How to Sell a House by Owner in Indiana: 2024 Guide

Many people want to know how to sell a home for sale by owner (FSBO). Signing up to sell a house by owner in Indiana requires a serious commitment of time and diligent effort — a decision no one should make lightly! This is meant to make you more aware of the commitment of this home selling type. This comprehensive guide from Quadwalls.com is here to help you.

Indiana FSBO Overview

You can sell your house without a realtor. It is likely you will need the help of a title company, though.

Selling a house by owner in Indiana is not necessarily difficult. However, there are some obstacles and guidelines you should know. Indiana FSBO sellers must follow the rules and laws including the Indiana sales disclosure law under I.C. 32-21-5-2. Also, the buyer of your home must work within the guidelines set out by his or her lender. This will also require you to work within those guidelines, too.

But, at the end of the day selling a house in Indiana without a realtor is just a process. If you are determined and focus on selling your home, for-sale-by-owner is a process you can complete. This guide will help you better understand how to sell a house without a realtor.

How Does for Sale by Owner Work?

In an FSBO home sale, the seller represents themselves. Some for-sale-by-owners seek out an attorney to assist with the process. All a for-sale-by-owner means is the owner does not have a real estate agent. Instead, the seller markets the home themselves to attract a buyer. At some point, the seller will accept a buyer’s offer. At that time the FSBO seller will work with the buyer, the buyer’s lender if there is one, and a title company to get the transaction closed.

A buyer may have a real estate agent even though the seller does not. You should know if you choose to work with a buyer who has a real estate agent the buyer’s agent is there to work in the buyer’s best interests and not yours. At the same time, the buyer’s real estate agent must still act honestly and ethically when communicating with you. It is up to you as the seller if you want to offer the buyer’s agent a commission.

Pros and Cons of Selling a House FSBO

Let me take you through the positives and the negatives of selling a house yourself so you can make the best decision to meet your needs.

Let’s start with a quick overview and then go into detail:

Pros	Cons
Money saved on realtor commissions	Risk of making mistakes due to lack of experience
Total control over the selling process	Low offers from buyers
	More time and effort to market and sell the house
	Reduced ability to maximize exposure to potential buyers
	Unlikely to maximize the value of the home through negotiation

The Pros of Selling FSBO

1. SAVE ON REAL ESTATE COMMISSIONS

The most common reason homeowners sell their houses FSBO is to avoid paying real estate commission fees. Real estate commission fees are often 5% to 7% of the home’s sale price. Successful sellers do not pay those transaction costs to get their homes sold.

2. TOTAL CONTROL OVER THE PROCESS

The only other benefit of selling your home buyer owner is you get to have 100% total control over the home sale process. Some home sellers want to be overly involved despite having hired a real estate agent. If you are more of the micromanager type of person and want 100% total and absolute control over your home sale, FSBO selling could be for you.

The Cons of Selling FSBO

1. INEXPERIENCE CAUSES ERRORS

Such sellers are not real estate agents, realtors, or brokers. They are inexperienced and often overestimate their capability to sell a property. Too often this seller type gets overly fixed on the cost of real estate commission fees and justify the savings of those fees as of greater value than any potential mistake they could make when selling their home. Unfortunately, this can be a gravely incorrect assessment.

Real estate sales involve the preparation and marketing of a home to entice and capture a buyer committed to purchasing the property. Once a transaction begins, there are phases, each of which with its own outcome which can weigh heavily on the transaction. Inexperienced people are likely costing themselves more than what they are saving on real estate commission fees. Add on top of that an error that could lead to litigation is a real risk, too.

2. FSBOS ATTRACT LOW OFFERS

Homes for sale by owner often attract low offers. It is not a secret you are not paying a real estate agent to do the work for you. Therefore, homebuyers often offer such sellers less due to the fact the homebuyer knows the seller is not paying a real estate agent.

3. MORE TIME IS SPENT

As for a real estate agent, each listing typically takes me about 25 to 35 hours of work. Some listings take a little less and others a little more. Regardless, this is about how long it takes me to do all of the work. And, I do this for a living!

