How to sell For Sale by Owner

There are several ways to How to sell For Sale by Owner in Michigan. Unless you already know who is going to buy your house from you, the first thing you need to do is market the house to find potential buyers.

There are plenty of ways to market your property if selling on your own to How to sell For Sale by Owner in Michigan. Here are some examples:

Zillow – you can list your home for sale by owner on Zillow, which attracts a huge volume of traffic from buyers. The downside is that, over time, Zillow has made it more difficult for For Sale by Owner (“FSBO”) listings to be seen by potential buyers. It used to be that they would appear in searches right along with those listed by realtors. Now you have to modify your search settings to show FSBO listings and it’s not the default. I’m guessing that the majority of people searching for a home on Zillow don’t even know that they have to do this to find FSBO listings.
Yard Signs – tried and true, yard signs still help to sell houses. Recommendations: make the sign large, easily visible from those passing by, and easy to read.
FSBO Website – there are For Sale By Owner websites where you can list your house for sale. Examples include https://www.forsalebyowner.com/ and https://www.byowner.com/
Social Media – this includes Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Facebook Marketplace is on online marketplace where you can list items for sale. You can also advertise on Facebook, boost posts to expand the reach of a post you create to market your home for sale, or post to groups. You can also post it for sale on Instagram.
Craigslist – not as popular for buying and selling homes as it once was, you can still list your home for sale on Craigslist.
Word of Mouth – I’ve personally sold one of my previous primary residences this way. Telling those in your circles that you are considering selling your house can be a great way to get the word out!
Message Boards – there are still plenty of grocery stores, shops, etc. with message boards near the entry/exit that allow posting of items/services and lost and found items.
Street Signs – if/where zoning allows, you can put for sale signs on public property such as at the entrance to your neighborhood or nearby intersection to draw attention to your house.

Once you get through the process of marketing and someone wants to make an offer, there is a process of negotiation that will take place. The following is written in terms of the buyer and the seller for How to sell For Sale by Owner in Michigan.

For the sake of simplicity, I am assuming that both the buyer and seller are representing themselves in this For Sale by Owner (“FSBO”) transaction and that there are not any realtors involved. I am also assuming that this transaction is occurring in the State of Michigan.

As the buyer and seller are not working with realtors, it will be up to them to work between themselves to make the transaction happen for How to sell For Sale by Owner in Michigan.

When the buyer and seller decide on a price and terms that work for both of them (I’m leaving details of working through price and terms for another article), they will need to put these details into a purchase agreement. This can be drafted by either party or can be hired out to a third party such as a real estate attorney.

The homeowner (“Seller”) also needs to fill out, sign, and provide a copy of the following to the Buyer per Michigan law (templates for these documents can be found online):

Seller’s Disclosure Statement
Lead Based Paint (LBP) disclosure – if the structure was built prior to 1978

Once these documents have been signed (aka ‘executed’), they should be provided to a reputable title company that can help with How to sell For Sale by Owner in Michigan.

The title company provides title insurance but also provides other valuable services to the transaction including:

They perform a title history search and identify what needs to happen in order to pass clear title to the buyer (this includes things like paying off a mortgage/loan, paying off liens, clearing up past title issues, and knowing who needs to sign what to transfer title).
They coordinate the closing. This includes getting all closing documents signed, handling the receipt and distribution of all monies, providing notary services, getting documents recorded, handling payoffs and obtaining payoff statements, providing office space for the closing and/or coordination of mobile notary services if either party will be remote, and more).

NOTE: The buyer and seller CAN complete the transaction between themselves, without the assistance of a title company, but this can be very risky and complicated as you can see from the above list of services provided by the title company. I recommend always working with a reputable title company to coordinate the transaction.

After the documents have been signed and provided to the title company, any desired / agreed-upon inspections should be scheduled. Upon completion, there may be an opportunity or desire of the buyer to either negotiate further (price reduction, request repairs be made prior to closing, etc.) or back out of the purchase based on findings.

The buyer will also need to formally apply for their financing if they aren’t paying cash for the home. The purchase agreement should detail the type and % loan to value of the financing the buyer is obtaining as well as how long they have to apply and or get approved once the purchase agreement has been signed.

Once through the inspection period and the buyer’s lender has provided final approval (aka ‘clear to close’), the title company will work with the homeowner and buyer to set a closing date and coordinate all of the closing activities such as receiving funds from the buyer and lender and distributing proceeds to the homeowner. They will record the deed with the county register of deeds. Keys, garage door openers, etc. are typically provided to the buyer by the homeowner at the conclusion of the closing (unless other arrangements have been made). That wraps up the basics for How to sell For Sale by Owner in Michigan.