Steps to sell a house by owner

Next, let’s review the FSBO process step by step.

1. Prepare your house for sale

Whether you’re selling with an agent or FSBO, at a minimum, you’ll want to get your Kentucky home into respectable shape before any showings to increase your chances of receiving a fair price.

Vale explains that an agent-assisted sale has the advantage of the agent’s network, including cleaners, photographers, stagers, contractors, legal experts, and other professionals. That network means getting them into your home quickly and at a lower price. Without this support, you’ll have to do the legwork, or elbow grease yourself to get things done.

Here are a few standard tasks to add to the list.

Indoors

“There are times when I meet with sellers, and they want to spend money on items that aren’t necessarily going to help them pocket more money, so we provide a list of things to do to make the property look better without spending thousands of dollars on items that aren’t going to capture them more money,“ explains Vale.

Let’s look at some of the things you can do to impress buyers looking for a home in Kentucky:

• Declutter floors, shelves, and surfaces throughout the home.
• Make small fixes and repairs, like a leaky faucet or broken door handle.
• Lightly update with new light fixtures, faucets, or cabinet hardware.
• Refinish hardwood floors.
• Repaint bold walls (or those that look dingy) in a neutral color.
• Reduce furniture in crowded rooms — consider a temporary storage unit.
• Stage the home with final touches like fresh-cut flowers or a basket of fresh produce.
• Use rugs to define spaces and place them strategically.
• Deep clean until the house is sparkling.
• Open blinds or drapes to show off a great view and add natural lighting. Replace any dim, blown, or missing bulbs with bright bulbs.

“Less is more,” Vale advises, “You want to eliminate things that can be distracting to buyers so they focus on the house. You’re selling a dream to people, and you have to set that picture up for them.”

Outdoors

Data from HomeLight’s 2022 Top Agents Insight Report shows that, on average, “Buyers will pay 7% more for a house with great curb appeal versus a home with a neglected exterior.”

Vale advises that you prepare the outside of your house the same way you do the interior:

“You want to clean up and set up the setting so that it’s a nice space for entertaining and so the buyer can focus on the property itself.”

Some important curb appeal upgrades can include:

• Mow the lawn and pull weeds.
• Apply fresh mulch liberally.
• Upgrade your landscaping. Consider a new walkway, flowerbed, or shrubs.
• Add a fresh coat of exterior paint.
• Install a new garage door if yours is looking old or not working properly.

2. Do the homework necessary to set a competitive price

You’ve arrived at a critical moment in your FSBO process: setting a listing price. You don’t want to leave money on the table, yet you want to encourage activity on your listing.

Before listing a home, an agent usually conducts a comparative market analysis (CMA). This is a highly-detailed study of “comps” — similar homes nearby that have sold recently, are pending, on the market, or were previously listed but taken off the market. Some may have even been pulled off the market without a sale.

Vale explains that it’s important to know the actual footage of your Kentucky house so you can market it correctly. If you list less than what you have, you’ll lose potential buyers who are looking for more square footage. You also don’t want to over-advertise the square footage because that can cause an issue.

“I have found that the PVA [property value administrator] and old listing can have a variance on the actual square footage. There’s a thousand square feet difference on the records I’ve pulled for a home I’m selling. So I have the properties I’m selling professionally measured. I have found up to 500 extra square feet. A Realtor who understands the market can put the best package together,” Vale says.

Without an agent, you’ll miss out on the complexity of a full CMA and the know-how to interpret it.

However, with a little time and money, you can set a competitive price yourself.

Conduct your own “CMA Lite”

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and research.

Start with an online home value estimate

As a starting point, look at several online estimators for your home’s value. HomeLight’s Home Value Estimator aggregates publicly available data such as tax records and assessments, your home’s last sale price, and recent sales records for other properties in the same neighborhood.

We also add a new layer of information to our estimates using a short questionnaire. Tell us a few details about your Kentucky home, such as:

• How much work does it need?
• What type of home is it (single-family, condo, townhouse, or other)?
• Roughly when was your house built?

• Are you planning to sell soon?

Using these insights, we’ll provide you with a preliminary estimate of home value in under two minutes.

