How to sell an apartment on your own and through an agency: step by step instructions

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Selling an apartment is considered a complex and specific process. It can be done independently or with the involvement of re altors. Many people do not want to spend their time searching for buyers, demonstrating real estate and closing a deal, so they use the paid services of a professional intermediary. But often you need to sell an object at a higher price, which requires you to communicate with buyers on your own. Therefore, you should figure out how to properly sell an apartment in both cases.

Self-selling

If you have the time and desire to do all the processes yourself, then it is important to understand the correct steps of this procedure.

Standardly, the process is divided into stages:

• preparation of documentation for the apartment for sale;
• redecorating;
• removal of furniture and things from real estate;
• search for buyers and demonstration of housing;
• concluding a preliminary agreement;
• deposit transfer processing;
• signingthe main contract, which is not required to be registered with Rosreestr;
• handing over the keys to the apartment and drawing up a deed of transfer;
• receiving the remaining money for the apartment;
• paying tax if the apartment has been owned by the seller for less than three or five years.

Each stage has its own nuances, and if you really need to decide how to quickly sell an apartment, it is advisable to set a slightly lower price than the average cost of similar properties on the market.

Preliminary steps

Since it is not planned to contact a re altor, all actions are performed independently by the owner of the object. Operations are pre-implemented:

• immediate real estate is being prepared, for which it must be freed from furniture and all things;
• minor cosmetic repairs if necessary;
• all citizens registered in the living space are discharged;
• it is desirable for the owner himself to check out, so that potential buyers are sure of the legal purity of the transaction.

As soon as the apartment is ready for sale, the preparation of documentation begins.

What documents do I need?

If the seller has all the necessary papers for real estate, this will positively affect the efficiency of the sale of the object. How to legally sell an apartment? To do this, the seller must have documents:

• registration certificate;
• extract from USRN;
• extract from the house book,containing information about all owners and registered persons;
• statement from the personal account, indicating the absence of debts for housing and communal services;
• if there is a minor child among the owners, then you must obtain consent to the sale from the guardianship authorities;
• passports of all co-owners;
• technical passport and technical plan for the apartment, and with the help of these documents, potential buyers will be able to understand whether illegal redevelopment was carried out in the property;
• certificate from the Federal Tax Service proving that there are no property tax debts;
• if the seller is officially married, then his spouse draws up a notarized consent to the process.

If necessary, potential buyers may request additional documentation.

What is the cost?

Citizens themselves can determine the price, focusing on various factors. For example, the year of construction of the house, the state of engineering communications, the location of the object, the existing infrastructure, the distance from shops and bus stops, as well as the number of storeys and other factors are taken into account.

It is advisable to look at the average prices for similar objects in order to set the best price.

How to quickly sell an apartment? To do this, it is advisable to slightly reduce the cost. Also, the speed is affected by the correctness of the ad for sale.

Search for potential buyers

For this, it is optimal to place ads in newspapers or specialized sites inthe Internet. How to sell an apartment yourself? For this, recommendations are taken into account:

• an ad should be interesting and catchy;
• you must immediately indicate the price and all the benefits of real estate;
• it is allowed to place ads not only on free resources, but even on billboards in the city, if you need to make a deal quickly.

When demonstrating real estate, you need to talk about all its positive characteristics. Some disadvantages can be turned into advantages, for example, if there is a ground floor, then it will be suitable for the elderly or families with small children.

Deal rules

As soon as a buyer is found, it is necessary to figure out how to properly sell an apartment from a legal point of view. It is recommended to use the help of a lawyer, but if you have up-to-date knowledge, the process is carried out independently. How to sell an apartment? The step-by-step instruction consists of several steps:

1. Drafting a preliminary contract. It indicates the intentions of the two participants to make a transaction. Important points are listed: the subject of the agreement, its price, the settlement procedure, the timing of the transfer of real estate and the signing of the main contract.
2. Introduction by buyers of a security deposit. It acts as a guarantee that people will not refuse the purchase. If a refusal is received, then the funds are not returned by the seller. Instead of a security deposit, an agreement on a deposit can be drawn up.
3. Implementation of payments for the apartment. How to sell an apartment without intermediaries and not be exposed to scammers? To do this, it is important to carefully follow all the steps, and especially much attention is paid to the rules for making payments for an apartment. It is advisable to use bank cells for this. To do this, the buyer must rent a safe deposit box in the bank for the period necessary to register the transaction. Funds in the required amount are placed in it by the buyer in the presence of the seller and a bank employee. The package with funds is sealed and sealed with the signatures of all persons present. After registering the right to property by the buyer, the seller will be able to collect the money.
4. Conclusion of the main contract. 3 copies are made, since one remains with the seller, the other is sent to the buyer, and the third is required by the notary. You do not need to register the contract with Rosreestr, but it is advisable to draw it up with a notary.
5. The buyer registers the object for himself in Rosreestr or MFC.
6. The seller transfers the apartment and the keys to it to the new owner, and for this it is desirable to form a deed of transfer.
7. The seller can collect the remaining funds for the apartment from the bank or other previously agreed method.

