How to sell a house by owner in Minnesota
Key takeaways
- It’s possible to sell your house without a real estate agent in Minnesota, but it will require a lot of work on your end.
- While selling on your own means you won’t have to pay a listing agent’s commission, you may still be responsible for the buyer’s agent’s fee.
- You don’t need a lawyer to sell a house in Minnesota either, but hiring one can help protect your financial and legal interests.
Hiring a real estate agent may be the most common way to sell a home in Minnesota, but it does come with certain downsides — like having to pay a potentially hefty commission fee. If you want to save money, you could consider skipping agent representation and selling independently. However, that option comes with its own set of drawbacks, including the sheer amount of work required for a successful sale.
Before choosing the “for sale by owner” route, often called FSBO for short, it’s helpful to weigh the pros and cons and understand exactly how the process works. Below, we’ll explain what it takes to sell a house by owner in Minnesota so you can decide if it’s right for you.
Selling a house without a Realtor in Minnesota
When you take the FSBO path, you assume all of the work that a licensed agent would otherwise do. Here are some of the main responsibilities you’ll take on.
Set an asking price
Your property’s asking price is one of the first things potential buyers will see, so it’s important to get it right. If it’s too low, you might limit your earnings. But if your home is priced too high, it could take longer to sell and bring in fewer buyers.
According to Redfin, the median home sale price in Minnesota as of July 2024 was $359,700. However, prices vary across the state — for example, housing is likely to cost more in Minneapolis than it does in, say, Rochester or Duluth.
To get an idea of how much your home is worth, check real estate comparables (known as “comps”) to understand how much similar homes in your area are fetching. Use your head, not your heart — try not to let nostalgia or emotional attachment cloud your judgment when choosing a fair market price.
Create a listing
Once you’ve settled on a price, you can start crafting an online listing. The goal of the listing is to inform and attract potential buyers, so it should include all the important details about your property, such as:
- Year built
- Square footage and lot size
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Recent upgrades or renovations
- Special features, like a deck or lake access
This description should be accompanied by eye-catching photos that showcase both your home’s interior and exterior. Buyers often scroll through dozens of listings online at a time, so you’ll want to make sure yours stands out — and having appealing, high-quality photos can make that happen.
Market your property
Even the most compelling listing won’t do you any good if it doesn’t get seen by buyers. The best way to get your listing seen by house-hunters is to place it on your local multiple listing service (MLS), a database of for-sale properties in your area. MLS listings usually get automatically picked up by well-known sites like Zillow and Realtor.com.
While the MLS is typically only accessible to real estate professionals, there are many companies that will list FSBO homes there for you for a flat fee. In Minnesota, some of these companies include Home Avenue, Minnesota Flat Fee MLS and Shift Real Estate.
You can try other tactics, too, including putting a store-bought “for sale” sign in your yard and promoting your listing on social media and community websites like Nextdoor and Craigslist. Avoid sharing too much personal information online, though — especially if you still live in the house.
Without a Realtor, you’re also in charge of hosting open houses and private viewings. Scheduling these can be tricky, so make sure to keep the place clean and tidy for last-minute visits. For safety reasons, you might also want to have a family member or friend with you when opening up your home to strangers.
Close the deal
Ideally, all of this hard work will result in an offer (or several). At this point, you should be prepared to negotiate with buyers on things like price, seller concessions, timelines and other deal terms. This can be another tricky area, as you will likely be negotiating with a skilled agent representing the buyer and there are plenty of complex legal details to manage. A real estate purchase contract is a legally binding document with serious financial significance, so it’s wise to have it reviewed by (or, better yet, drawn up by) a real estate attorney.
Required disclosures for Minnesota home sellers
Most states require sellers to disclose certain information about the home to buyers, whether they’re using a real estate agent or not. When you sell a home in Minnesota, you must complete a seller’s disclosure statement that includes details about the property’s condition and past issues. For example, if there are defects with the roof or foundation, you’d need to describe them in the document.
Some cities in Minnesota also require you to undergo a Truth in Sale of Housing (TISH) inspection — also known as a Point-of-Sale or Time-of-Sale inspection — before selling your home. Specific requirements vary by city, so check your local laws or ask your Realtor for more information.
Finally, if your property is part of a homeowners association, you’ll need to disclose that and provide documentation about its fees, bylaws and financials.
Pros and cons of selling a house by owner in Minnesota
Pros
- No listing agent commission: When you don’t work with an agent, you don’t pay a listing agent’s fee, which usually runs between 2.5 and 3 percent of a home’s sale price. On a median-priced $359,700 home in Minnesota, this could save you up to $10,791 in agent commissions. Keep in mind that you may still have to cover the buyer’s agent’s commission, though.
- More control: As an independent seller, you call the shots. You don’t have to consider anyone else’s input, and all decisions are up to you.
- Quicker pace: Agents generally work with multiple clients at the same time, so your listing won’t always be their top priority. In a FSBO deal, you don’t have to wait around to get a call back or work around anyone else’s schedule.
Cons
- Lots of work: Selling a home takes time and effort. From researching the market to negotiating with buyers, you’ll need to be prepared to perform all the work that a Realtor normally would.
- Smaller pool of buyers: When selling a home, agents often use their networks of fellow real estate pros to market your home as widely as possible. As a FSBO seller, you probably don’t have these connections, which could make it harder to find interested buyers.
- Lower earning potential: While it’ll save you money on a listing agent’s commission, a FSBO sale might bring in less cash than an agent-assisted sale would — especially if you are not a highly skilled negotiator.
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