Whether you use Zillow, Chase, Realtor, or Redfin to get a home value estimate, think of any online home price tool as a first step (not your only source of truth) — and recognize that the data used may be limited.

Narrowly filter your search for comps

When you’re ready to find comps, you can choose from sites like Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, or Realtor.

You’ll want to filter your searches to the area very near your house (within blocks if possible) and with similar characteristics. If you’re not finding any comps, expand your search map.

You’ll also want to filter results by details like:

• Listing status (look at recently sold, pending, and active)
• Number of bedrooms
• Number of bathrooms
• Square footage
• Home type (single-family, condo, etc.)

Beyond the above criteria, the more houses you find with floor plans and an age similar to yours, the better.

Use a site like Zillow to collect your data

As an example, let’s take a look at how to filter your search for comps on Zillow.

• Navigate to Zillow.
• Type in your address. If a pop-up with your home’s specs appears, close it.
• Filter by “sold.” Yellow dots should appear on the map surrounding your house.

If you want to further reduce guesswork, top agents recommend paying an appraiser to provide a professional opinion of value for your home. An appraiser will combine recent property data, research of the surrounding market, and information collected from a walkthrough of your home to determine an appraised value. For a single-family home, an appraisal will likely cost $500 to $600 — well worth it to avoid possibly over- or underpricing your house by thousands.

“As far as pricing goes, it’s hard for a buyer to know what the sweet spot is,” Vale says. “If you overprice it, then it could sit there and not get the showings it needs. Then it becomes a stale listing, and people think that there’s something wrong with it, and they want to negotiate down even more.”

Make sense of the research

Compare your home’s features against the nearby comps you collected. Hopefully, the houses you studied give an indication of an appropriate price range for your home. From there, you can make dollar adjustments based on characteristics that add value (patios, curb appeal, an extra bedroom) versus detracting from it (a busy street, deferred maintenance, less square footage).

In Kentucky, Vale says, the condition of the property is one of the largest factors in pricing the home.

Consider the differences and similarities of comps – including property age, condition, and updates – with the appraised value of your home to choose a price that will encourage activity (too high and it may seem out of reach to many buyers), but will also maximize your profit.

3. Photograph your home

Listing photos are powerful, either pulling in buyers for showings or keeping them away.

To give your listing an edge, consider hiring an experienced real estate photographer. While they may charge as much as $140 to $180 an hour, this could be one of the most important things you do to sell your home.

“I have a crew of people that clean the house so it’s fresh, clean, and shiny. Then, I have a professional photographer come in,” Vale says. She advises against taking the photos yourself or Photoshopping the photos in a way that alters the actual appearance or condition of the home.

But if you do go the DIY route, make sure to:

• Use a good camera with a wide-angle lens.
• Pay attention to lighting.
• Include a photo of every room.
• Take multiple pictures of living areas, kitchens, and bathrooms.
• Try shooting different angles.

Review our guide on how to take quality real estate photos for further guidance.

4. Create a detailed, compelling listing

Along with stellar photos, you’ll want to craft an informative and compelling listing. Leverage both the listing description (a paragraph or two highlighting key features) and the property details to show potential buyers all about your home and what makes it desirable.

Tell a story with your description

Draw in potential buyers with a powerful listing description that tells a story about your Kentucky house, including details like:

• Your home’s most unique and desirable features, like a breakfast nook or sunroom
• Recent upgrades like a kitchen or bathroom remodel or new roof or HVAC system
• High-end appliances, materials, or finishes
• Outdoor features like a pool or patio
• Neighborhood features and amenities
• Nearby parks, walking trails, restaurants, and attractions

Lastly, and this is crucial: specify in your description the commission a buyer’s agent will receive from the proceeds. Most agents don’t want to show their clients properties from which they’d receive a paltry commission. When you list in the MLS, you must include a buyer’s commission. It can be as little as $1 but recognize that may limit your buyer pool as buyers’ agents typically expect to be compensated for their efforts. If you choose not to list in the MLS so you can forgo the buyer commission, you’ll seriously limit the exposure your home will get.

