The answer to this is satisfaction, because you get to keep more of the selling price without having to pay the real estate agent commission. Selling a house is usually a simple process that most people can do themselves with a little information and some work on your part.

The second reason to sell your own house is flexibility. If you ae not paying a huge commission, you have the flexibility to negotiate on the price and still potentially get more than if you were selling through an agent. For example, if you are selling your house for $300,000 your typical commission would be $18,000. So if you find a buyer that is willing to buy it right now for $290,000, then you are still $8,000 ahead of where you would be with an agent. It is common for buyers to want to negotiate some on the price and not having to pay commissions gives you that flexibility.

The last major reason for selling your own house is because it's just not difficult. The process of completing the sale is pretty simple and most of the difficult part is handled by the title company or attorney responsible for the closing of the sale (see the section below on “Closing the sale of the house” for more details on this.) So do a little homework, get the information you need, and make some money selling your own house.

Now that you know you can do it, read the rest of the sections in this guide so you have a good understanding of what will be happening when you take on this rewarding task. If you have any questions about the process, call our staff and we will work with you to find the answer to your question.

As with selling anything, you need to have it in a condition that your potential buyers want to buy. This is especially true when selling a house, your buyers are going to be looking at spending a lot of money, so you need to present a product worth that money. This means cleaning up the house, inside and outside, fixing any problems with the property, doing any touchup repairs, and in general making the house look its best.

A good mental picture to have when looking at your house is to ask yourself “Is this good enough to be a featured house in a magazine?” If the answer is no, then look at the things that make you think no and get them taken care of before you have potential buyers looking at the same problems.

With your HomeListingsForPortland.com listing, you will receive an on-site Market Readiness Analysis. This analysis will give you a comprehensive third party perspective on how ready your house is for the market and is included in the basic listing.

If you price your house higher than the market is willing to pay, you will wait a long time to sell the house. So determining the current market value of your house is critical to selling quickly.

When you purchase a listing with HomeListingsForPortland.com you will get a current market survey of the houses which have sold recently are comparable to your house. It is important to know the “sold” price, not the asking price. Often a price will be marked up to try and get a higher price knowing it will be discounted to the actual sales price. If you want to sell quickly, pricing your house to meet your timeline can be critical.

The most technical part of selling a house is managing the actual closing. This step is typically handled by a title company in Nevada, but can be done by an attorney as well.

To make sure all the technical side of the closing goes smoothly, it is best to find a title company or attorney to handle this aspect of the sale of a property. There are a number of excellent title companies in the area and you can also check our resources list for title companies as well.

One of the keys to selling your house fast is marketing. Marketing is all the things you do to get buyers who are looking for a house to buy to look at YOUR house. Listing on HomeListingsForPortland.com is a great first step, but you need to do more to get all the exposure you possibly can get.

With your HomeListingsForPortland.com listing you are already getting several key parts to a good marketing plan. These include:

• Web Site listing
• Photos and virtual tours of your house
• Proper pricing for the current market
• Review of your house for being ready to market it
• Lawn Sign
• Open House listings
• Direct contact with buyers via on-line messaging

Now you need to take it another step by thinking about some of the other issues involved in marketing your house which incluse:

• Creating your sell ad for your listing
• The condition of your house
• Scheduling Open House times
• Marketing your Open House
• Potentially listing in the MLS
• Being ready to negotiate with a buyer
• Know your paperwork to close an offer

Be your own best salesperson when talking to your potential buyers. Sell your houses features, the neighborhood, or any other benefits that you know of about your house and its location. Be enthusiastic about your house and its potential for the buyer, let them know what is great about. But don’t talk about your history in the house, help them start making their own memories about the house.

When a home buyer makes an offer, it is typically presented to you directly from the buyer or the buyer’s agent. If the buyer is using an agent they will often use the agent’s contract for making an offer. These should be read carefully as they often have the terms and conditions slanted in the buyer’s favor. It is best to have your attorney look over the contract before your final acceptance.

If the buyer is not using an agent, you can use your own contract or the one from the forms section on HomeListingsForPortland.com. The contract available in the forms section is not slanted to the buyer or seller, it provides a win-win contract for both parties.

The major issue to watch with buyer offers is any contingencies the buyer wants to put into the contract. Contingencies are things the buyer wants to have happen before they actually close the purchase of the property. A typical contingency is they have to sell their own house before they buy yours. You must evaluate these carefully and if they insist on having the contingencies, you can add your own clause to the contract so if you get other buyers then you have the right to accept those offers if the buyer does not drop their contingencies and finalize the purchase. You can use the “Addendum for Continued Marketing of Property by Seller due to Contingencies” form on the HomeListingsForPortland.com web site to inform the buyer you have another offer and they have a set number of days to drop their contingencies.

The most critical issue when dealing with offers is “get it in writing.” In all real estate transactions, if something is not in writing and signed by both parties, its not binding. So anything you or the buyer want in the deal, put it in the contract or an amendment to the contract. This includes any changes in dates, terms, inclusions, or exclusions of items that are to be part of the sale.

Once an offer has been accepted, it is typical that the buyer will want to have an inspection done of the property. This will usually include looking at all the major components of the house like the heating systems, roof, foundations, septic systems, electrical, appliances, etc.

If you have any concerns about any of the aspects of your house passing an inspection, you may want to have your own house inspection done. This will allow you to address any problems before a buyer finds them, which can cause a delay of the sale or even loose the sale if they are significant.

Many lenders also want to have a pest inspection done for termites or other organic infestations. If you are trying for a quick sale, you may consider having one of these inspections done by a licensed local inspector and provide the inspection report to the buyer’s lender. This can often reduce the time to closing if the inspectors cannot get to the inspection right away and it shows the buyer that your house is free of organic pests.

The closing for selling a house is when all the money is exchanged between everyone involved and the title to the property is transferred to the buyer. This will typically be done at a title company who handles the verification of ownership and the transfer of the money between everyone. This will include any money you or the buyer have to pay for fees, getting the money from the buyer’s lender, paying off your lender, paying any vendors that may have charges against the property, paying any due taxes or municipal fees, and other related charges.

The title company will detail out all the fees and charges that are to be handled as part of the transaction and will provide you and the buyer with a statement of these items. It is best to stay in regular contact with your title company, once or twice a week, just to make sure that everything they need has been received and there are no surprises. If the title company asks for any information, be sure to get it to them right away. Any delay in getting them the information may result in a delay of the closing.

The actual day of the closing you will have to go to the title company to sign the paperwork needed to change ownership of the property, so make sure you will be available. The buyer will also normally want to do a walk through of the house one more time to make sure nothing has happened to the property. So be available to show them the house and have it in top condition. If there are any new problems when they do the walk through, they can still back out, so make sure you keep everything clean and repaired.

Selling a home is not a difficult process, but it will take some effort to make sure you have everything done and are prepared to handle working with the buyers and everyone related to the process. Doing your homework and understanding the process will make it much easier and save you potential problems.

If you have questions about the process in general, HomeListingsForPortland.com’s staff is here to discuss your situation with you. Any specific legal or contractual questions will need to be addressed by your attorney to ensure the language in a contract is not going to cause you any problems. Selling your own home can be a fun experience and almost always a profitable one. Have a great time with it and enjoy the rewards of your efforts.