If you’re looking to sell your house or investment property in Baltimore 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, MD 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 Baltimore?
There are a few ways to avoid paying high commissions in your MD sale.
First, there’s a tricky custom that you’ve gotta know about.
In most sales in Baltimore, 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 be responsible for paying the agent on the other side of the transaction? Frankly, it doesn’t make logical sense. However, this is the customary practice in the real estate industry.
Nevertheless, you can use this situation to your advantage in several ways. Firstly, when examining comparable sales, take into consideration the commissions that were paid. If the prices of properties similar to yours included commissions, factor that into your assessment.
It’s important not to underprice your property. Be aware that a knowledgeable buyer may anticipate a discount since you are essentially fulfilling the role of one agent and can expect to save that money.
In some cases, buyers in Baltimore who are not represented by an agent may overlook negotiating the buyer’s side commission for themselves. If you prefer not to pay that commission, you don’t have to remind them of its existence. However, be prepared for the topic to come up during negotiations.
Consider offering a 2.5% commission to buyer’s agents who bring their clients to view your property. While it may seem like a significant amount, if you have priced your property with the inclusion of that commission, you can always negotiate a more favorable deal with a buyer who does not have an agent.
On the other hand, if you exclude the buyer’s agent’s commission, you may limit your pool of potential buyers in the Baltimore market.
Over 90% of transactions happen through the MLS – that’s the Multiple Listing Service.
The primary database used by brokers in Baltimore to access information on houses, condos, land, and investment properties for sale, as well as data on sold prices, is known as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
In the past, listing your property on the MLS required paying a full commission. However, in Baltimore, there are now brokers who offer the option to list your property on the MLS for a fee. Typically, you would only pay a commission if the sale successfully closes. This approach is more cost-effective compared to placing an advertisement in a newspaper, as the MLS allows you to market your property to a broad audience at a lower cost.
The MLS feeds data to major real estate search sites such as Realtor.com, Zillow, Yahoo Homes, and others. When you submit your listing in Baltimore to the MLS, it is highly likely that information about your property will be distributed to most of these prominent sites within a few days.
It’s important to note that these real estate search sites generate revenue through advertisements. They offer various packages that allow you to pay for additional features, such as enhancing your listing, featuring it at the top of search results, and other attractive options. These additional features may or may not increase the likelihood of attracting an interested buyer for your property.
Advertising is a gamble. Sometimes open houses in Baltimore MD can be a great way to sell a property, and sometimes they’re a waste of time. Same with newspaper ads, craigslist postings, fancy signs – sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t.
To effectively sell your property on your own, you have to market it well.
Distributing fliers and placing signs in your neighborhood can generate some inquiries, and there are several free websites where you can post property information. However, relying solely on these methods, along with hosting an open house, may not be sufficient if your house doesn’t appeal to the average homebuyer.
Real estate agents typically charge significant commissions because they incur substantial upfront advertising costs for promoting your property. By advertising multiple properties simultaneously, they anticipate receiving more phone calls and, naturally, they aim to generate substantial profits by selling numerous houses.
In certain cases, specific properties may require significant advertising expenses, amounting to thousands of dollars, before attracting the attention of the right buyer who happens to come across the advertisement and makes contact.
If you want to avoid paying any commissions, you can also sell your house to investors like us
We pay fair prices for properties – and we can close fast (in as little as 3-5 days if you need to).
Sometimes we’ll purchase Baltimore 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 MD.
We’re investors who care a lot about Baltimore.
Give us a call now at 1-800-450-1779 or fill out the short form over here.