How will you sell your house? Welcome to Part 2 in the series on Demystifying the Selling Your House process. If you have conquered the decision process that you want or need to sell – the next logical question is likely “how?” As I always advise – there is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions. Instead, take a moment to learn about the options, understand the differences and determine if one way is better for you/your situation than the others.
3 Ways to Sell Your House:
Let’s dig into the 3 ways to viably sell your house here in Florida. An agent-assisted transaction, for sale by owner (also known as a F.S.B.O. transaction) or with a “We Buy Houses” type arrangement.
Working with a Realtor:
Most people are most familiar with the route of working with a real estate professional. Here you can expect the agent to both guide and handle most aspects of the sale. The agent will help you ready your property, competitively price your home, market the address, work to find a buyer, guide you through negotiations and see the deal through to closing. Should you choose to go this route – I strongly urge you to interview a few agents. Why? Selling a house can be an emotional time and experience. You want someone who brings both their skills and a workable personality to the table. The 2023 “Highlights From the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” study from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that 81% of sellers spoke with just 1 agent before listing.
For Sale By Owner:
Oftentimes, people will look to sell their house on their own. This is certainly an option here in Florida. That said – please ensure you are familiar with the process, what is required to successfully sell a house and how to get the deal closed. In general, I would suggest you consult with a title company and look to engage an appraiser to help with pricing. Referencing the same, NAR report as above: “FSBOs typically sell for less than the selling price of other homes; FSBO homes sold at a median of $310,000 last year, significantly lower than the median of agent-assisted homes at $405,000.” Why? My honest answer is typically based in less exposure.
“We Buy Houses” or Real Estate Investor Sales:
This is another way of selling a home in Florida. Here, you will often receive an offer that is typically below market value. This can be a win if you need to sell your property quickly. However, homes typically have equity, of which you want to hold on to as much as you can. I would also caution to read through offer documents very carefully. Many of the fees quoted are based on a future action on your part (i.e. buying a house using this company within a set amount of time). Going this route alleviates the need to market your property and can remove headaches of preparing to list.
What’s Next?
Tomorrow we will continue the journey on demystifying how you will sell your home. Tomorrow we will tackle working with an agent. From there, we will progress into establishing the team (assuming you go the agent route), contracts and paperwork (Round 1) and outlining timing (to help with expectations), getting ready to list, marketing your home, understanding how people will see your home, the offer process, accepting an offer, price reductions (if necessary) and lastly closing.
Since You Decided to Sell Your House:
If you plan to sell your home in Northeast Florida (St. Augustine, St. Johns, the Jacksonville Metro and surrounding areas) – I would love to help. Please feel free to contact me for a seller consultation. Outside the Northeast Florida area? Please reach out as I have a network of agents across the country and am happy to connect you.
Finding this information helpful? Please share with anyone who would benefit and check back daily for the balance of the series. Tomorrow I will address working with an agent to sell your home. Additionally – please follow me for relevant content over on Instagram @LiveinJax.