Cut the Costs: How to Sell Your Southern California Home Without a Realtor
Southern California’s home sales have recently fallen to an all-time low, dropping by around 38% from last year.
If you’re looking to sell your Southern California home in 2023, you’re going to be faced with hurdles. In a market like this, you have to make a few important decisions on how you’ll go about selling your home. The biggest one is whether to hire a realtor or sell your home on your own.
In this post, we’re going to give you some advice for selling a home without a realtor. Doing so may go against conventional knowledge, but as you’ll see, there are hidden costs when hiring a realtor. If you’re going to maximize the sale of your home in this cool market, FSBO may just be the way to go.
Most homeowners have no idea how to sell a house privately. Keep reading this guide and you’ll get more for your home.
Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Hiring a Realtor in California
Hiring a realtor may seem like the most pain-free and cost-effective way to sell a home, but that’s not necessarily true. Just because that’s how most homeowners go about selling a home doesn’t mean it’s how you should do it.
For one, you’ve got to pay realtor fees. These aren’t hidden costs, but they’re easy to overlook as part of the business of selling a home.
When you really break it down, the 5-6% commission that every realtor takes from the sale of a home is often astronomical. If they sell your home for $400,000, you pay your realtor a $20,000 commission.
That’s just the beginning of the hidden fees. Many realtors will recommend that you stage the home so that it sells faster. They may also talk you into professional photography and drone shots to showcase the home in the listings.
All of this adds up – a few thousand here and a few thousand there – and takes away from what you get when the home is sold. If you have inspections, repairs, and holding costs, it’s even more. It’s important to understand the full picture of what you’re paying for when you hire a realtor.
Potential Savings of For Sale By Owner (FSBO) in California
The whole “sell a house by owner” concept scares a lot of homeowners because it puts more responsibility on their shoulders. When you begin to understand the savings involved in these types of transactions, it becomes less frightening and more enticing.
Obviously, the biggest expense that you’ll save on is the realtor commission, which was discussed above. Keeping that extra $20,000 in your pocket can come in handy when you’re searching for your next home. You won’t need to worry about most of the other hidden fees we mentioned either.
Of course, some repairs may be necessary, as well as an inspection. When you’re selling on your own, however, you have more control over what you do to the home before it sells.
You’ll also see savings throughout the process. Often, FSBO homes sell faster than realtor-driven sales. The longer your house stays on the market, the less you’ll get for it, so speed is actually really important.
Also, realtors do the negotiating for you, and because they have a commission to earn, these don’t always go completely in your favor. When you sell a home on your own, you get complete control over how the sale works. You have the power to cut costs wherever necessary.
Crunching Numbers: Cost Comparison to Maximize Your Home Sale Profits in California
Aside from the 5% realtor fee that you’ll get to keep in your pocket, there are other ways to save money in a FSBO situation. There are also things that you’ll need to pay out of pocket for that would be covered under realtor fees.
For instance, photography, MLS listing fees, open house expenses, and digital marketing are all things you’ll want to consider investing in. These things all range from a few hundred dollars to well into the thousands.
How much you spend will depend on how much work you’re willing to put in. Maybe you’re good with a camera, so you can take your own photos of the home. You can stage a home yourself and keep open house expenses quite low as well.
When you compare it to the cost of having a realtor, it’s undeniable that you’ll save money by doing it yourself. It’s really a matter of whether a realtor will help you sell the home for significantly more.
Comparative Analysis: Realtor-Assisted Sale Vs. Independent Sale in California
A realtor sale allows you to sit back, let the realtor do their thing, and wait for your home to sell. A non-realtor sale puts more responsibility in your hands, but you’re more in control of the situation and it’s much cheaper.
As long as you’re willing to take this responsibility on, FSBO is always a better option. Let us now discuss some of the ways you can minimize expenses when selling your home on your own.
Proven Strategies to Slash Expenses When Selling Your California Home
The best tip we can give when you sell your house without a realtor is to sell to a cash buyer. Selling a home for cash allows you to bypass most of the costs associated with FSBO, such as making repairs, having inspections done, or paying for MLS listings.
Selling to a qualified cash buyer prevents you from having to pay any fees to the buyer’s agent, which is always a possibility in an FSBO. Cash buyers are independent investors who don’t use realtors, so it’s a straight-up transaction.
Another important tip is to vet your cash buyers. If you go this route, it’s important to understand that there are great cash buyers, like Premier Property Buyers, but there are also plenty of scammers.
Make sure you look at reviews from former clients and look at the cash buyer’s website to find any red flags. Good cash buyers won’t be pushy and they’ll make it easy to get a no-obligation cash offer on your home.
Making the California Home Selling Process Smooth Without a Realtor
Selling a home without a realtor doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. In particular, selling your home for cash to a reputable cash buyer will ensure that the process is quick and painless, as well as lucrative.
At Premier Property Buyers, we’re Southern California’s trusted home buyers. All you have to do is fill out our online form, let us come for a viewing of the property, and then get your no-obligation cash offer.
Once you accept the offer and the paperwork is complete, the entire process can be over in a matter of a few days. It couldn’t be easier or cheaper, so call us or fill out the form today.