How to Sell Your Own Home
There is an economic crisis and many are wondering if they should sell their own home and keep as much of the equity as possible
For the record, I am a Real Estate Broker in two states, New Jersey and Florida. I have sold and bought and bought my own homes several times, and I tried to do it for sale by owner. Why? I don’t like to pay a commission. You don’t like to pay a commission? Well, nobody does. That’s just the fact.
If you’re thinking about selling your home, here are the very basics you should follow.
First, ask your neighbors. Ask your family. Maybe somebody in your immediate circle, it’s interested in buying your home.
For example, one of my homes -a duplex that I had in Newark- I was trying to exit the city and I sold it to the neighbor. The neighbor, owned the building next to me. So it made sense for her to own two duplexes side by side.
Next, it’s actually starting into the process. I would say you need to start by researching, educating yourself. In my experience, most of our clients spent anywhere from three months to six months researching how to sell their own home. When they come to us, and they’re ready to sell their own home, they’ve already figured out how to price their home. They have also learned about the process, the steps to sell your own home. Most of them already have an attorney on hand. Then also have created a Gmail account with their home address @gmail.com. That way, all the communication from with these strangers potentially trying to buy your home, are not coming to your personal email. Further, when the home is sold, you can just deactivate the account, and now you have your privacy again.
The third stage, is to act. Nearly 100 percent of our clients, they put their home on Zillow first, since Zillow is free to list your home. Also, everybody knows Zillow. However, the experience is not quite as effective. Most of the phone calls and emails my clients usually get when they post on Zillow, it’s real estate agents trying to convert them into a traditional transaction, and for the most part, scaring them into not selling their own home.
“You’re going to make a big mistake.” “ It’s a financial decision. You need a professional.” Mind you, you could hire an attorney that went to school for seven years, and would never let anything fall through the cracks. It just turns into a bad experience.
A lot of these clients, look for the next best option, which is a flat fee MLS type of service, a limited service brokerage, etc. There are many names for this type of service. On our end, we just help you sell your own home. We give you the technology to do it. We put your home on the MLS and guide you through the rest of the steps, with no commissions.
Alberto Marinas
Founder @PadBlock
