Real Estate

Consider This Before Selling Your House Yourself

Of course you can always sell your house yourself in Alberta if you have never listed it with a real estate agent. It is your responsibility and nobody else is standing around waiting to do your job for you! But even if you list your house with an agent you can still sell your house yourself. I mean, you can find the buyer and show your house and then, well, that is when the fun really begins.

Then you have to produce the proper documents and fill them out properly and take them where they need to go, etc. Finding a buyer is just the first step to selling a house, but there’s a lot more to the job. Whenever I need to sell my house quickly sometimes I find the buyer myself but I pay a real estate agent to do the rest of the work getting the sale closed. That system works for me because being a real estate investor I’m comfortable talking to people about houses and money. Are you comfortable with those things?

Many people in Alberta are not comfortable because they are not familiar with sales or real estate or investments. It takes some specialized knowledge. So, you can certainly sell your house yourself if you know or if you are willing to learn how to sell a house privately in Alberta( find out more here: https://bridgedalehomebuyers.ca/how-to-sell-a-home-privately-in-calgary-alberta/). If you’re thinking “I need to sell my house quickly,” then that’s the time you need to give consideration to what you already know and if you are prepared with the forms and proper scheduling of the closing process.

Let’s just say that you are prepared, and we’ll talk about the first form you need to understand. If you decide to list with a real estate agent and still want to retain the right to sell your house yourself then the first form that will be of interest to you is the listing agreement itself. The most common listing agreement is called an Exclusive Right To Sell, which means you have given all the right and responsibility to your agent, and he will collect a real estate commission regardless of who brings a buyer to the table.

Even if you bring the buyer your agent is entitled to a commission. A less common form is called an Exclusive Agency Agreement and that is the form you’ll want to sign if you want to maintain the right to sell your house yourself. It gives your agent the right to collect a commission on the sale, but you are allowed to sell it yourself and not pay a commission.

Agents generally do not like this type of agreement because their right to a commission is not protected. But it is important information for you if you’re thinking about selling your house yourself.