We buy houses in Florida. You may have heard the word around town that selling your house online in Florida is becoming more popular. More and more people choose to use online sources to sell their homes not only for their convenience but because of COVID-19.
When selling a property online, more individuals can find your listing, and you’re able to avoid multiple strangers walking through your home. It’s obvious why a number of people decide to sell online v.s conventional methods.
But you’re probably wondering, “can I sell my house online in Florida?” and if you can, “how can I sell a house online?”
It’s hard to know where to begin, especially if you aren’t that tech-savvy and have minimal experience selling a house, let alone online.
To help answer your questions and get you prepared, we’ll explain how to sell your home online in Florida; and what it would look like if you were to sell online with a realtor, by owner, or to an iBuyer. So let’s get started! We are your local Florida home buyers and we can help you with your problem. If you’d rather sell your property, we offer cash for houses in Florida.
Tips On Selling Your House Online In Florida
Selling a House in Florida
Firstly, let’s define what selling online means vs. offline or by traditional means. To sell your house online in Florida indicates your home will be put on several websites for hundreds of people to view the listing. To sell your home offline, you would use traditional strategies of selling your home, such as placing a ‘For Sale’ sign in the yard and using word of mouth to let others know your home is for sale. Each has its pros and cons.
Some people like the idea of only a limited number of people knowing their house is for sale. For others, they see the value you marketing their listing to hundreds of people hoping that it will increase their chances of selling quickly.
Surprisingly a lot of people are on board with this ‘selling my house online’ idea. On average, 63% of sellers used online resources. And in younger groups, that number is higher- 86% of millennials said they go online to see their house, and 67% of Gen Xers said similar. The motivation behind people selling their homes online in Florida is because 4 out of 5 buyers shop online to purchase their next house.
Since COVID-19, more and more people choose to buy and sell homes online for health and safety concerns. When selling online, people can easily look at listings photos or virtual walk-throughs, all from the comfort and safety of their homes. In return, this will limit foot traffic in your house and will rule out only the very motivated buyers to view the property in person.
The bottom line is more people are turning to online sources to buy and sell homes. To sell your house quickly, you will need to do the same. The next step is to determine how you plan to do that, though.
→ Not selling a house but land instead? Find out how selling land is different than selling a house by clicking here.
Selling a House Online
There are three main strategies for selling a house online in Florida. Whichever method you choose will depend on your timeframe, financial goals, and the ability to put in some work.
Strategy #1: Sell Your Home Online With A Real Estate Agent
When working with a realtor, they typically use online sources for marketing your home. Real estate agents are members of their local MLS, an online database of professional listed properties. The MLS is connected to several similar listing sites that will help your listing get exposure. Several agents also use other sites such as Redfin, Zillow, Trulia, paid ads, and social media to help your listing get in front of more interested buyers.
But don’t assume they will do everything; selling with a real estate agent will require some effort on your part too. Realtors tend to advise sellers to make repairs and updates their homes to increase their chances of selling. For many people putting more money and work into a property, they’re about to sell isn’t something they would willingly choose to do.
In addition to the expense of possible home repairs and renovations, you should plan to pay 5-6% upon the sale of your home to your realtor as a commission for listing and selling online. Although a full-service agent will handle the entire selling process and online marketing strategy, it will come at a price. Roughly half the commission fee goes to your agent, and the other half goes to the buyer’s agent- yes, the seller may be on the hook to pay the buyer’s realtor too.
If you were to sell your house online in Florida with a realtor for $350,000, their commission would cost between $17,500-$21,000 (5-6%). After people find what it really costs to sell a house and the amount their agent stands to make, they prefer to find other ways to sell a home, which is why some people choose to sell by owner instead.
Strategy #2: Sell Your House By Owner Online
The primary reason for selling your home online by-owner is to save some money on an agent’s commission. Sorry to disappoint you, though, but selling by-owner can save you 2.5%-3% on commissions that you would otherwise pay a real estate agent. You could still end up paying the buyer’s agent’s commission 2.5%-3%. Meaning you would be financially on the hook for paying $8,750- $10,500 (2.5%-3%) on a $350,00 house, and you would still be doing all the work on your part.
