(Figures updated April 21, 2022)
There are several ways you can go about selling a house in Kansas City, and more and more sellers are gravitating towards selling by owner. However, the main reason homeowners consider doing it on their own is because of the potential savings on realtor commissions. This brings up a good question, is it really worth it? And what would it take to sell your house by yourself? Below you’ll find plenty of answers to help you decide if selling by yourself is right for you.
So you’re interested in selling your house, and you’re trying to figure out the best way to go about it. While doing your research, you probably soon discover that selling with a realtor is expensive and affects the profits you walk away with. So one way you can cut down on costs is by selling your house by yourself. Indeed plenty of people have successfully sold their houses for sale by owner, and you can too.
But unless you have a real estate background, it’s not every day that you sell a house on your own. So before you dive in, you’ll want to learn the good and the bad, the truth about selling a home by yourself, and if it’s really worth your time, money, and effort. This helpful guide will share everything you’ll want to know before sticking that FSBO sign in the yard.
Kansas City Housing Market Overview
Before selling a house, it’s important to check out the current housing market in Kansas City, MO. Unless you need to sell your home fast, it’s important to determine if you’re selling during the best time of the year or the worst. Also, if you’re debating whether to sell your house right away or wait, evaluating the housing market can give you an indication of the trends and if home values have increased or decreased.
*Currently, the typical property value of homes in Kansas City is $242,500, which is an increase of 10.2% over the past year.
(updated April 21, 2022)
Another indication that the housing market is doing well is the average number of days on the market. Currently, a home will receive an offer after being on the market for 21-days.
So far this summer Kansas City, MO is a seller’s market, which means that there is more demand for houses than there is the supply of homes. This also means it’s a good time to sell, so come up with buyer incentives, or list your home competitively to stand out from the competition.
Now that you understand a bit more about the real estate market let’s take a look at the benefits of FSBO in Kansas City.
Benefits of FSBO in Kansas City
There are several benefits of selling FSBO; let’s explore what those would be and how they may benefit you.
Benefit #1: Realtor Commissions are Less
The biggest benefit to selling without a realtor is cheaper commissions. But how cheap are we talking here? In a typical real estate transaction that involves both a buyer and seller’s agent, commissions can cost 5-6% of the final sale price—half going to the buyer’s agent and the other half to the seller’s agent.
To put that into perspective, if the median listing price in Kansas City, MO is $242,000 and if your home were to sell for that amount, the agents would stand to make between $12,100 to $14,520 after it’s all said and done. For some sellers, that’s a pretty big chunk of change that can impact the amount they walk away with.
However, selling by the owner could save potentially half of that amount. By not hiring a listing agent, you could save roughly 2.5 to 3%, but if the buyer uses a realtor, then you’ll still need to cover their commission (2.5% to 3%). Although, if you find a buyer that’s not using an agent, even better!
Benefit #2: Control of the Sale
Sometimes sellers are concerned that their agent won’t give their listing enough time or attention. But when selling by yourself, you can give your listing as much time and attention as you want. You’ll be able to have complete control over the sale, including the marketing strategy, when to schedule showings and open houses, and even negotiating with buyers. Some sellers like all that control, and you may find you do too.
Benefit #3: Firsthand Knowledge of the Property
It’s always helpful to provide firsthand information to potential buyers. For example, say a buyer has questions about the area or when the roof was last replaced; as the homeowner, you can provide helpful information regarding the property and the neighborhood. In addition, sharing all the great features of your home with a potential buyer may help persuade them to make an offer on your home over another.
Pros and Cons of FSBO
As you’ve discovered, there are several benefits to selling a house by owner, but when deciding if selling FSBO is for you, it’s helpful to make a list of all the pros and cons. Below we share a list of all the pros and cons we’ve discovered when it comes to selling a home without a realtor.
Pro: Lower Commission Fees
As mentioned above, the most common and appealing reason for selling FSBO is the potential for cost savings. In addition, being only responsible for the buyer’s agent commission can significantly reduce what you owe in commissions come closing.
Con: No Pricing Strategy
Determining a listing price is never easy, but pricing your house without a realtor is a different story- which is why it’s hardly a surprise that pricing consistently tops the list of FSBO challenges. Because public access to market data is limited, homeowners have no clear way of knowing which properties are or are not selling. Also, since closing costs are not required to be publicly disclosed, there is no precise way to compare one home value to another.
Pro: More Control Over the Sale
When you’re selling by yourself, you have control over the process. It can be a blessing and a curse. You will have the final say on your home’s listing price, what improvements you make, who you show it to, and ultimately who you sell it to. If you like the idea of maintaining control, selling FSBO might be the right choice for you.
That doesn’t go without saying that you’ll be responsible for handling every part of the transaction, whether you’re prepared or qualified to or not.
Con: Biased Opinion
Whether working with a real estate agent or not, it’s crucial to make sure your property is list-ready. First impressions are everything, and you want prospective buyers to see your house at its best. For example, you may love your interior decor, but someone else may not. An unbiased realtor can provide countless suggestions and quick improvements to make your place as marketable as possible.
It can be challenging to decide how to stage your home or which upgrades would be a good investment. It’s also hard to hear negative feedback from potential buyers. So you’ll just need to be prepared to have tough skin while selling your house on your own.
Pro: Full Dedication to Selling Your Kansas City Property
When you’re the sole individual responsible for selling your home, you can stay 100% focused on getting it sold. Most realtors will be working with multiple clients and juggling their needs simultaneously–especially during the busy season. As an FSBO seller, you don’t need to worry about your home sale getting the time and attention it deserves.
