Best Ways To Sell Your House in Tulsa

Selling your home may very well be one of the most time-consuming and challenging processes, especially with the market shifting as much as it has since the pandemic.

Being, on average, one of the largest purchases or sales an individual makes in their lifetime, getting the highest price is often top of mind when looking for a new buyer to take ownership.

The question is: What is the best way to sell my house so that I make the most money?

For some homeowners, it's more about selling with the least amount of hassles. For others, it's about taking home the most amount of money.

So what options do you have when it comes to selling you Tulsa home?

Selling your house by owner (FSBO)
Listing your house with an agent
Selling to an investor

Contents

Should I sell my home by owner in Tulsa?

Choosing to sell your home by owner really depends on what's important to you. Many homeowners do seriously consider this option, and some attempt to try it first before moving to another option. We'll cover some of the factors that go into whether or not it's a good idea, but first...

👍 The Benefits of Selling By Owner (FSBO) in Tulsa

Cost Savings: As a FSBO (selling by owner), you can save money by not relying on agents. This can save 3% - 6% from the total purchase price, which means you pocket more of the money from the sale. This is often the first important factor for homeowners looking to sell their house on their own.
Marketing and Negotiation Control: Because you're the one listing the home for sale, you're interacting directly with prospective buyers or buyer agents. While this does require some time on your part, you have the opportunity to negotiate directly with people interested in the home and you have the best position in conveying all of the things you love about the home!

👎 The Downsides of Selling By Owner in Tulsa

Time-Consuming: Selling on your means that you will be the one dealing with all prospective buyer conversations, showings, phone calls and texts, evaluating offers, dealing with paperwork, and negotiations. This can be a huge drawback for most people because of how much time and energy it takes.
No MLS Listing: Without being a licensed agent, you don't have the ability to post on the MLS, which is where the majority of people and buyer agents locate homes for sale. Additionally, as a FSBO, your home listing doesn't show up as a typical home for sale on listing sites such as Zillow, which means even less visibility for your own online listings.
No Official Open Houses: Open houses are one of the big benefits with using an agent. An agent can legally advertise the open house and plant signs in areas surrounding the home in order to market it. Good agents also have some expertise when it comes to marketing the home, increasing curb appeal, and focusing on the most important things for prospective buyers during conversations and visits.
More Days on Market: Because you're not able to use all of the tools available to an agent, your home may take significantly longer to sell than with an agent. This is primarily due to limited exposure to buyers without all of the listing sources and tools that licensed agents are able to employ.

As you can see, while selling your house by owner can net the most amount of money by avoiding agent fees, you're taking on a lot of the work yourself. There are also some marketing disadvantages, such as a lack of MLS access, that can lengthen the time it takes to make a sale. There's a reason why agents get a percentage of the sale -- assuming they're actually doing the work!

You may consider selling your home yourself if:
What you value most is maximizing how much you make from the sale.

Should I list my home with an agent?

Real estate agents get a bad rap overall because a minority of agents actually perform their duties. Thousands of agents exist in each state, yet 10% of them or less actually earn an income as an agent.

The key to listing your home with an agent is finding an agent with a track record in your area.

Agents that have sold homes similar to yours and in your area typically have a better pulse on the market and what buyers expect.

👍 The Benefits of Selling Your Home With An Agent

Maximum Exposure: Agents have access to tools that allow them to reach a greater number of prospective buyers, primarily through the MLS. This allows buyers to locate and find your listing more easily. It also allows other agents (buyer agents) to locate your home more easily for their clients.
Marketing: A good real estate agent knows how to accentuate and highlight the biggest features and benefits of your home. This includes mentioning things that prospective buyers in your market would find valuable, but also taking professional photos of the home that make it look extremely desirable. If your home has a pool or exterior features that would raise curb appeal, a top-performing agent may elect to have aerial drone photos shot of your property, and they may take it a step further by commissioning 360-degree photography and videos made for your home's listing.
Curb Appeal: While this does play into the marketing, a real estate agent will have insider knowledge into what buyers are looking for in today's market. As a result, the agent can recommend changes or improvements that will raise the perceived value of your property so that it will sell more quickly and for a higher price.
Existing Buyers List: An agent that has sold properties in your area may have an existing client list that is interested in a home just like yours. This means they may be able to get you an even quicker sale simply by reaching out to buyers that have been looking for a home similar to yours in recent history.