That’s right; you would be doing everything when listing FSBO (for sale by owner). You will need to take care of listing, marketing, negotiating, answering questions, and everything else. Also, don’t forget to add home repairs to the to-do list; you will still need to do those too.
The good news is you can use the same online strategy as a realtor would like online advertising and posting to social media. But you will need to come up with catchy details to write about your house to attract buyers to look at your listing. You will also need to hire a photographer and videographer to get listing images and video for virtual walk-throughs.
Unfortunately, the success rate of sellers triumphantly selling their own home is only 10%. When people see all the time, money, and effort it takes to sell a house online on their own, they seek other options besides FSBO and selling with a real estate agent.
Strategy #3 Sell Your Property Online to an iBuyer
This new selling strategy allows you to sell your home online to an iBuyer. iBuyer’s are not your typical buyer who’s looking for their next house to move into and make a home. Unlike a traditional buyer who asks to view the property, requires financing, wants to negotiate, and might have specific restrictions or requirements about closing, iBuyers have a more simple process. Typically, they don’t require any repairs to be made to the home either, and listing the house isn’t necessary on your part.
The offer they make for your house is usually based on an automated valuation model (AVM), which is like an algorithm that figures out your home’s fair market value.
The catch with iBuyers is their services charges- which can get as high as 6.7%. And although they don’t require home repairs, they will deduct the cost to do them from your offer. So the trade-off may be to sell your house with ease, but you will be charged an even higher fee than working with a realtor or selling by-owner.
Another turn-off people have mentioned about iBuyer’s is the whole process is less personal. iBuyer’s are usually backed by big hedge funds and virtual capitalists so that the personal touch of selling a home feels more like a business transaction. If you like things cut and dry, then this selling strategy might be for you. But if this was maybe a family home you inherited recently and are now wanting to sell, you may be looking for a warmer approach that doesn’t make you feel like just a number.
How To Sell a House Online
After learning about the different selling strategies, let’s take a look at each option’s level of work and breakdown on how to sell a house online by using one of the strategies listed above.
Most Challenging Method of Selling a House Online in Florida: FSBO
Deciding to list for-sale-by-owner will prove to be the most challenging. You would be responsible for everything: setting the listing price, marketing, showings, negotiating, and plenty of paperwork, along with these other responsibilities.
To sell FSBO would like something like this:
- Conduct research on your local housing market.
- Find out what repairs or renovations need to be done.
- Start making the repairs or hire someone to do them.
- Figuring out a competitive price to list your home online.
- Declutter, clean, and stage your home.
- Hire a photographer and videographer to have pictures and videos of your listing.
- Write a captivating listing description for your house.
- Add your listing to websites like For Sale By Owner, Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, and social media.
- Respond to anyone interested in your listing.
- Schedule, accommodate and attend showings of your home.
- Plan and host an open house on the weekends
- Wait for an offer to come in.
- When an offer comes in, screen prospective buyers, and verify they qualify financially.
- Have a real estate attorney look over the offer contract.
- Negotiate the offer with the buyer’s realtor or the buyer.
- Accept an offer you’re happy with.
- Go under contract and have a home inspection done by the buyer’s lender.
- Renegotiate the contract again if the inspection reveals any costly issues with the house.
- Pack your belongings, clean again, and move out.
- Sign closing documents and sell your home.
Standard Method of Selling a House Online Florida: Hire A Real Estate Agent
Because you would be paying for the entire service a realtor offers, this selling method can be less work for you, than other strategies. Don’t forget, though; you will still need to make home repairs and possible renovations to help your listing stand out. Why, may you ask, would you have to make home repairs? So that your home passes a home inspection usually initiated by the buyer.
When hiring a full-service realtor, he or she will take care of all the marketing, speak on your behalf during negotiations and the closing process. Which you would expect them to since you’re paying them a large commission to sell your house online in Florida.