A novice home seller will very likely take longer to complete all of the tasks due to inexperience. Additionally, an FSBO home seller needs to add into the equation the time it will take for all of the showings at the property. As a listing agent, I am usually not the one showing the home.

A home seller without a realtor should be ready to take on a project that will take about 40 to 70 hours.

4. REDUCED ABILITY TO MAXIMIZE EXPOSURE

Your area’s MLS (Multiple Listing Service) database acts as a megaphone to advertise a property for sale. Working with a real estate agent will get you access to the MLS which will broadcast your home to other real estate agents and local, regional, and national real estate websites. When listing FSBO you fail to really introduce your home to the network of real estate agents who are working with buyers every day. This will reduce your home’s exposure to the audience of active homebuyers.

5. UNLIKELY TO MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF THE HOME

It is improbable for an FSBO home sale to unlock all of the true market value of a home. First, selling so, you only reach a fraction of the active homebuyer audience. Secondly, homebuyers know an FSBO is avoiding the cost of a real estate agent. Third, a savvier homebuyer can run circles around a lesser informed no-realtor home seller. An aggressive home inspection response, great terms but a low price, or a last-minute appraisal gap could all erode your real estate commission savings.

How to Price Your Home

The first step of knowing how to sell home by owner is knowing how to price your home correctly. The most common error made by FSBOs is incorrectly pricing their home. If you get this wrong you are just killing the momentum of getting your home sold. Here are three solutions for how to price your FSBO home correctly.

Option #1

The best option is to get a broker price opinion (BPO). A BPO is the work product of a real estate agent. Real estate agents have quick access to a tremendous amount of data and are best suited to provide you with a market value for your home. Real estate agents can be incredibly specific and target remarkably similar homes. Expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $400 for a BPO. Some real estate agents will refuse to provide a BPO. However, if you call around you should be able to find a real estate agent who will provide you a BPO.

Option #2

Contact an appraiser and have your home appraised. Appraisers are licensed professionals whose daily business is placing a value on properties. However, there is a problem with appraisers which is why they are the second best choice. Appraisers are less likely to be as granular and specific compared to the results of the real estate agent’s BPO. Due to this fact, the appraiser will likely give you a wider range than what a real estate agent will provide you. Be prepared to pay $200 to $600 for an appraisal.

Option #3

The third option is to be the truest of true FSBOs and do it yourself. Yes, you can look at some past sales on websites and in county and state records. However, I strongly advise against this. Knowing what to prioritize and what variables have real weight in valuing a home is important. It is unlikely you will know this. Additionally, to do this properly will likely take several hours of your time. So, it this method though free, is time-consuming and carries a meaningful amount of risk of making a mistake.

How to List Your Indiana Home for Sale by Owner

To ask how to list your Indiana home for sale by owner is a misnomer. Listing is more like adding the home to the database of all homes for sale, which would be the MLS. Due to the fact you are selling by yourself, your home will not be included in the MLS.

However, there are steps you should take to advertise your home for sale:

• Place a “For Sale by Owner” sign in your yard.
• Add your home to websites which will accept “For Sale By Owner” listings.
• Make social media posts to let people know your home is for sale.
• Advertise an open house where people can walk in and tour the home without an appointment.

How to Have My Indiana Home for Sale by Owner Included in the MLS

There are real estate agents who offer an ala carte service with minimal representation. This can include simply placing your home in the multiple listing service for your region. However, at this point, you are no longer truly a for-sale-by-owner. Under the circumstance I described here you likely signed some type of agreement with a real estate agent. Though it is for a minimal amount of services, the property is not considered a for-sale-by-owner.

How to Sell a Home by Owner

When wanting to know how to sell your house without a realtor follow these five steps. These are the five phases of the sales transaction.

1. Prepare the Home for Marketing, Advertising, and Selling

The best way to sell home FSBO is to do your prep work before advertising the home for sale. There are several steps to take to have the home ready for both photography and videography before listing and once the home is listed.

