There are a few things you should know before selling your house on your own in Killeen. In our latest post, get the information you need to make the right decision before attempting to sell your house on your own.
Many people believe that they can sell their house with a for sale by owner listing (or a sign in the front yard), and the truth is, they can. However, the real costs, the time spent, and the effort that goes into the whole thing is often much more than they bargained for. An agent is typically able to get sellers more money than selling on their own, but then the seller is faced with high commissions and other listing costs. If you do decide to sell your house on your own in Killeen, let us walk you through a few things you should be aware of below…
Advertising Costs
When selling your house on your own, you’ll still have some costs. It’s likely not a ton of money but worth considering that you’ll spend a few hundred dollars on listing the property online, signage, etc. You don’t have to use every method, however, in order to sell your house fast in Killeen, you will need to do a good job getting the word out.
Answering (lots of) Questions
If you’ve done a good job marketing, you’ll have a lot of people calling you and inquiring about the property. This is great but you should consider how much you really want to talk to people. I know it sounds silly but in my experience most people have a waaaaay lower tolerance for this than they think. You’ll have to screen the phone calls, answer questions, and set up appointments for people who want to view the home in person.
Property Showings
Hopefully, people will want to see your home. This means keeping it clean and showing ready at all times. Many people choose to use items to stage the house, making it more appealing to potential buyers. In many cases, the house will also need to be professionally cleaned to look its best for showings. When representing the house yourself, you will need to make yourself available when people want to see the home. And you must make sure you don’t get defensive if someone makes a comment about the house that you don’t like. And honestly, you’ll probably have some folks dropping by unannounced, which can be awkward!
Repair Costs
Repair costs can add up fast for a person hoping to sell their house fast in Killeen. You will likely have to fix all the small things that have gone ignored over the years, plus any larger repairs that you feel will add more value to the home. Or you may wind up lowering the price to account for all of this. Keep in mind that in many cases, a potential buyer will ask for even more repairs be made after the official inspection has been completed. In fact, in my experience this ALWAYS happens. And if you’re selling a rental property the repairs are often more than expected as local property management companies don’t have the best track record.
Legal Responsibilities
If you decide to sell your house on your own in Central Texas, you will be responsible for all the legalities that come along with it. From the contracts to the escrow process, you will be in charge of it all, making sure everything is completed accurately and completely. What actually winds up happening is that the buyers agent (yes, they will likely still have an agent, even if you don’t) will likely wind up doing a lot of this and probably won’t be super happy about it.
Timeframes
When you choose to list your home in Killeen or Copperas Cove, the process can take weeks or even months. The worst part is that once you’ve waited all this time, the sale can fall through due to a low appraisal. Selling this way provides no guaranteed sale date and can leave you living in limbo for months to come. With a direct sale to Liberty, you will be able to close in only a matter of days.
Selling your house directly to Liberty Home Buyers will eliminate all of the costs and responsibilities listed above. We will be able to save you time, money, and make sure that the transaction is handled legally and professionally.
BONUS TOPIC!
As mentioned above, your buyer will likely still have an agent. That agent wants to get paid… shocker! Well, guess what, the seller usually pays 3 percent to the buyers agent and you will likely still need to do this. Because a lot of FSBO sellers don’t want to pay, many agents don’t want to show the houses. In my experience most people trying to sell their house themselves are looking to avoid these costs but honestly, its tough without an agent bringing you a buyer so you should probably accept that something close to the 3 percent is a necessity.