To work with a real estate agent, it would look something like this:
- Research listing agents in Florida.
- Interview realtors and figure out which one you would like to hire.
- Sign a listing agreement with the agent you choose. (Listing agreements usually last for 3-6 months)
- Find out what repairs or renovations need to be done.
- Start making the repairs or hire someone to do them to get your house ready to sell online.
- Agree to a listing price with your realtor and put your home on the market.
- Declutter, clean, and stage your home.
- Accommodate showings at any time (within responsible days and time) and open houses on the weekends.
- Wait to be notified by your agent when an offer comes in on your home.
- Discuss the proposal with your agent and if you would like to counter the offer.
- Have your agent negotiate with the buyer’s agent until you’re happy with their offer.
- Have a real estate attorney review your offer before finalizing the offer.
- Accept the offer.
- Go under contract and have a home inspection done by the buyer’s lender.
- Renegotiate the contract again if the home inspection reveals any expensive issues.
- Pack all your belongings, clean again, and move out.
- Sign closing documents and sell your house.
Easiest Method of Selling a House Online: Sell to a Local Florida Home Buyer
When you sell your house to a local home buyer, you decrease the typical back and forth. And remove the hassle and stress of pre-sale home improvements. You can quickly receive a cash offer, usually within 24-hours, and get to close on your timeline, freeing up your equity sooner. This is especially helpful if you’re purchasing another home soon or if you’re facing bankruptcy, foreclosure, or job loss and want to avoid a home sale contingency.
As it turns out, it takes 55 days to get an offer, and an additional 35 days to close, totaling 90 days it takes to sell a house in Florida. But when working with a local home buyer like Florida Cash Home Buyers, you can expect to close within 14 days.
A home buyer like Florida Cash Home Buyers has an easy three-step process for buying your home, and it looks something like this:
Step 1: Tell Us About Your Florida House
Get started by filling out a form on our website or give us a call to get a FREE cash offer. Listing your house online is not required.
Step 2: We Go Over the Details
We go over any questions or concerns you may have. Then ask for a few more details about your home. Once those are all answered, we present you with a no-obligation offer. You decide if to accept or not.
Step 3: Close on the date of your choice at a reputable attorney’s office or in the comfort of your house- Cash in your hands!
Florida Cash Home Buyers also doesn’t charge realtor commissions or service fees- unlike the other selling strategies we’ve gone over-; they even pay closing costs.
Florida Cash Home Buyers is also an as-is house buyer. Meaning you would sell your house to them in whatever condition it currently is in, no repairs needed, no renovations required. Depending on how much work is needed, you could save thousands of dollars on repairs. Lots of work could also mean months of construction on your house before you would even be able to sell – with no guarantee that will help your home sell quickly or that you would recoup the investment.
There are so many advantages to working with a local home buyer that it is definitely worth looking into.
Sell My House in Florida
Selling a house online in Florida may seem like a simple process but depends on which strategy you end up using to sell your home. For many people, the benefits of selling online to a local home buyer are the most appealing method by far.
If you’re interested in working with a local home buyer or have questions about how it works, Florida Cash Home Buyers would be more than willing to go over all the details or get started on a fair cash offer for your house.
Florida Cash Home Buyers purchase houses in the South Florida area and can offer you an easy sale process that eliminates the stress and headache of selling your house online. Give them a call today at (954) 519-7040 or visit their website for more information.
Florida Cash Home Buyers has been helping people with their real estate needs since 2011 and is a BBB (Better Business Bureau) accredited business with an A+ rating.
There is no need to get overwhelmed, trying to figure out how to sell your house in Florida online when you can easily sell to a local home buyer like Florida Cash Home Buyers today. If you think you need to sell fast, then you may need us. We at Florida Cash Home Buyers are local homebuyers in Florida, and we’re helping local homeowners have a quick and hassle-free sale. If your Florida house qualifies, we can make you a quick and fair cash offer.