Capturing perfect imagery is enormously important to convince people to come see your home. Also, you want your home to look its best once showings begin. You will receive the largest surge of activity immediately upon your home going on the market. Therefore, you need to have everything ready before you out your FSBO house on the market.

Take the following steps first so your home is market-ready.

• Repair and replace anything that is broken.
• Complete any unfinished projects.
• Remove overly large furniture which interferes with the function of any space in the home.
• Declutter your home and pack up as much of your personal items as possible.
• Clean your house.
• Tidy up the exterior of your home.

2. Marketing and Advertising the Home for Sale

The second step is marketing and advertising your home. Marketing includes the things which show off your home. This can include marketing remarks, a description of the property, and photographs of the home.

Advertising the home is the action of communicating to the public the home is for sale. There are real estate websites where you can place your home for sale as an FSBO. Additionally, social media are a great platform to advertise your home online. Placing a sign in your yard is a good idea, too. As buyers learn your home is for sale, you will receive questions about the home and requests from buyers to tour the home.

Follow these tips to successfully market your house without a realtor:

• Double-check if all of your photos look excellent before posting the pictures.
• Make a flyer of your home prospective buyers who tour your home have an artifact to take with them.
• Place your home on as many websites as possible. Clearly state how buyers can contact you to ask questions or schedule a showing.
• Put a high-quality sign in your yard to advertise your home for sale.
• Post your home on your social media profiles. Encourage your social circles to share those posts, too.
• Physically post your home everywhere you can. Co-workers, your kids’ school, your yoga club, the diner you eat at once a week. Tell everyone.
• Answer the phone and answer buyers’ questions. Communication is key.
• Make your home easy to show by being cooperative with prospective buyers’ schedules.

3. Understanding, Responding to, and Accepting an Offer

The next step is accepting, rejecting, or countering a buyer’s offer. At this step, you may want an attorney to review the offer documents. However, this is not required. Remember, a deal is not a deal unless the buyer has also signed the Indiana residential seller disclosure form. You should make sure you understand the offer, the buyer’s obligations, and your obligations. Once you accept an offer, contact the title company you want to use. Provide them with a copy of the offer.

4. Fulfilling the Terms of the Accepted Offer

Now, it is time to begin meeting your obligations according to the purchase agreement. For a seller, this mainly includes three things. First, the seller is obligated to maintain the property and must immediately report any changes to the property to the buyer. Secondly, a seller must make the property available for any agreed-upon inspections and an appraisal if one will occur. Lastly, the seller must vacate the property within the timeline and manner laid out in the purchase agreement.

5. Closing the Transaction

The final step is a closing. The closing will most likely be held at the title company. At this time all obligations of the purchase agreement must have been completed. The buyer’s loan will fund and the purchase price will be transferred to the seller. Deed work can be completed by the title company’s staff attorney.

In conclusion, the events of selling a home yourself are no different than the events which occur if you were selling the home with an Indiana real estate agent. The only difference is you are doing all of the work.

Paperwork for Selling a House by Owner

Home sellers and homebuyers need paperwork in order to memorialize the transaction and for legal purposes. There are several pieces of paperwork you will need. For sale by owners have the challenge of finding these forms themselves. These documents might be available online, can be created using online legal document services, or with a local attorney.

Here is a list of the FSBO paperwork documents you will likely need for a real estate transaction:

• Purchase Agreement
• Indiana Residential Seller Disclosures – not required if the property is a multi-unit property with more than 4 units.
• Lead-Based Paint Disclosure – required for residential properties built in or before 1978.
• Addendums to the Purchase Agreement
• Amendments to the Purchase Agreement
• Inspection Responses
• Counter Offers
• Final Walk-Through Form / Waiver
• Broker Compensation Form

Average Time to Sell a House in Indiana in 2024

I left this in here to better educate the public, but the truth is no entity is correctly and accurately tracking this statistic. Real estate associations across Indiana all count the days on the market differently. Whether it is the days it takes to go from first placing the home for sale to accepting an offer or from the day it went on the market to a closed transaction. Due to the fact consistent data is not available, I will not provide comments on this.

