Selling Your Home without an Agent

Selling your house yourself, without having an agent represent you, is a transaction commonly referred to as a For Sale By Owner or FSBO ("fizz-bo"). Some people have successfully sold

their houses by themselves and others have made a major mess of their transactions. Whether you opt to sell your house without an agent or conclude that hiring an agent is a better way to go, the paramount concern is simple: that your sale be as profitable and painless as possible.

Avoid the pitfalls

Although selling a house isn't rocket science or heart surgery if you've done your homework, it does require some important skills. Even the smartest of FSBO sellers can get into trouble for several reasons.

You may not know how to price property

If you overprice your property, it isn't going to sell. Buyers and agents who know property values will, in fact, avoid it like the plague. In the end, you may not get as much for your house as you could have by pricing it realistically to begin with.

If you underprice your house, you may sell it below its market value — shortchanging yourself thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of dollars. Say good-bye to the commission you "saved."

You may not know how to prepare your house for sale