Your checklist for selling a house in Houston, TX

Your checklist for selling a house in Houston, TX

Let’s break down the steps you’ll need to take to sell your house.

Decide how you want to sell your house.

There are several options when you’re deciding how to sell. You can work with a traditional real estate agent, sell FSBO (for sale by owner), sell to an iBuyer, or work with an off-market home buyer.

Each method follows a different process, so we’ve provided a checklist for selling a house that's specific to each one.

Selling a house with a real estate agent or FSBO

Working with a real estate agent is the most traditional method for selling a house. An agent can help you set the right price, market the property, negotiate with buyers, and navigate the closing process. They'll typically have knowledge of the local market, which can help you get the best price for your house.

Selling your house FSBO means that you will handle the entire selling process yourself. This can save you money on real estate commissions and give you more control over the selling process. It also requires significant time and effort, and you’ll handle all the legal and financial parts of the sale.

With both processes, you’ll need to follow the same general checklist for selling a house. The difference is how much help you’ll have or how much you’ll need to do on your own.

1. Choose a real estate agent. This is an important step if you choose to work with an agent, and you may need to interview several before you find one who’s right for your home sale. Keep in mind that a seller’s agent’s services have historically cost a commission of around 2.5%–3% of the sale price. If you’re selling FSBO, you can skip this step.
2. Get a home inspection and prepare a seller’s disclosure. While a home inspection is not legally required in Texas, a seller’s disclosure is. It’s a document that tells the buyer about any problems with the house that could affect its value. If you don’t have an inspection done, the buyer will most likely insist on doing one before signing a contract to purchase the house, so it’s better to find any issues beforehand and decide which ones to fix before selling. You’ll include anything you don’t plan to fix in the disclosure document. A home inspection in Houston will cost around $350–$450, depending on the size of the house.
3. Set a budget for repairs and prep the house for sale. Getting your house ready to sell can be a costly process, so it’s a good idea to figure out how much you want to spend. If you choose to work with a real estate agent, they can help you decide what’s most likely to get you a higher price for your house. This can include making repairs, doing renovations, and making cosmetic upgrades like new paint or landscaping. You’ll also need to clean and organize your house for potential buyers to view.
4. Price your house. Your agent will research the selling price of similar houses in the area and use that to recommend an asking price. When selling FSBO, you’ll do this research yourself by checking real estate websites to see how much similar houses have sold for. You can also get a broker price opinion (BPO), which is a valuation report by a real estate professional, or you can get a pre-listing appraisal. Property appraisals cost around $300 or more, according to Bankrate, while BPOs usually cost about half that price, or even less.
5. Stage your house. Once you’ve gotten your house into good shape and settled on a price, you can stage it by either using your own furniture or renting furniture specifically meant for staging a house. According to Redfin, the cost for staging “can range anywhere from $600 to $4,000,” depending on your home’s size and how much existing furniture you have to work with.
6. Hire a home photographer. Next, you’ll hire a professional photographer to take photos of the staged house. You can take the photos yourself, but professional-quality photos will be much more appealing to most buyers. These will be the draw for most buyers to make an appointment for a viewing or to come to an open house.
7. List the home on the market. Your real estate agent will list your home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a private database for real estate professionals that they use to help their clients buy and sell houses. If you’re going the FSBO route, you’ll need to list your house yourself on real estate websites. You can also put a For Sale sign out in your yard. You may want to offer a buyer’s agent commission in your listing, which is a fee you’ll pay to the real estate agent who’s working with the buyer. Without this, a buyer’s agent could be less motivated to show your house to their client, limiting your pool of potential buyers. The average buyer’s agent commission in Texas is a little under 3% of the sale price.
8. Host showings and/or open houses. Your agent can coordinate and schedule showings, where a potential buyer takes a private tour of the house, as well as open houses, where multiple potential buyers can tour the house during set hours. If you don’t have an agent, you can speak with potential buyers personally to schedule viewings and advertise open houses online and within your neighborhood.
9. Negotiate with potential buyers. Once you’ve done some showings, open houses, or both, you can start getting offers from buyers. If you’re working with a real estate agent, they will help with negotiations. If you’re selling FSBO, there are some tactics you can use yourself. Accept offers only after hosting an open house so that potential buyers will assume they are competing with other people—their offers may be higher as a result. Don’t be afraid to stick to your listing price, as long as you’ve researched what the home is worth. If you’re having trouble finding a buyer, you can offer concessions, like paying for closing costs.
10. Close on the home sale. In Texas, you have to use either a title company or an escrow agent to close on the sale, whether you’re using a real estate agent or not. You may also want to work with a real estate attorney, who will create the sale contract and make sure you’re following Texas real estate laws. Check with your real estate agent, title company, or escrow agent to make sure you have all the necessary documents and that you bring everything you need to the closing.