5 Tips for Selling Home by Owner in Indiana

1. Accurately Price the Home

Incorrectly pricing your home will rob your FSBO of getting its deserved attention when it first goes on the market. This is the most common mistake made by no-realtor sellers. Get a broker price opinion from a real estate agent or an appraisal from a licensed appraiser.

2. Hire a Professional to Photograph Your Home

Homebuyers are viewing homes online. It is a swipe left, swipe right world. Poor-quality photos will negatively affect your home’s aesthetic sentiment and overall appeal. A professional photographer has the skills, experience, and professional grade equipment to make your home look its best.

3. Write Outstanding Marketing Remarks

Homebuyers read the marketing remarks, so write remarks that catch buyers’ attention. Either tell a story or start describing how a home solves buyers’ problems. The latter is easier. Here are some tips on certain features that solve buyers’ problems:

Feature	Marketing Remark
Fenced yard	Attractive to buyers with a dog
Large yard, close to park, close to dog park	Attractive to buyers with kids or pets
Split-bedroom layout	Attractive to buyers with kids
More than one living room space	Attractive to buyers with kids
Location close to shopping	Attractive to busy buyers
High-quality school district	Attractive to buyers with kids
Main floor living (main bedroom, bathroom, and laundry)	Attractive to many buyers especially older buyers
Neighborhood amenities or HOA services	Attractive to buyers wanting low-maintenance living

4. Post Your Home for Sale Everywhere

The greatest challenge for FSBO sellers is getting exposure. Post your home everywhere you can. This includes any real estate website with relevant listings. Also, include your FSBO on your social media profiles. Encourage the people in your social circle to share it with their social circles, too. Remember, we are all just six degrees away from Kevin Bacon.

5. Work with Buyer Agents

Agents representing buyers can get the job done. They will likely ask if you are offering a commission. If the commission rate is reasonable you should seriously consider working with a buyer’s agent. A buyer’s agent will help make the deal run smoothly. Additionally, the buyer’s agent will manage his or her client so the buyer continues making progress in the deal.

Conclusion

Yes, you can sell your home by owner, but that doesn’t mean you should. Selling your home by owner is not complicated. But, neither is washing your clothes by hand. Selling your home by owner is time-consuming, tiring, and it can be downright annoying. On top of this, there are rules and regulations you must follow. But, by following this guide you can get it done.

Or, you could call us.

Most home sellers FSBO to save money on the real estate commission fees. Our home sellers typically save thousands of dollars by working with us. Our real estate commission fee is posted here and in other places on our website. Take a look. Your time is valuable. Let us do the dirty laundry for you.

The Quadwalls Team of Realtors in Northwest Indiana

Quadwalls.com is a real estate website founded in Valparaiso, IN dedicated to helping home buyers and sellers make better decisions when buying and selling real estate. We do this by giving clear, honest information to our clients based on what we have learned by completing hundreds of home purchases and sales.

How Quadwalls Helps Homebuyers

The Quadwalls Real Estate Team has some of the best realtors in Northwest Indiana. We are ready to help you find and buy your new home. Each of the Quadwalls Team Northwest Indiana real estate agents is ready to provide you with attentive, personalized, warm, caring service to help you find and buy a home. Whether this is your first or fifteenth home purchase each of us has the skills and experience to represent you. Start viewing homes for sale in Northwest Indiana today!

How Quadwalls Helps Home Sellers

Receive a free, remarkably accurate market valuation of your home by completing the Quadwalls.com Interactive Home Value Form. Also, we post the real estate commission fee we charge on our website. Our fees for our full-feature home selling services are amongst the lowest in the industry. Learn more about our full-feature home selling services and my answers to home sellers’ most common questions when hiring a realtor to sell their homes.

How We Help Sell Your Home FSBO Indiana

Quadwalls.com can help you sell your home FSBO. We provide FSBOs with a free posting of their home on our website. Additionally, Quadwalls Connected Agents offer a listing-lite package to help you better manage your home sale. This service is currently only available in Indiana.

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