If you’re looking to sell your house or investment property in Massachusetts without using a real estate agent, we can help.
Although we do cooperate with brokers, sometimes it’s best to avoid paying someone to be in the middle.
After all, paying 5-6% of the sale of a property in a commission is a lot of money. In certain situations, Massachusetts brokers and real estate agents can be very useful and earn their commission. Not always.
How Do I Sell My House Without An Agent in Massachusetts?
Selling a house without an agent in Massachusetts can be a daunting task. It requires a significant amount of research and preparation to make sure the process is successful.
It’s important to understand the laws that govern the sale of real estate in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has a number of regulations that must be followed when selling a house. These laws include disclosure laws, which require sellers to disclose any material information that could affect the value of the property. Additionally, Massachusetts has a number of deed restrictions that must be observed when selling a house.
Selling a house without an agent can save you money on commissions but requires careful attention to detail and familiarity with the real estate process.
There are a few ways to avoid paying high commissions in your Massachusetts sale.
First, there’s a tricky custom that you’ve gotta know about.
In most sales in Massachusetts, roughly half of the commission you pay as the seller goes to pay for the buyer’s broker.
Doesn’t make much sense, right?
Why should you pay for the agent on the other side of the table?
Truthfully, it defies logic – it’s just what’s typically done.
You can use that to your advantage in a few ways.
First, factor in the commissions paid when you’re looking at comparable sales. If properties similar to yours sold for prices that included commissions, take that into account.
Don’t underprice your property – Research the current real estate market in your area, evaluate recent sales of comparable homes, and consider the condition, location, and unique features of your property. Setting a competitive yet reasonable price will attract potential buyers. Be aware that a savvy buyer may expect to take a discount too. If you’re doing the work of one agent, you can expect to save that money.
Sometimes in Massachusetts, buyers who aren’t represented by an agent won’t remember to negotiate the buyer’s side commission out of the price for themselves, so don’t remind them if you don’t want to pay them. Just don’t be surprised if it comes up during the negotiation.
You may want to consider offering 2.5% to buyer’s agents who will bring their clients to show your property. Sure, it’s a lot of money. If you’re pricing your property including that commission, you can always negotiate a better deal for a purchaser who comes without an agent.
On the other hand, if you don’t leave room for the buyer’s agent’s commission, you’ll be excluding most of the buyers in the market in Lowell.
Over 90% of transactions happen through the MLS – that’s the Multiple Listing Service. It’s the main database that all the brokers in Lowell use to access information for their clients on the houses, condos, land, and investment properties for sale, along with data on the sold prices.
Once upon a time, you had to pay a full commission to get your property on the MLS. Now in Lowell, there are a few brokers who will charge you a fee just to list your property on the MLS. Often, you spend a few hundred bucks and you only pay a commission if the sale closes.
Compared to the cost of a newspaper ad, the MLS is a cheap way to market your property to a very wide audience.
All the major real estate search sites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Yahoo Homes, etc. get data from the MLS. Chances are good that when you submit your listing in Lowell to the MLS, information on your property will end up on most of the major sites within a few days.
Each of those sites sells ads. They’ve got packages that let you pay to enhance your listing, feature it at the top of the search, and a lot of other bells and whistles that might or might not get an interested buyer to buy your property.
Advertising is a gamble. Sometimes open houses in Massachusetts can be a great way to sell a property, and sometimes they’re a waste of time. Same with newspaper ads, craigslist postings, and fancy signs – sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t.
The real estate market is subject to fluctuations, and the demand for houses can vary. Advertising a house for sale at a particular time might not yield the desired response if the market is slow or if there is an oversupply of homes in the area.
To effectively sell your property on your own, you have to market it well.
Selling “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO), is a viable option for homeowners who want to take on the responsibilities of marketing, negotiating, and finalizing the sale themselves.
Putting up fliers and signs around your neighborhood can generate some calls, and there are a lot of free websites where you can post information. But often just putting up flyers and an open house isn’t enough if your house doesn’t appeal to the average home buyer.
In theory, real estate agents charge big commissions because they have to spend a lot of money upfront to advertise your property. By advertising lots of properties at once, they expect to get more phone calls – and obviously, they’ll make good profits by selling lots of houses.
Certain properties might require thousands of dollars in advertising expenses before the right buyer happens to see the ad and call.
If you want to avoid paying any commissions, you can also sell your house to investors like us for CASH
We fair prices for properties – and we can close fast (in as little as 3-5 days if you need to).
Sometimes we’ll purchase Massachusetts houses, fix them up, then rent them out… sometimes we’ll fix them up and sell them to other people looking for great homes in the area, and a lot of other reasons, too – but we love to hear from people like you who are thinking of selling anywhere in Massachusetts.
When you sell your house to us, we will typically purchase the property in “as is” condition. This means that you don’t have to worry about making repairs or worrying about the condition of the home. We are usually willing to take on the responsibility of making any necessary repairs, which can help you save time and money.
Another benefit of selling to us is that we are usually able to close quickly. Investors don’t have to wait for traditional financing, so we can usually close on the property in a matter of days rather than weeks or months. This can be especially helpful if you’re in a situation where you need to sell your house quickly.
Finally, selling to an investor can also save you money. Since investors don’t have to pay a real estate agent, they won’t have to pay a commission or other fees associated with a traditional sale. This can help you keep more of the profit from your home sale.
We’re investors who care a lot about Massachusetts.
We close fast and pay cash in as little as just 3-5 days. Give us a call now at (978) 274-0555 or fill out the short form over here.