How To Sell A House By Owner: Paperwork, Tips, & Other Resources

​Every for sale by owner seller is a little different. As the saying goes, “to each his own.” But what about those non-negotiable things? Like, the paperwork you’ll need to get started? That’s where we are going to help you out today. 

In this article, we’re going to give you the run-down on how to sell a house by owner: paperwork, tips, and more. We’ll give you a brief list of what paperwork you’ll need to have ready. We’ll also give you a few tips and tricks to have at the ready. And finally, we’ll provide a few resources to help you on your journey. Let’s get started!

How to sell a house by owner: paperwork to have ready

If you thought learning how to sell a house by owner was easy, you might need to think again. It’s not a difficult concept, but it does take motivation and willpower since it’s not all simple. Let’s talk first about what documents to have at the ready.

The first document to locate and have available is the property survey. The property survey generally shows where the property boundaries are, as well as showing the location of other structures, fences or driveways. With this document, the buyer can know for sure what is included in the house/property purchase.

The second document to have is the certification of occupancy. This document certifies that the house is aligned with building codes, and is safe to live in. To get this document, you’ll need to have an inspection done to ensure the house’s safety. However, if you have a recent certification of occupancy, you generally don’t need to apply for a new one.

Since we only have limited time and space, instead of explaining every document you might need, we’re going to include the link to two all-inclusive lists below. While these lists should cover everything you need to know, if you have any questions, doing your own research or asking a realtor will be helpful.

Tips and tricks 

Now that we know a couple of documents to have ready, let’s consider a few tips and tricks you’ll want to have up your sleeve when learning how to sell a house by owner.

Tip 1 – Show your house some aesthetic love

This sounds kind of weird at first. But let us explain what we mean. When a buyer walks into the house, they hope to find a clean, well-organized house. However, they don’t always find what they’re looking for, and that sometimes influences whether they purchase or not. With for sale by owner homes, it’s easy for things like cleaning to fall through the cracks. 

But you shouldn’t use that as an excuse! Making sure your house is clean and organized is one of the most important steps. Getting rid of extra clutter is an excellent way to make your house feel bigger and more open. You can even go the extra mile and do a little staging if you want. Staging is a sure way to make your house more attractive than it already is! 

Tip 2 – Market your FSBO house

Marketing, or advertising, is important if you want to sell your home quickly. Many folks know how to sell a house by owner slowly. But if you can learn to do it faster, you’re a step ahead. Listing your house on the MLS (Multiple Listings Service), putting out yard signs, and having open houses are all great ways to market your home. 

Quite honestly, you can’t over-advertise your home. So long as you’re not overly pushy in person, taking any measure to get your home out in the public will help. For more advertising tips, and general FSBO tips, read this article from For Sale By Owner.

Other helpful resources

It’s quite a widely accepted idea that you can never be too knowledgeable on a subject, so long as you’re humble about it. We agree with this, especially when it comes to learning to sell a house by owner. For this reason, we’re going to give you a few places you can go to to learn more about selling FSBO. 

For a list of the paperwork, you’ll need when selling, read this article from For Sale By Owner, and this one from HomeLight. If you need more ideas on how to get started with FSBO and do it the right way, take a look at this great article from U.S. News.

Do your own research to help learn how to sell a house by owner

Now that you have a better idea of how to get started with a for sale by owner, you can get started listing your house. Before you sell though, it’s important for you to do your own research. You need to make sure you understand how things work. But don’t worry, because it’s not too hard. For more ideas on how to sell a house by owner, read this article from our blog that explains it step by step.