10 Steps to Selling a House Without an Agent

While there is a seasonality to selling, homes are bought and sold at all times of the year. People need to move for all kinds of reasons that are not dictated by the time of year or school calendar. If someone is selling in December, it’s probably because that’s when they need to move. Likewise, if someone is looking in December, it’s probably because they are in the market for a reason.

Unfortunately, we cannot adjust the price to account for the choice (or inability) to install a for sale sign. We understand there are circumstances where there is prohibition or sensitivity to a sign out front, but the yard sign is the single best advertising you can do for the sale of your home. With that in mind, you will have the opportunity to choose to not have a sign installed, and can (and should) still choose the open house directional sign to make your home easy to find.

You can take as long as you need to sell. Your license on the platform is for 6 months, with a $50 fee for every month after that. Keep in mind that the longer a home is on the market, the more stigmatized it becomes. So, if you are truly motivated to sell it, it’s best to price it well, have it show its best, and accommodate showings as best as possible.

No, we are marketers, not licensed agents. We cannot give any direction related to your specific transaction in terms of pricing recommendations or negotiating advice. We will help with appropriate administrative and marketing functions though!

Unfortunately, we cannot issue a refund for homes that don’t sell. We are marketers and help you with a platform for promoting your listing. Since the management, pricing, and emotions of selling a home are out of our control, we cannot promise a successful closing. But we feel if you are realistic with expectations and make an effort to get buyers through the door, you have a very good chance of closing on your home.

While we do not issue a refund if you decide to not sell your home, we do offer a discount to relist if your plans change again, for as long as you own that home. The $300 fee covers sign reinstallation and the other sign deliverables, as well as administrative expenses.

Price, showing condition and ability to accommodate showings. If you get the price right but the home doesn’t show well to support it, it knocks down the value. Or if your home looks great but the price is too high, the right buyer isn’t even seeing your fantastic effort. And, finally, you have to get buyers through the door. It’s a numbers game.

You can only start one listing at a time. Once you have paid for a listing, you can start as many new listings as you’d like by going to Listing Builder and clicking on + Add New Listing. You will not be able to publish additional listings until having been paid.

Yes, you may add additional photos that you feel add to the home’s appeal.

Yes, we feel strongly sellers will have the most success and get the highest price if we employ the most sage marketing efforts just as we did when we were agents. Photos are the single most important element in showcasing the home to get the best price. If the first photo isn’t professional, then it’s usually a quick decision on to the next house. Besides, it’s a great value that is included with the price so why not enjoy that asset. That said, you can complement the photos with your own you may have taken of the garden in bloom, the pool in season, etc.

Yes! We encourage you to keep your photos updated, particularly when you list in the cusp of a season. In fact, as the leaves on the trees come in, feel free to take and retake to stay fresh. Be sure to take a wide shot, no cars in the driveway, no toys on the front lawn, etc.

If buyers aren’t interested in seeing the home, then usually it’s either a problem with being very over-priced, or the listing description isn’t making a connection with buyers. You might want to review our suggestions in the Seller’s Guide on writing a good listing description. You should also try to be objective about price. Look at comparables on the Cribbed site or better yet, first hand.

If you are getting showings, your online presence is appealing, but there is something in person not supporting the price. Maybe the flow isn’t perfect, or too much updating is needed, or the view is undesirable, or maybe an audial impact is present. If a dozen buyers have seen your home but have presented no offers, then your price isn’t in the range where a buyer feels they can negotiate a fair price. In these cases, review feedback. Sometimes you can change the impression of an issue. I once received feedback related to a beautiful Connecticut beach home that it was on a busy road and that highway noise was an issue. Those are two things you can’t do anything about, right? We probably should have reduced price accordingly, but the house was on a corner lot so we moved the lockbox to the side door on the quiet cul-de-sac side street, that also blocked the highway noise, and visitors entered through the gorgeous deck into the stunning kitchen. Never heard the complaint again. You just need to think out-of-the-box.

