in a listing. So take compelling and high-quality photos of your home. Consider hiring a professional to take photos, which should only cost around $100 to $200.

If you choose to take the photos on your own, make sure to:

• Use a wide-angle lens
• camera
• Takes photos of every room

Use great lighting

• Take several photos of the more significant rooms
• Try several angles to get a good shot

4. Create a detailed online listing.

You will want to make your listing complete and as comprehensive as possible. Use a descriptive paragraph and highlight the critical features of your home.

Tell a story with your description to draw in buyers by including details such as:

• The unique features of your house that many desire. Examples include a sunroom or bay window.
• Announce any remodels and updates to significant rooms such as the kitchen and bathrooms or the HVAC system.
• Share any special energy-efficient appliances or unique finishes.
• Highlight outdoor amenities such as a pool or shed.
• Also, focus on nearby attractions such as hiking, biking trails, and shopping.

Make sure you specify if you plan to pay a buyer’s commission in your description. Many agents will be reluctant to share your listing with potential buyers if they do not think they will be paid.

There will also be a section for property details beyond the overall description.

Make sure to complete it fully. The section will list the following:

• Appliances included
• Exterior building materials
• School zone information
• Lot size
• Age of the home
• Square footage
• Architectural style (for example, split-level, rancher, craftsman)
• Flooring types
• HOA fees

5. List your home online.

Once you have completed the steps above, you are ready to list your house on the market. To receive maximum exposure, you will want to list your home through the MLS or Multiple Listing Platform. You will need a real estate agent to complete the listing on your behalf. Companies like Richr.com offer this service and other helpful tools throughout the FSBO process for sellers.

6. Market your home

Market your home to spread the word beyond your online listing. This can be done with a combination of several strategies. One way is to place a sign in your yard announcing the house for sale and contact information. Every city has its sign regulations, so check with yours before placing a sign in your yard.

Additionally, get the word out through your social media channels. The platforms are the best way for your friends and family and extended connections to see your house is on the market.

Another idea is to hold an open house. Try these strategies for a successful open house event:

• Share details of the open house on Facebook and Nextdoor
• Market the available
• home with signs at local intersections
• Clean the house
• Update the MLS listing with the open house details
• Pass out information sheets with the address, bullet points about the house and your contact information.
• Request the contact information from those who tour to follow up with them.

7. Manage showings

Beyond open houses, real estate agents may want to bring buyers to the house individually to tour the home. Showings can become time-consuming.

To manage the logistics of showings:

• Respond to inquiries as soon as possible.
• Make sure no valuables are in the house.
• Set a schedule with ending times of showings for the day.
• Clean the house regularly.
• Follow up with buyers’ real estate agents after the showing.

If you prefer not to attend every showing, use a lockbox on the front door of the house with a code so real estate agent’s can tour the home with potential buyers on their own. Ensure you get the license number from realtors before providing them with the code to ensure they are legitimate.

During a showing, we recommend you:

• Show the critical features of the house
• Leave buyers to look without you in the room
• Answer questions
• Let the house do the talking for most of the details.

8. Evaluate offers and negotiate a deal

Once you have an offer, there are some key considerations:

• Request a mortgage pre-approval letter
• Get everything in writing
• Be prepared to negotiate and counter-offer
• Find a real estate attorney

9. Close the sale — with professional help.

Either hire an attorney or a professional business service to help you with the negotiations and legal work during the closing process. Legal fees vary widely by the agent. In addition, companies such as Richr.com offer in-house legal support and the documents you need to sell your home.

How to Avoid FSBO Mistakes

Watch out for these major factors:

• Not using MLS
• Not paying the buyer’s agent commission
• Over or underpricing your home
• Allowing the house to sit on the market for a long time

Sell Your Home Smarter for 1% and save $10,000.

Get My Free Home Valuation

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to pay taxes on the sale of your house?

Your house is considered by tax authorities to be a capital asset and subject to capital gains taxes. However, you may be exempt from the tax. Here are the details on the exemption.

• You can sell your primary residence and be exempt from capital gains taxes on the first $250,000 if you are single and $500,000 if married, filing jointly.
• This exemption is only allowable once every two years.
• You can add your cost basis and costs of any improvements that you made to the home to the $250,000 if single or $500,000 if married filing jointly.

Summary

Many homeowners are going the FSBO route due to the ability to keep the extra revenue from selling their homes. However, there are several steps in selling a home, and FSBO sellers should do their research and diligence to understand what goes into getting their home sold for maximum revenue.