👎 The Disadvantages of Working With A Real Estate Agent

Less Earnings: The obvious major disadvantage is that you're paying a commission to any agents involve -- typically a buyer agent and your seller/listing agent. The normal commission rates are 3% to each, though it can often be negotiated. If you factor in closing costs, buyer negotiations, and agent commissions, you will typically expect to pay 8-10% of your sales price in commissions & fees.
Less Control: If you have particular ideas on how your home should be marketed and sold, your agent may or may not take those into consideration. It's entirely possible that the agent knows better, but most of the time when this occurs it's because the agent is not really giving it as much attention as they should. This is especially the case if the agent is prioritizing a home with a great valuation, as that will give them more returns for their time in the event of a sale.
Exclusivity Contract: A major disadvantage is an exclusivity contract with the agent. In most real estate transactions, the agent has an exclusive contract for 6-12 months. This means that the homeowner can't cancel the contract within that timeframe and if they happen to find a buyer through some other means, the agent still receives their commission. In some cases, as a way to earn your business, an agent may offer to have a cancelation option, but this is usually done in very competitive and hot markets. Most of the time, a cancellation is not an option.
Showings & Scheduling: While this could be seen as a benefit, a possible disadvantage is required amounts of time to vacate your house during open houses & showings. An agent will ask that you're not present during showings. This can be especially inconvenient if it's on snowy or rainy days and you would prefer not to be out and about with your family and/or pets.
Risk of Poor Performance: As a sum of all these together, if you haven't done research on the agent, there's a chance that you end up signing on with one that doesn't perform well. This could mean that you're locked into a contract with an agent that didn't bother to advise you on curb appeal, didn't get professional photography done, isn't doing any open houses, is failing to attract potential buyers, and is wasting your time. This also increases days on market, which can negatively impact the impression of the home's value. The most prominent agents in your area are probably not poor-performers, but if you don't do the research then you might be locked in for a bad time.

Listing your home with an agent is the typical method of selling a house. It's often associated with maximum marketing/exposure and getting market value for a home. While this may be true, there are certainly drawbacks to working with an agent.

You may consider listing with an agent if:
You are looking to get market value for your home and you are NOT in a hurry!

(Listing with an agent if you're in foreclosure can be a massive mistake -- many agents will not release you from the contract even if your foreclosure date is approaching... increasing the likelihood that the home is foreclosed upon)

Should I sell my home to an investor?

Selling a home to an investor isn't often the first choice for many homeowners, but it can be the easiest one. It all depends on your particular situation.

Things to think about:

Do you need to sell quickly?
Are there any hard deadline circumstances like a mortgage or tax foreclosure?
Does the home require repairs that you can't afford?
Are you stuck with a mortgage payment that you can no longer pay?
Is it rented to problem tenants and you are sick and tired of it?
Did you inherit the home and don't want to deal with it?
Has it received code violations from the county?
Do you want to avoid the hassles or agents, showings, and haggling with buyers?

If you've answered Yes to any of the above questions, then selling to an investor might be a good option.

👍 The Benefits of Selling To An Investor

Very Fast Sale: Real estate investors often have capital at the ready for a purchase. This means they don't need to go through lengthy approval processes to get funding -- it's usually already available. You could have your house sold in 30 days or less in most cases.
Alternative Purchasing Options: While most investors look to purchase with cash, others (like Green Country Home Buyers) can purchase your home in multiple ways. Sometimes an all-cash offer isn't the best option, especially if your home has a mortgage that's greater than the current market value of the home, or if it has little to no equity.
No Showings or Agents: Since an investor like us can be the buyer, you don't have to worry about showing the home to many different prospective buyers. We are the buyer, so we'll know right away what we can offer for your home. No months of preparation, open houses each weekend requiring you to leave, offers from buyers that back out or can't get approved financing, or dealing with 6 month long contracts.
No Repairs or Closing Costs: When selling to us, you don't need to make any repairs first. We can buy it in its as-is state. We also will typically cover the closing costs, as that's factored into our offer. What you're offered is what you'll walk away with. No hidden fees or extra commissions!

👎 The Disadvantages of Selling To An Investor

Cash Does Not Mean Market Value: Because an investor is in the business of making money, a cash offer often means it's 20-30% less than the current market value. You're trading upfront expenses for repairs and speed to sale in exchange for a smaller purchase price. However, if you opt for one of the alternative offers that we offer, you can actually get full market value for your home.
The Offer Has a Time Limit: Because of the market variations, investors project future home values based on current data and market conditions. If you wait 60 days before accepting an offer, the offer may have expired and needs to be re-written.
Underwater Mortgage: If your home is worth less than the mortgage, an all-cash offer from an investor may not be suitable. However, alternative offers, like what we can offer, may be able to relieve you of the burden from mortgage payments without requiring more money from you at the closing table.

As you can see, there aren't many disadvantages to working with an investor. It comes down to how quickly you need to sell the home.

You may consider selling to an investor like us if:
Time is not on your side, or you can't afford to make payments on the home.

If you can afford to make necessary repairs to your home and wait for a retail buyer on the market, you may make more from the sale of your home with an agent. However, do factor in your costs of repair and the commissions + closing costs. In some cases, you would actually make more with an investor because of the savings from repairs, commissions, and closing costs.