Don’t skimp on the property details

Aside from writing the description, you may be prompted to enter information like:

• Age of the home
• Square footage
• Architectural style (i.e., split-level, rancher, craftsman)
• Appliances included
• Exterior building materials
• Flooring types
• HOA fees
• School zone information
• Lot size

Many real estate agents and potential buyers really do read this “fine print” on your listing — so include accurate details, and plenty of them.

5. List your home online

It’s finally time to post your Kentucky home online. While you can create FSBO listings for free on popular search sites, you’d have to painstakingly post site by site, and your listing wouldn’t reach the majority of buyers and agents.

To give your home the most exposure, pay to have your home put on your local MLS (multiple listing service) — a platform agents use to share properties with one another as well as major real estate sites. Posting there will feed your listing to buyers’ agent databases and to common sites buyers use.

Only licensed real estate agents and brokers who are MLS members can post to the MLS. However, you have two options to gain access: paying an agent to post for you or using a FSBO platform online.

Pay an agent to list your home on the MLS

A local agent may be willing to list your house on the MLS for a flat fee, without any other involvement in your real estate transaction. If you decide to go this route, ask whether the fee includes updating your listing if necessary.

Use a FSBO platform with an MLS option

You can use various paid websites to list your Kentucky house online as “for sale by owner.” These sites offer packages ranging from about $100 to $400 for just a listing, or a larger flat fee of $3,000 to $5,000 that includes any number of additional professional marketing services.

Some of these companies display their rates on their websites, but others won’t quote a fee until you input your address or select an area of the country. A few examples include:

• Mink Realty
• ISoldMyHouse.com
• FSBO.com
• Houwzer
• Clever Real Estate
• Homie Real Estate
• Assist-2-Sell
• Help-U-Sell

It’s important to note that most of these companies serve FSBO sellers nationwide, which can cause challenges if the assisting representatives don’t understand the local market trends in your Kentucky neighborhood.

Whatever you choose, read the fine print carefully: some sites may have hidden fees or even take a percentage off your sale — a detour you’d rather avoid on the FSBO route.

Not willing to pay for the MLS?

If you’re determined to save money by forgoing the MLS, creating a free FSBO listing on Zillow might be your top option. You can post a video and unlimited photos, and get fairly wide exposure via Zillow and the Zillow-owned Trulia.

6. Market your home

Now it’s time to spread the word about your Kentucky home.

Experienced agents like Vale know that posting a home on the MLS is just the beginning of the marketing phase. A successful home sale requires a deliberate and targeted marketing plan to reach the right buyers and attract the best offers.

“It’s not only exposure by putting it on the MLS, but it’s also exposure through online marketing and networking with other realtors who are constantly prospecting for properties for their buyers,” says Vale.

Here are some of the steps you can take to market your home:

Place a nice FSBO sign by the road

Consider getting a custom yard sign rather than purchasing a generic one you write on with a Sharpie. You can order a custom sign on a site like Vistaprint with your contact information, plus a stand, for as little as $25 plus shipping. Note that some MLS providers may have rules about whether you can post a FSBO yard sign while your home is on the MLS.

Share on social media

When you sell your home yourself, you’re missing out on the market exposure a real estate agent provides. To minimize this drawback and get your home in front of as many eyes as possible, reach out to your own network of friends, family, and acquaintances to share your listing across social media.

Hold an open house

Try these strategies for a successful open house event:

• Share details on Facebook and Nextdoor.
• Update your MLS listing with the open house details (if you’re able to as part of paying the flat fee), or update your DIY FSBO listing.
• Place open house signs at nearby intersections.
• Tidy up the house before potential buyers come through.
• Pass out info sheets with the address, bullet points about the house, your contact info, and perhaps one photo.
• If you can, collect visitors’ info — then follow up later to ask if they have any questions.

Find more expert tips for how to hold an open house at this link.

7. Manage showings

If your marketing is successful, your next step will be to show the home to prospective buyers. Welcome to the busiest phase of the home sale process. According to Vale, a major reason some FSBO sellers switch to an agent is that they underestimated the time, energy, expertise, and emotional distance needed to manage this crucial step.