We recommend seeing where any offer goes. Many, many times it can seem a hopeless place to start, but you reach common ground. I’m not sure most buyers or sellers know what their true limitations are until they get into the negotiation. Even if you feel firm on your price, it’s best to come down, if even a little, to show your interest in working with your buyer. You can show appreciation for their interest and in reaching an agreement. If you have been on the market for a long time you might want to be fairly open-minded. That said, see what you can get a buyer up to as it serves as a benchmark to beat, if nothing else.

Even in a tough market a home priced for the condition should sell quickly. If it sits on the market it becomes “stigmatized” and it will appear, right or wrong, that you aren’t realistic. Buyers usually move on from a too-high-priced home vs. making a lower offer. If that wasn’t the case there would be no homes sitting on the market.

You essentially help sell your neighbors’ homes! Every day a home is on the market, the lower the price goes down in the buyer’s mind. You’ll get the best price for your home when it sells sooner vs. later. Homes that sell in the first 28 days get a higher price than homes that sit on the market.

Not recommended as a strategy. If you know the right price there is no logic for starting higher. You get the most traffic the first week on the market. These are the buyers who haven’t found something yet and are just waiting for the next option to come on. After that, it’s buyers who are new to the market, who haven’t seen everything, and may not be financially lined-up to purchase. With this strategy you will have lost the interest of that important first wave. It just ends up taking longer to sell and the buyer needs to offer a lower starting price to get there. In the end you get the same price, just with less stress. By the way, it’s rare for a buyer to pay full price after the first day or so.

Unlikely! It’s more likely you priced it just right, and that it was appealing to the buyer. If you had priced it higher it’s quite possible you wouldn’t have the opportunity to ask this question. Feel great you priced it at a fair value that brought an interested buyer quickly. If you truly did price it too low you will get multiple offers and it will take care of itself. That’s a much better problem to have than hearing crickets.

This is a risky move, and this coming from someone with no skin in it. There is a saying in real estate…”Your first offer is usually your best offer.” I’ve found that to be a true statement. It may be this buyer has been waiting for a house to come on like yours and you captured timing well with someone who is ready to buy. Anyone who makes an appointment to see it next week thinks it will still be around.

Well, everything relates back to value and, therefore, price. If a buyer provides feedback that, say, the kitchen isn’t updated enough, you can basically finish that sentence (and that of any sentence noting downsides) with “for the price”. Every negative is overcome at the right price.

The last thing you want to do is follow the market down. While no one has a crystal ball, your best bet is to be in front of a downward trend and present your home as a good value.

If you can, by all means do so! You only need one buyer so getting someone in who is already in the neighborhood could make all the difference. However, if you can’t possibly show in short order, politely let the buyer know when would be the soonest you could show it.

These items will ship separately, within 2-days of your Cribbed purchase.

Put the Open House announcement sign up no more than one week in advance, elsewise it will be confusing which Saturday or Sunday you are holding the home open. With that in mind, it’s good to put it up as soon as possible to give ample notice to those driving by.

Put the directional sign at the nearest cross street where the most buyers might be coming from, or where the most confusion might be. Don’t put it too far away as the buyers might lose track of your trail. Consider ordering additional directional signs if there are a lot of turns to get to your house, or if you’d like one for the front yard, especially if you don’t have an open house signpost in the yard with the open house sign rider with the start and end time on it.

It’s best if someone can take him on a walk or if he can stay with a friend or neighbor during the showing or open house. Having a barking dog at the home is not desirable. If the appointment is short notice and you have no options for the dog, explain the circumstances and the dog’s temperament and ask if they are okay with the dog staying, so that you may get them in to see the home.

Yes! By all means, continue to market your home until closing. You can always take back up offers. Keep in mind, showings slow down considerably once a home is under contract. You must always be honest with buyers though, so they know a home is not fully available.

It’s exciting to be under contract, but it’s best to wait to close the door to other potential interest until you are through the inspection period. Plus, you don’t want to look too anxious and lose negotiating strength.

This number reflects the percent of time the buyer showed up at the appointment as expected. It helps you to know whether they are reliable and likely to show up.