Having figured out how to sell an apartment without intermediaries, it will be possible to perform all the actions correctly and not pay significant funds for the services of re altors.

Typical mistakes

If a person is selling on their own, typical mistakes often occur. How tosell an apartment? To do this, it is advisable to take into account some of the mistakes that many sellers make:

• incorrect determination of the price of real estate, which can lead to delays in the process or the seller not receiving benefits;
• lack of competent pre-sale preparation;
• not preparing all necessary documents.

If you do not use the services of a re altor, you will have to prepare for a complex and lengthy procedure.

Selling through intermediaries

If you do not want to deal with the sale process yourself, you can use the services of re altors. The advantages of using intermediaries include:

• professionals prepare all the documents themselves, so they can only ask the seller to get this or that certificate;
• re altors themselves evaluate the legal purity of the sale, so many buyers are more loyal to such an acquisition;
• according to statistics, apartments are sold much faster than when the transaction is completed independently;
• all stages of the transaction are handled by employees of the real estate agency.

The disadvantages of turning to re altors include the fact that you have to sell an apartment at a lower cost than planned.

Process of selling through a re altor

If you decide to use the services of an intermediary, you must first choose a suitable real estate agency. It should have been on the market for a long time, and it is also recommended to read all the reviews in advance.about him. As soon as the right company is found, you need to figure out how to properly sell an apartment through an agency. To do this, the following actions are performed:

• an agreement is concluded with the selected organization;
• documents are transferred to all owners and the real estate itself to the agent;
• the keys to the apartment are provided to the re altor so that the specialist can demonstrate the object to potential buyers;
• as soon as a buyer is found, a contract is concluded with him;
• calculation and execution of the transaction;
• the keys to the apartment are handed over to the new owner.

Due to the participation of an intermediary, it is possible to sell the property in a really short period of time, so if the owner himself does not have the opportunity to sell on his own, then this option is considered the ideal solution.

The nuances of selling in installments

Some buyers cannot afford to immediately transfer all funds for the apartment to the seller, so they ask for an installment plan. How to sell an apartment in installments? To do this, the nuances of the process are taken into account:

• after the contract is drawn up, a payment schedule is formed;
• required deposit with the official drafting of the agreement;
• down payment must be at least 70% of the cost of the apartment;
• the rest can be paid in equal monthly or quarterly installments;
• may stipulate in advance the possibility of using maternity capital or other benefits;
• payment can be made in cash with the obligatory drawing upreceipts, through a safe deposit box or cashless money transfers.

Under such conditions, the seller runs the risk that even when registering an apartment as a pledge, the buyer will refuse to pay the remaining funds. Therefore, you will have to go to court. Can the seller charge interest for providing installments.

Specifics of selling a room in a communal flat

If there is a room in a communal apartment, then it is quite difficult to sell it. How to sell a communal apartment? To do this, the nuances are taken into account:

• neighbors have the right of first refusal, so the property is initially offered to them;
• if they refuse, then the refusal is made out by official papers certified by a notary public;
• you cannot sell a room to strangers for more than the amount that was offered to flatmates.

Otherwise, such a transaction is no different from the standard sale of an apartment. If you thoroughly understand how to properly sell a room in an apartment, in the future there will be no problems with the fact that former neighbors are trying to challenge the buyer's right to the purchased object. Therefore, it is desirable to formalize all actions with the help of certification of documentation by a notary.

Can I sell with a mortgage?

Even when selling on their own, often sellers are faced with the fact that buyers are asked to purchase with a mortgage loan. The process is complex and lengthy,but if you understand it well, then there will be no problems. How to sell an apartment on a mortgage? The procedure is carried out in several stages:

• two participants negotiate all the nuances of the transaction;
• forming a preliminary contract;
• a deposit is issued to the seller, for which a receipt is drawn up;
• property appraisal is in progress, and the services of an independent appraiser are paid by the buyer;
• the seller transfers all documents for real estate, which are then sent to the bank so that the organization is convinced of the legal purity of the transaction;
• after obtaining approval from the lender, a standard contract is concluded between the seller and the buyer;
• a loan agreement is signed with the borrowing bank;
• an apartment is being issued to the new owner in Rosreestr, where an encumbrance on real estate is additionally fixed;
• an extract from the USRN with other documents is transferred to the bank;
• the seller receives from the bank the remaining amount for his apartment.

Due to the participation of the bank, you can be sure that the funds will actually be transferred to the former owner of the apartment. Settlements can be submitted by wire transfers or a bank cell can be used.

Thus, if you understand well how to sell an apartment, then there will be no difficulties with this process. The procedure can be performed independently or with the involvement of an intermediary. It is allowed to provide buyers with installments or even make a sale due to the registration of a mortgage loan by the buyer. Atsubject to certain conditions, even a room in a communal apartment is sold without difficulties. At the same time, it is important to prepare documents for housing and understand what steps each party to the transaction must follow in order for the sale process to be legally clean and safe.