“I also buy and sell property for myself. I know when it’s my own personal property that emotions are involved. It’s hard to disconnect, no matter who you are. Many sellers turn to professionals who can look at the transaction logically instead of emotionally – whether they’re selling their personal home or the home of a family member who passed away,” Vale says.

To manage the logistics of showings:

• Respond to inquiries ASAP.
• Set end times if you need to fit many showings in one day. This will also create a sense of demand and urgency for buyers to place offers.
• Remove or secure valuables.
• Make sure the home is clean and tidy for showings.
• Follow up with buyers’ agents after showings to get their feedback.

Should you be present for showings?

If you’d rather not be present for every showing, consider using a lockbox with a code to let buyers’ agents enter the house. This is standard industry practice among agents. To ensure you’re working with someone legitimate, use Google or sites like arello.com to check their real estate license number.

With unrepresented buyers, plan to be on the property for the showing. During a showing, we recommend you:

• Point out a few highlights of the house.
• Let buyers look without hovering.
• Be prepared to answer questions.
• Avoid the temptation to tell all — let the house and listing do the talking.

“I’ve shown a lot of FSBO listings, and I’ve watched the seller lose money as they talk. They show too much eagerness, or they give too much information. They discuss how much interest they’ve had or say they’re negotiable on price. They oversell the property instead of letting the property sell itself,” warns Vale.

8. Evaluate offers, negotiate a deal, and make disclosures

You’ve got your first offer — congratulations! Before signing anything, understand the offer.

“It’s also really important to understand buyer contingencies, as far as kick-out clauses, so you’re not tied up with a buyer needing to sell a property and lose out on your house selling,” Vale cautions.

Here are key considerations when considering an offer on your Kentucky home:

• Vet potential buyers by requiring a mortgage pre-approval letter or proof of funds.
• Require everything in writing.
• Remember, you can counter-offer and negotiate.
• Look for a good real estate attorney. (See the next step!)
• Know how soon your response is required

It’s hard for sellers to know how to navigate multiple showings in terms of anticipating offers.

“If there are multiple offers coming in, then the seller can ask for 24 hours to navigate the offers,” Vale says. “But I’ve also seen sellers who wanted to wait a week to respond to an offer. You can easily lose the buyer by doing that because new properties are coming on the market daily.”

In Kentucky, a residential property seller is required to disclose the condition of the home to potential buyers before they make an offer to purchase the property. This allows the buyer to review the disclosure information and make an informed decision about whether to proceed with making an offer on the property. It also helps to prevent the buyer from withdrawing from the deal later on.

In an agent-assisted sale, your listing agent would likely provide you with the required disclosure form(s). However, as a FSBO seller, you can find the form online.

If you use one of the MLS services above, you may be able to fill out a disclosure form with your listing.

What will you be asked? In Kentucky, you can expect to disclose any significant defects or issues you’re aware of concerning:

• Appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator, range, disposal, etc.)
• Electrical systems (light fixtures, garage door openers, smoke and burglar alarms, etc.)
• Water and sewer systems (plumbing, water heater, irrigation, well, septic, etc.)
• Heating and cooling system (central air, furnace, fireplace, propane tank, etc.)
• Roof (age, leaks, number of shingle layers, etc.)
• Hazardous conditions (lead-based paint, methane or radon gas, lead paint, mold, asbestos, etc.)
• Other disclosures (structural damage, foundation problems, land use, encroachments, zoning or code violations, moisture or water problems, damage from wind, termites, or rodents, etc.)
• Homeowner association (HOA) rules or restrictions

If in doubt about a problem with the home’s condition, most top real estate agents would recommend you disclose it. If you know of an issue and choose not to disclose a major problem, and that defect is later discovered, you could be held liable for damage or subsequent costs.

9. Close the sale — with professional help

Time to button up that deal.

As we noted above, some states require that FSBO sellers hire a real estate lawyer to help close their sale, Kentucky is one of them.

You’ll find the services of an experienced real estate attorney a wise investment as you close one of the biggest and most complex deals of your life. It will minimize your legal and financial risk, plus simplify the process for yourself.

Real estate attorney fees can vary depending on location and how much help you want or need. In Kentucky, they generally average $252 per hour — well worth it for professional guidance in closing one of life’s largest legal transactions.