How To Sell Your House Without An Realtor In New Jersey

About 4% of homeowner will sale their homes their self. If done right, you can save a lot of money. In this blog we will give you steps on how to sell your house without a realtor in New Jersey.

To get your house to sell without a realtor, begin with decluttering your home. It is easier for potential buyers to envision themselves living in your home rather than seeing your personality throughout your home. The plan here is to make your home feel neutral, so remove anything that contributes to the home’s lived-in feel and store belongs in the attic or off-site. This is an opportunity to sell or give away possessions you no longer want with the use resell websites i.e Mercari (app), Amazon,  Listia just to name a few. Or you can just have an old-fashioned yard sale.   

Cleaning Time

Next, clean your home until it sparkles. You can do this yourself or take some of the extra money you made from selling your unwanted possessions and hire a professional cleaning service. You can find cleaning services for a reasonable price from websites like Homeadvisor or Angieslist. Prospective buyers will notice the difference between a ‘do-it-yourself’ cleaning or a Professional deep cleaning. 

Next, have friends and family who will be honest with you to walk through your home to identify anything you might overlook.  Have a To Do list before listing:

Repaint interior walls in neutral colors (a fresh coat of paint goes along way). 

Some neutral colors are: Light Pewter by Benjamin Moore, Campfire Ash by Behr or Roycroft Mist Gray By Sherwin-WIlliams. There are so many neutral colors to choose from (but don’t get too carried away save that energy and time for your new dream home).

Rearrange furniture to fill large spaces and accentuate smaller ones.

Replace outdated appliances or fixtures.

Add homey but impersonal accents such as plants, area rugs, and decorative candles.

Research The Market And Set Your Price 

Now it’s time to run your local comparable homes (comps) and set your listing price. Your set listing price will be based off homes that sold within the last 6 months within 1 square miles, if possible, that are comparable to yours. You are comparing the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square foot (sq. ft.) can be within 100 sq. ft. more or less than your home, lot size, you’re also looking at what conditions the homes sold in were they updated, maintain well but need updates or needs a lot of work. You can also check what are homes on the market listed for now these homes will be your competition. NOTE: Just because a home is listed at that price doesn’t mean it will sell for that price. The key here is to set your listing price based on what the market is telling you what buyers are willing to pay for a home in your area. All too often For Sale by Owner (FSBO) let emotion interfere with this process your love for your home has no bearing on its value. You can use Zillow but didn’t go off the Zestimate. We have seen where the Zestimate showed home unpriced and overpriced, you are just looking for recent sold homes that are similar to your homes you can also use realtor or totalviewrealestate.com to help you set your listing price do not bother with an appraisal; you will spend $300 to $500 to confirm what you have already determined at no cost, numbers did not lie and the buyer’s bank will conduct its own appraisal during underwriting, anyway. 

Gather Your Information And Draft Your Listing 

Home data this includes information such as year built, interior square footage, lot size, and bedroom and bathroom count, plus details such as heating and cooling configuration, parking

Your photos can make or break your listing. If you decide not to pay for a professional photographer do your best to make your photos professional. We recommend incorporating plenty of natural light take more photos than you intend to and use editing software apps like Snapseed, VSCO or Adobe Photoshop Express to touch up photos you do plan to post. You will want at least one shot of every room and hallway in the house.

Your description is your time to shine sit down and brainstorm your home’s selling points this is information not mention in listing data such as any updates you may have done, location is it by shopping center, transportation, schools and parks 

Advertise On Free Or Paid Site 

Mlsmyhome  striating at $49

 FSBO striating at $99.95

Forsalebyowner Free and paid opinions 

Zillow Free

Trulia Free

Craigslist Free

Hold An Open House 

Hold an open house after your home hits the market. To get some ideas visit a few open houses in the area and take notes.

Create a glossy sales sheet and make a copies. You can print your MLS or Zillow listing, but going the extra mile and adding more peripheral details about the home. 

Put your ad on Craigslist even if you don’t have listing on that site

Post on details on your social media and ask your followers to spread the word 

Send out a mass email to your contacts 

Post flyers in community space around town 

Dress professional and devote your attention to everyone who shows up to your open house no matter how serious they seem about buying your house. Have your attendee’s sign in with name, email and phone number. Answers questions patiently and thoroughly.

IMPORTANT NOTE: WHEN HOLDING AN OPEN HOUSE, IF POSSIBLE, HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER OR A FRIEND THERE WITH YOU. SAFETY FIRST!!!

Show Your Home 

Buy a lockbox which you can find for less than $15 online or install a numeric keypad lock on your front door

When buyer’s agents contact you, Verify their New Jersey Real Estate License number against NJ state records

Then work out showing times with each agent; evenings and weekends is more convenient for buyers.

It is best if you leave the house or at least, out of sight- during the showing to give the buyer the freedom to look over the house without your presence. Also remember to keep your home spotless and clutter-free. After the appointment you should ask for feedback to see what buyers liked and did not like

Be Prepared To Negotiate Offers

When you sell your house without an agent, you will have to negotiate offers with buyer’s agents.

You are not obligated to respond to low or unserious offers, feel free to reject unrealistically low offers 

Patience pays If you do not get any offer just be patience. Motivated buyers are out there, and you can always drop your offer price if it comes to that. 

Retain An Attorney Or Settlement Agent 

You will need professional help to close the sale. You will need an escrow agent to help facilitate the process. Your escrow agent will be your main point of contact for all closing paperwork and associated closing costs which the buyer usually covers but which you may agree to split or assume to encourage the sale. In most cases, the buyer will be responsible for a title search on the home and underwriting its title insurance policy.

Complete the Requisite Legal paperwork and close the sale 

State and federal laws govern real estate transactions in the United State. You are bound by federal statutes such as the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits seller from discrimination against members of certain protected classes. 

Most buyers and sellers use a standard real estate contract

Your escrow agent and real estate attorney, if you have one, much ensure that all closing paperwork is in order, as anything out of order could delay or jeopardize the sale. 

Benefits Of Selling Without An Agent In NJ

• You do not have to pay the Listing Agent’s commission
• You are in total control of the process
• You do not have to deal with an agent 
• You can speak knowledgeably about your home

Drawbacks Of Selling Without An Agent 

• You are not as experienced as a seasoned professional 
• You probably do not have local market expertise
• You will need to devote a lot of time to the process
• You must be the lead negotiator 
• You may face resistance for buyer’s agents 

At the end of the day, it is up to you to determine whether selling without agent makes sense for your objectives. 

However, if this is more work and uncertainty than you are prepared to deal with, we would love to talk to you and see how we can help you. Call 732-372-0940 or fill out our online form