Con: Lack of Real Estate Knowledge
Legal terms, acronyms, and other types of real estate jargon can be very overwhelming, especially for inexperienced sellers. Things can get uneasy if you aren’t confident with every detail you sign off on, and we don’t recommend risking it.
If you go it alone, you can only rely on what you know and the resources you have access to. Unfortunately, while there are plenty of free resources out there, no two transactions are ever the same, and knowing the right course of action to take can prove to be difficult and stressful.
FSBO vs. Selling with a Realtor in Missouri
So which is better, FSBO or selling with a realtor? That’s entirely up to you and the goals and expectations you have for selling your house. Having a real estate professional on your side can prove to be extremely helpful. But selling on your own can also provide some advantages too (the biggest being cost savings). Unfortunately, neither of these options will guarantee a fast home sale or significant profits, which may be necessary depending on your reasons to sell a house in Kansas City.
However, if selling your house without a realtor sounds like something you’d be interested in, we’ll explain what the process would look like.
Selling a House By Yourself in Kansas City
If you’re interested in selling by yourself but would like to find out more about the process, we’ll explain the steps involved below.
Step 1: Determine Your Home’s Market Value
Finding the true market value of your home will determine how much you can expect from the sale. However, it’s not as easy to figure out as you would think. You either need to talk to a real estate agent, get an appraisal done, or make an educated guess.
Step 2: Prepare Your Home for the Market
Once you have the value of your home, you can start the preparation process of listing your house for sale. This is when you go through your place and decide what you need to fix, change or upgrade to make your home sellable. These could be minor fixes like cosmetic changes to the flooring or paint colors, tasks like a deep cleaning of your home’s carpets, or expensive renovations like roof or foundation repair. Make sure you do things that would provide a positive return on your investment -unless they’re essential to prospective buyers- such as any damage that makes the property unsafe or would be an immediate expense for the new owners (i.e., mold, leaks, damaged wiring/plumbing, etc.)
Step 3: Advertise Your Home Sale
Once your home is ready to sell, one of the most important steps to selling a house by owner is to get your home out there for buyers to find. Unfortunately, this is often the most challenging stage if you’re selling your home by yourself. So make sure to spread the word, list online, print flyers and brochures, put up a sign, and host an open house.
Step 4: Wait Patiently
In between open houses and showings, all you can do is wait for an offer. Unfortunately, when selling a home by owner, you’re at the mercy of the Kansas City housing market. If your house has been on the market for a while, you may need to consider lowering the price or making some other improvements to the home to make it more attractive to potential buyers.
Step 5: Negotiate an Offer
If you do receive an offer on your place — congratulations! This is a big deal, but you’re not done yet. If the offer is well below your asking price, you may need to negotiate with the buyer. In addition, the buyer may have other conditions to their offer, such as completing certain repairs or even for the seller to cover the closing costs. As you negotiate, make sure to be careful and try to be flexible not to scare offers away.
Step 6: Close on the Sale
Once the sale price is settled, a written contract will be drawn up and signed by both parties. The agreement includes the final sale price, conditions of the sale, and where and when the closing will occur. Usually, a closing agent leads the legal closing process, and you will need to follow the process and submit documentation when required.
If the buyer is taking out a mortgage to purchase your property, the closing process can be even more intense. Many lenders have specific conditions that must be met before the loan can be issued. If the financing for your buyer falls through for any reason, the sale won’t be able to go through, and you’ll be back to square one.
When you sell your home by yourself, you have to be involved in every step, which can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful. However, if you want to skip this lengthy and involved process but still sell your home by owner, you have another option: you can sell your house fast to one of the cash home buyers in Kansas City.
Sell Your House to a Cash Home Buyer
When you sell to a cash home buyer, you get to skip the inconvenient parts of preparing your home for sale, like figuring out how to sell FSBO and sell your home quickly and hassle-free.
By accepting a cash offer for your house means:
- No repairs, changes, or upgrades before selling your KC home
- No Realtors, listing fees, or open houses
- No waiting for a buyer or waiting for financing to come through
When you sell to a cash home buyer, you can simplify the steps to selling a house by yourself into one. They will make you an offer for your property in its current condition for a cash offer that’s based on its actual market value. Also, many cash home buyers prefer to work quickly, meaning you can have your home sold in as few as seven days.
Selling a house by yourself can be a hassle. If you’re looking to avoid agent fees, but you don’t want to go through the whole process of selling a home traditionally, a cash offer might be an excellent option for you. For your no-obligation offer, reach out to the team at KC Property Connection.
Selling Your House As-Is
Another overwhelming part of selling a house are repairs. It’s usually not until you start accessing your home and getting it ready to put on the market that you notice all the work that needs to be done around the house.
During these times, people tend to discover bigger issues like a crack in the foundation, mold, or a leak in the roof, and suddenly repair costs are in the thousand dollar range to fix.
The good news is that you can always sell your house as-is to a cash home buyer.
However, repairs can be expensive and time-consuming. So if you’d prefer to avoid the hassle of getting your house market-ready, you can easily sell your house as-is to KC Property Connection instead.
Final Takeaways
As you’ve discovered, selling FSBO can provide a cheaper way to sell your house, but in return, it will require a lot of time and effort on your part. If you’d prefer to take the hassle-free approach and sell your house as-is, without any realtor commissions, working with a “Buy my home Missouri” company may be for you!
Feel free to contact KC Property Connection to find out more about how it works and about their company. You can also find helpful information on their website.