THE PROCESS

When you're selling your own home,  we know that the sales process can be overwhelming. Here are the general steps in selling your home on your own:

listing

The first step is getting people interested in your house. There are a variety of free and paid resources available to help others find your home. Some popular options include KSL.com, zillow.com, and Craigslist. You can also work with a variety of real estate offices that will list your home for a low, flat-fee on the Realtor®-exclusive Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS has the most potential buyers looking, but you will likely have to offer a 3% buyer's agent commission in order to get much interest.

In order to generate the most interest, you'll want to make sure that you upload lots of great photos and/or videos highlighting the best features of your home. 

When someone is interested, they will contact you to schedule a "showing" where they can look at your home. You will likely want to clean your home and make it as presentable as possible—at least as good as your children or dogs will let you. 

contracting & 

due diligence

Once you and the buyer have interest, you'll want to sign a binding Real Estate Purchase Contract (REPC) that will ensure that you're on the same page and ready to proceed with the transaction. The REPC will contain deadlines, terms, and most importantly, the sales price and details of the transaction. Most people prefer to use the standard REPC that real estate agents use. This contract is familiar to lenders and title companies and can be filled out by sellers and buyers on their own.

After the contract is signed, the buyer will place earnest money in trust with a title company selected by the seller. This money protects the seller in case the buyer backs out after the contract prohibits it. At this point, the seller must provide "seller disclosures" to the buyer outlining everything they know about the property. This includes everything from that time the windstorm damaged your roof, to the ongoing rodent problem in your basement. The buyer can then take this information, and after having the chance to do their own thorough inspection, cancel the contract or move forward with closing.

As the seller, you will also want to contact a title insurance company to run a preliminary title report disclosing any title issues that may exist. This title report will also include the information necessary for a title company to help you properly transfer the property from you to the buyer. They will charge an insurance premium for insuring that this is done properly, and you as the seller will usually pay this premium.

closing

After the deadlines have run, it's time for settlement and closing. Settlement is when you sign the documents that will transfer the property. The title insurance company will be in charge of making sure that the money from the buyer is in their escrow account prior to recording the documents with the county. Once the money is properly transferred, and the recording with the county is completed, the transaction is "closed" and you can give the keys to the proud new owner.