If you need to sell your house in Richmond, you’re likely investigating the option of selling without a real estate agent.

And for good reason! Why pay thousands in agent commissions if you don’t have to? Every dollar you save in fees is an extra dollar in your bank account.

However, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons to ensure this is the best option for you. Just because a real estate agent will charge you fees to sell your house, the good ones will help your bottom line by fetching a higher sales price.

Nevertheless, if you plan to go it alone to save some money, there are some things you should consider to increase your chances of success.

In most markets, just sticking a sign in the yard or even listing your property on Zillow will not be enough to get it sold for top dollar.

As a professional real estate company, we know what it takes to get a house sold. In this article, we’ve shared our top tips to sell your house fast without an agent!

What You Gain By Selling Without an Agent

The vast majority of homeowners that decide to sell their homes without an agent in Richmond do so to increase their bottom line. After all, the average real estate commission is 6% of the sales price. Add to that the closing costs associated with traditional sales, and you could be looking at tens of thousands of dollars in fees!

No wonder so many people elect to sell their homes themselves!

Now that you know the benefits of selling your house in Richmond TX without an agent, let’s take a look at the drawbacks.

What You Lose By Selling Without an Agent

Although selling your house by yourself will save you 6% in agent fees, there are many benefits that a real estate agent offers that you will miss out on if you decide to go that route.

Exposure

One of the most obvious perks of selling your house with an agent is that they will list it on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This is where most prospective buyers will be looking for homes, and their agents will be scouring it daily. If you decide to sell your house without an agent in Richmond, you’ll have to put in the work to ensure it is marketed properly.

Market Experience

A good agent goes far beyond just listing your house. They keep their finger on the pulse of the market to know where it is headed and understand the latest trends. They look not only at comparable sales, or houses that have recently sold, but active listings and other market data to determine the appropriate price for your home. Without them, you will need to research your market to ensure you do not list your home too high or too low.

Negotiating Experience

You may feel like you don’t need any help in the negotiating department. And you may be the best at haggling with used car salesmen, but real estate is different. There are several knobs that can be turned besides price, such as terms, concessions, and contingencies. Agents understand this and can help craft the best deal for your situation. Beyond that, they are highly skilled at communicating with other agents and teasing out pertinent information to ensure you handle offers and counteroffers appropriately to receive the highest price possible.

Experience with Handling Multiple-Offer Scenarios

Receiving multiple offers on your home can be the best situation possible and result in you receiving an even higher price than you anticipated. However, it can be a disaster if mismanaged. As we mentioned before, an offer has more factors than price. Multiple offers are great for getting a higher price, but they’re also great for eliminating some pesky contingencies that can become a headache later. An agent’s job is to field all offers and assist you in making a decision. Going it alone leaves you not only navigating this territory by yourself, but also unaware of the leverage and options you have.

All of these perks that real estate agents offer have apparent value, but they are not as significant in a hot real estate market. However, they become much more valuable in a slow market when selling a house is much more challenging.

Tips for Successfully Selling Your House Without an Agent

Although there are undoubtedly benefits that you will lose when you sell your home without an agent, you can offset this by taking the proper steps to ensure it is marketed properly and in prime condition to attract buyers.

Use a Flat Fee Listing Company

There are numerous agencies out there that will only charge you a few hundred dollars to list your property on the MLS for you. This eliminates the need for a real estate agent if that is the only reason why you wanted one.

One thing to consider when going this route is that most buyers interested in your home will be represented by a buyer’s agent. It may sound crazy, but that agent’s commission will come out of your proceeds! As frustrating as that is, you should definitely plan to offer buyer’s agents their 3% commission. Otherwise, you likely won’t get as much traffic as you hoped for.

Take Professional Pictures

Your job when listing your house is to get people interested enough to schedule a viewing. The most critical component of your listing is the photos.

Don’t skimp out on this! A professional photographer will likely charge a few hundred dollars, but it is totally worth it. You will easily make this back in the time you save by not struggling to get your house sold and, ultimately, the higher price you will receive.

Clean and Declutter Your Home

If you are currently living in the house you are trying to sell, it is essential that you make it look less “lived in.” The two most important things to do are to clean and declutter. 

If you don’t feel like spending a weekend cleaning, then consider hiring a cleaning company. The last thing you want is to schedule several showings just to have them all leave unimpressed because your house was dirty.

Bonus Tip: Sell Your Home to a Cash Buyer

If all of these tips and tricks sound annoying and time-consuming, it’s because they are! You likely have a busy life, and you probably don’t feel like taking on the role of a real estate agent. But at the same time, you don’t want to give up thousands of dollars in commissions and other fees.

That’s where we can help you!

We will buy your house directly from you without you having to worry about any of the hassles we’ve mentioned here.

On top of that, we charge zero fees and even pay your closing costs!

Listing your house could be the best option for you. But if you’d rather skip all of the hassles and get a fast, fair offer for your home, then contact us today!