If you’re considering making a move and selling your condo in Massachusetts, you’ll want to do your research. Selling a condo isn’t like selling a house; there are other features and challenges you’ll need to consider. However, the good news is that you can sell your condo without a realtor. But if you don’t have a background in real estate, you may have your work cut out for you because selling a condo isn’t easy. The best thing to do is learn more about the selling process before you list your Massachusetts condo, that way, you’re ready for what’s ahead. Below we’ll cover all you need to know about selling your condo without a realtor and helpful tips to make your sale a success. So let’s get started!
How To Sell A Condo Without A Realtor
Tips for Selling a Condo Without a Realtor
Since you’re selling a condo on your own and not hiring a realtor, it will be up to handle all aspects of the sale. You will be in charge of:
- Determining a competitive asking price
- Figuring out a marketing strategy and executing it
- Getting the condo ready to sell (repairs, cleaning, decluttering, and staging)
- Hiring a professional photographer for listing photos
- Showing the property and answering questions from buyers and their agents
- Screening prospective buyers
- Negotiating
- Providing HOA information
- Hiring a real estate attorney
- Arranging the closing
- And lots of paperwork
These are just the basics of selling your condo. You may be competing against other condo listings in your complex, so to sell fast, you might need to get a little creative with your selling strategy, especially if you’re dealing with mortgage paying trouble. Consider adding these selling tips to your plan.
Spruce Up Your House for Showings
Of course, you know you’ll need to do some cleaning, decluttering, and repairs before you list the property. However, if you live in a complex with similar floor plans and there are other units for sale at the same time, you might want to consider adding some additional touches to make your place stand out. Here are some ways to spruce up the place before showings to help your listing attract buyers.
- Hang fresh towels in the bathroom and roll three hand towels and place them by the sink
- Put some fresh flowers out in a vase on the kitchen table or countertop. Instead of flowers, you can always put some fresh fruit in a bowl instead.
- Light a candle and have it in the bathroom to help create a spa-like environment. (Only do this if you will be in the unit the entire time).
- Add a throw blanket to the couch or patio furniture to make the space look cozy.
- Consider baking cookies before a showing to make the condo smell amazing, then leave the cookies out for guests to enjoy.
- And since you’re trying to sell during COVID-19, setting out some hand-sanitizer and masks would be a nice touch.
Offer an Incentive to Buyers
Another tip for selling your Massachusetts condo without a realtor would be to offer an incentive to buyers. Everybody likes an incentive, right? Why not set your listing apart from the others by offering something to sweeten the deal. Maybe if you plan on buying new furniture for your next place, you could sell the unit furnished. You wouldn’t have to deal with selling the furniture or moving it; you can just leave the furnishings for the next owner.
Some other incentives you could offer would include:
- Buying down their interest rate
- Crediting them for repairs
- Offering the buyer’s agent a higher commission
- Or provide a small bonus or offer to pay their first month’s HOA for meeting the closing date.
Just make sure to pick something that makes financial sense to you. Concessions on repairs may be part of the closing and something you can’t avoid, but the other incentives are elective.
Stage Your House Perfectly
Of course, you can’t change your condo layout, but you could rearrange furniture, paint any bright or bold walls, and make the place look warm and inviting. Staging can completely change the look of your Massachusetts condo. Some simple ideas that you can do yourself would include:
- Putting away any personal items and photos.
- Storing any large pieces of furniture.
- Getting rid of window treatments that block your outdoor lighting.
- Adding lighting if the space is dark and doesn’t have enough natural light. You can either purchase a few lamps or get brighter light bulbs to help.
- Create a blank canvas, paint the walls a neutral color.
- Replace bulky furniture with sleeker, smaller pieces. You don’t have to purchase new items but rather rent furnishings until the condo sells.
- Remove all your rugs. They divided rooms into chunks that don’t maximize space. So make sure to remove them all, including bathroom and kitchen rugs.
- Stage the outdoor area if you have a balcony or patio, ideally with bistro size furniture. This will add another living space to the condo. If you don’t have any patio furniture, you can always rent some.
- Hire a professional to take listing photos; they will make rooms appear larger and brighten up the images if the space is lacking light.
Present Yourself Correctly
Since you’re selling a condo without a real estate agent, it will be up to you to represent yourself. Make sure you are prepared for questions buyers or buyers agents may have. You’ll want to know the exact square footage, condo amenities, HOA fees, parking situation, and the building’s overall vibe. Since you have first-hand experience, you’ll have an advantage over an agent explaining the complex’s ins and outs because you live there.
Besides being prepared, you want to present yourself correctly too. Make sure to have something professional to wear during showings and answer phone calls and emails with professionalism. You will also want to have flyers available explaining you’re listing to potential buyers looking at the unit or if anyone shows interest in the condo.
Lastly, make sure you get legal advice from a real estate attorney to represent yourself correctly too.
Network with House Buyers
Although you are not using a real estate agent to sell your Massachusetts condo, that doesn’t mean you can’t try to network with them. If an agent is hosting an open house in another unit, you could drop in and introduce yourself and explain that you’re trying to sell too. They may have someone in mind looking for a place in the building and could recommend your listing. Just remember, if you work with a buyer that uses an agent, there will be buyers commissions of 2.5-3%. You may be asked to cover some or all of the fee.
Advertise on Social Media
The more eyes on your condo listing, the better your chances of selling fast. So besides putting your listing on for sale by owner websites and other real estate websites, consider advertising on social media. Since you’re selling a condo without a realtor, you need all the help you can get, and what better way to get some assistants than by asking friends and family to share your listing. You’ll need to have high-quality photos and an interesting listing description of the unit ready to go. As an incentive to your social media followers on Facebook and Instagram, you can offer a gift card as a reward if their share results in the sale of your Massachusetts condo. Just make sure it’s for a few hundred dollars for people to take an interest and make sure they have a way of contacting you.
Could You Sell to a Cash Home Buyer?
Selling your condo without a realtor may prove to be easier said than done. If you need to sell your condo quickly, you might need to consider another selling strategy. Condos have a lot going for them, but the location, amenities, age of the building, and competition may make your condo a hard sale. So if you need to sell quickly, you may want to sell to a cash home buyer instead. Some cash home buyers are in the market for condos, and one such buyer is Ocean City Development. They are home buying that purchases properties all across the New England area. They have an easy home buying process that extends to condos as well.
Ocean City Development purchases condos in as-is condition, so repairs, cleaning, decluttering, and staging are unnecessary. You’ll be able to save time and money on getting the unit ready to sell.
Since you would be selling directly to Ocean City Development, they do not charge realtor commissions or service fees; they will even help pay closing costs- ultimately saving you several thousand dollars.
To recap, by selling to Ocean City Development, you can sell your condo as-is with no agent commissions, repairs, service fees, closing costs, or staging. Also, since they are a cash home buyer that can make you an offer for your condo within 24-hours and close on your place in 7 days. So if you’re in a time crunch or anxious to sell your condo, selling to Ocean City Development would be perfect for you.
If you’re interested in learning more about the company or how it works, please visit their website. They would be happy to help answer any questions you may have or make you a cash offer for your condo.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, there isn’t a secret real estate formula that will help sell your condo. But with these helpful tips, you should be able to improve your chances. However, if you soon realize that you’d prefer not to put in the time and effort into selling your condo without a realtor, you can always sell to Ocean City Development instead. You’ll be able to sell and move out on your schedule and avoid all the hassle of selling your condo on your own, which honestly sounds really nice!