How to Work With the Buyer’s Agent When You Sell Your Home Without an Agent?

Many people nowadays opt ‘for sale by owner’ method and learn how to privately sell your house to save thousands of dollars in real estate agent’s commission. Being a ‘for sale by owner’ seller can give you the certainty of saving up to 3% in agent’s commission and a chance to save 6% if the buyer is not being represented by a real estate agent. But if the buyer is being represented by an estate agent, you’ll have to pay their half of the commission. So even if you are a ‘for sale by owner’ seller who has complete knowledge about how to privately sell your house, you are likely to find yourself with a buyer’s estate agent.

Most sellers benefit from their agent’s access to Multiple Listing Services (MLS). Fortunately, We at Minus The Agent provide you with real estate services that can help you sell your property effectively without having to pay thousands of dollars in real estate agent’s fees. Minus The Agent puts you directly in touch with genuine buyers or tenants so that you can successfully sell or rent without the need of an agent. By listing your property on high-profile and high-visibility websites domain.com.au, realestate.com.au, etc., Minus The Agent gets your property and put it on the market in front of thousands of potential buyers. Minus The Agent also provides end-to-end support without and handy marketing tools so that the sellers have a smooth home selling process throughout.

Showcase like a professional agent
As a ‘for sale by owner’ seller who has learned how to privately sell your house on your own, you need to act like a professional real estate agent while showing the property to the potential buyers and their agents. Staging the house, preparing it for the sale, and making it sale-ready are the basic requirements from your side. But as an FSBO seller, you need to be on your best while showcasing your house to the potential buyer and their agent.

Make sure you have the knowledge and understanding about the structure, plumbing, electrical, safety & security systems, and HVAC systems of your property so that when the potential buyers or their agent ask you a question, you have just the right answer. Make sure you mention all the necessary details about the house to the visitors such as the new carpeting, or the fresh paint job, or any other major construction or repairs that took place recently.

Negotiate like a professional agent
In order to sell your house and make a hefty amount of money, you need to be objective. Yes, it’s your home and you have your memories in that house, but at the end of the day, it’s a financial asset. So, negotiate the pricing of the deal as much as you can but don’t push it too far that you scare the buyer off. Also, there are other things you can negotiate beyond price. This includes appliances, closing date, and closing costs.

Make sure you go through the purchase agreement written by the buyer’s agent carefully. Even though it’s an additional expense, hiring a lawyer who can assist you with the legal work can do wonders for you. Unless you are significantly experienced in selling a house, having a real estate lawyer by your side will provide you the peace of mind that you will need during the process. The lawyer will not only help you reviewing the contracts, evaluating complex mortgages or leases and complex offers, but will also tell you what things, by law, you need to disclose to potential buyers and help you formulate a disclosure agreement.

Close like a professional agent
The best option to prepare for closing costs is to consult a lender about the costs before you even start looking for a home to buy. This is known as a mortgage preapproval and can help you understand the various closing costs associated with the deal so that you can plan your funds accordingly. Closing costs are often higher than what most buyers initially assume they are. Budgeting for the down payment in addition to the closing costs is also recommended. The home buying process is quite lengthy which does give you a lot of time to arrange the closing cost funds but make sure you are prepared to pay them off before you make the offer for the home that you want to buy.