5 Hard Truths About Selling Your House Privately

What do you do when opportunity knocks? Invite it into your home and then sell. That’s what our co-founder did. Cliff Ritter sold his house privately after an agent knocked on his door and made an offer. He sold it instantly for a very tidy, not-so-little profit – and saved almost $50,000 in renovations.

That story’s a little too good to be true, right? Agreed. So I dug a little deeper and figured out what you really need to know (the good and the bad) before you sell your house privately.

1. You have to price your house on your own

Real estate agents already have the pricing experience they need to value your house accurately. If you go it alone, you’ll have to do a lot of research first. Be prepared for some uncertainty. What if you undervalue your house? What if you ask too much?

Cliff did his homework and haggled for his number. Up until a point anyway. He brought in his agent to close. Professional negotiation gained him a $20,000 price top-up.

2. You get to skip high real estate agent commissions

The best part about selling your house privately is that you don’t give agents a cut of your profits. But you have to find a balance between time spent and money saved. So when the paperwork piled up, Cliff turned to his agent for the final push. But he didn’t negotiate for a lower commission before forfeiting part of his profits.

I spoke with one of the founders of feeDuck, a service that connects homeowners with real-estate agents who bid for listings by reducing their fees. Sharn Kandola said, “We were really surprised, but our research showed that a lot of sellers didn’t know fees were negotiable at all. The agents we work with are especially willing to negotiate because our service lets them save on marketing.” So while privately selling is the only way to skip commissions altogether, it’s not the only way sellers can avoid huge fees.

3. You can hire professional support or run the sale by yourself

The Canadian Real Estate Association opened its Multiple Listing Service to agents who don’t charge commission. What does that mean? Lots of services and agents offer affordable support. But you can always tough it out and run the sale from top to bottom on your own when selling your house privately.

4. You miss out on the extra profit that comes with bidding wars

Sellers like a good bidding war (admit it) while buyers try to avoid competing for a home. But selling your house privately limits your exposure. Your advertising is restricted by your means, time, and expertise. You’re probably also missing the key lure: the “Open House” sign.

5. You don’t have to worry about lots of strangers in your home

When your house is on the market, it’s basically public domain. Strangers trickle in all day for the open house or they pop up throughout the month. You can’t always be around for these visits, so your house is vulnerable to damages that can make selling even harder.

From what I can tell, selling off the market isn’t for everyone. Cliff’s experience was relatively swift and simple, but we can’t all be so lucky. So the question is, would you rather pay a realtor to sell your house or commit your own time to selling your house privately?