How to sell to an iBuyer

An iBuyer uses technology to make immediate offers on homes, which can be helpful to someone who’s looking for a quicker, more straightforward, and less personal sale. The trade-off is an offer that can be much lower than you may get elsewhere.

1. Look at the selling price of houses near you. To get an idea of what your house is worth, check online local listings for similar houses in your Houston neighborhood to see how much they’ve sold for. Factor in any repairs or renovations your house needs, and you can arrive at a rough estimate of what it may be worth. Keep in mind that you probably won’t get that number from an iBuyer, but knowing the home's value can help you decide whether the trade-off for a quick sale is worth it.
2. Request an offer. There are multiple iBuyers in Houston, so your first step will be to request offers from them and figure out which offer is best. Check to see what types of houses are wanted by each iBuyer—some want older houses or those in need of repairs, while others want newer builds in better condition. You’ll submit basic information about your house, like the year it was built and how much land it sits on, or sometimes only a street address.
3. Receive your offers. Once you get the offers, you can take a look at the number you came up with in step 1 and figure out the difference. You can then use this to decide whether you’d rather put in the work and time of selling FSBO or with a real estate agent to get a higher price.
4. Have an in-person home inspection. Once you receive your offers and choose the best one, most iBuyers will send a representative to see the house in person. The offer might be lowered afterward depending on what issues they find.
5. Talk to family, friends, or trusted advisors. When selling to an iBuyer, things can move pretty fast. It’s a good idea to talk things over with someone you trust before you sign anything.
6. Accept or decline the offer. There’s typically not a lot of room for negotiation, since the goal with iBuyers is to sell quickly and easily, not to get the best price possible. Repairs usually don’t need to be made, either, since an iBuyer will buy the house the way it is.
7. Close on the sale. A good iBuyer should be able to work through the process with you and help you with all legal aspects of the sale. You’ll generally be able to close quickly.

Steps to sell your house to an off-market house buyer

Selling a house to an off-market home buyer is simple but more personal. There are fewer steps than selling with a real estate agent or FSBO, and you may get a higher price than with an iBuyer due to fewer fees and an in-person evaluation.

1. Research similar homes in your area. By looking at other houses that have recently sold, you can get an idea of how much you’re likely to get for yours, minus the cost of any repairs or renovations the buyer will need to make after they purchase it. This way, you can start with a number in mind.
2. Look into multiple off-market home buyers. There are a lot of off-market home buyers in Houston, some better and more experienced than others, so it’s important to do your due diligence before working with just anyone. Find out how many years they’ve been in business and how many houses they’ve bought. Check their online reviews to get an idea of how other sellers have felt about working with them.
3. Make an appointment. Once you’ve found an off-market home buyer you feel comfortable working with, get in touch with them to set up an appointment for a consultation. They’ll send someone to check out the house and answer any questions you have about the process. You can skip any repairs, renovations, staging, open houses, showings, and cleaning beforehand. The off-market home buyer will make an offer on the house “as is.”
4. Consider the offer. Once the buyer has seen the house, they can give you an offer. They’ll consider similar home sales in your area of Houston, as well as how much they’ll need to spend on repairs and renovations. Some off-market home buyers charge fees or commissions, while others don't, so you’ll need to ask them what they charge and consider that when deciding whether to accept their offer. The amount will often be lower than you could get by selling via real estate agent or FSBO, with the tradeoff of much less hassle and a quicker closing.
5. Consult with family, friends, or trusted advisors. You should feel good about the decision you make when selling your house, so take your time and talk it over with someone you trust.
6. Accept or reject the offer. If you choose to accept the offer, the buyer can guide you through the rest. Always read the fine print in any contract before signing to make sure that there are no hidden or last-minute fees. Consider hiring a real estate attorney to look over the contract as well if you aren’t familiar with the process or don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.
7. Close the sale. Reputable companies that buy houses will be able to guide you through the closing process and make sure that all the legal aspects are taken care of. Usually, you’ll be able to close a little faster with an off-market home buyer, especially if they have pre-approved financing.

If you decide that working with an off-market home buyer is right for you, consider We Buy Ugly Houses^® in Houston. Our local franchisees buy houses “as is,” so you won’t need to do a thing to fix up your house. We’ll even take care of any items you want to leave behind. Need to close fast or take more time? We do our best to work with your schedule and can sometimes close in as little as 3 weeks. You won’t pay any commissions or typical closing costs, either. Our offers are usually below market value in exchange for speed and convenience.

Our goal is to make your home sale as easy and convenient as possible, with a personal touch that helps guide you throughout the process. We have a 95%^* customer satisfaction rating nationwide, so check out our seller reviews get an idea of whether We Buy Ugly Houses is right for your home sale. Get in touch today to set up an in-person consultation and get started on your fast and easy home sale.

This blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.