Selling your Rhode Island house without a realtor

Three ways to sell a Rhode Island house without a realtor

• For sale by owner means you do everything an agent would: pricing, photos, listings, showings and negotiating. You keep the listing commission.
• A flat-fee listing service puts the house on the MLS for a set fee, where buyers' agents see it. You still show the house and negotiate yourself.
• A direct cash buyer like I Buy Rhode Island Houses buys the house from you with no listing, no showings and no commission. The price is lower than a full retail sale, in exchange for speed and taking the house as it is.

How to sell your house by owner in Rhode Island, step by step

1. Price the house from recent sales of similar houses nearby. A professional appraisal is an option if you want a second opinion.
2. Get the Rhode Island paperwork ready, starting with the seller disclosure (more below).
3. Decide what to fix. Small repairs and a clean house help, or you can sell the house as-is and price it that way.
4. Market it with good photos, online listings and a yard sign. A flat-fee service can add the MLS.
5. Show it, and ask buyers for a mortgage pre-approval letter or proof of funds before they come.
6. Compare offers on more than price: the financing, the deposit, the inspection period and the closing date.
7. Sign a purchase and sale agreement. A Rhode Island real estate attorney can draft or review it.
8. Close at a title company or attorney's office, which runs the title search, pays off any mortgage or liens, and pays you what's left.

The paperwork Rhode Island requires when you sell by owner

Selling without an agent doesn't change what Rhode Island requires of a seller. The rules below apply whether you sell by owner, list with an agent or sell to a cash buyer like I Buy Rhode Island Houses.

• The seller of a one- to four-unit home gives the buyer a written disclosure of known problems before the purchase agreement is signed. Executors selling estate property and a few other sellers are exempt.
• For homes built before 1978, federal rules require the EPA lead pamphlet, a disclosure of known lead paint and hazards, and any reports you have. Rhode Island also requires contracts for one- to four-family homes built before 2011 to give the buyer 10 days for a lead inspection, unless both sides agree to a different period, and sellers have to disclose lead water service lines.
• If the house is or may be on a cesspool, the contract gives the buyer a 10-day inspection period, and the cesspool has to be replaced or tied into the sewer within 12 months after most sales.
• The State Fire Marshal's guidance has the seller give the buyer a certificate showing the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms were inspected within 120 days before the sale, by the local fire department or the State Fire Marshal. It lists the fee as $30, paid by the seller.
• The town's tax collector issues a municipal lien certificate within five business days, for $25 or less, showing any unpaid taxes or charges.
• If you live in Rhode Island, a notarized residency affidavit at closing covers you. If you don't, the buyer holds back 6% of your net proceeds for the Division of Taxation, credited toward any Rhode Island tax you owe on the sale.

What it costs to sell a house by owner in Rhode Island

Selling by owner saves the listing commission, but it doesn't make a Rhode Island sale free. Expect:

• The conveyance tax: $3.75 for every $500 of the price, which the seller pays unless the contract says otherwise. That's $2,250 on a $300,000 sale.
• Your attorney's fee, if you hire one, and your share of the closing costs, which are negotiable.
• Marketing: photos, listing sites, and the fee if you use a flat-fee MLS service.
• A commission for the buyer's agent, if the buyer has one and you agree to pay it. You don't have to, but it's part of the negotiation.
• Repairs, and the taxes, insurance and utilities while the house is on the market.

More on the line items in who pays closing costs in Rhode Island. If you'd rather not deal with any of it, I Buy Rhode Island Houses makes a written cash offer with no commission.

When selling a Rhode Island house by owner gets hard

Selling by owner goes most smoothly with a house in good shape, a realistic price, and a seller who has time to negotiate. A house that needs major work is harder, and so is any situation that makes a buyer's lender or attorney nervous:

• The house is inherited and several heirs have to agree.
• There are tenants in the house.
• There are liens or title problems to clear.
• You live out of state and can't be there for showings.

I Buy Rhode Island Houses buys houses in all of those situations, and complicated sales are the ones JB Jackson likes.

Selling to a cash buyer: the other way to skip the realtor

When you sell to I Buy Rhode Island Houses, there's no listing, no showings and no commission, and we cover the closing costs. You get a cash offer in writing with no obligation, and we can close in as little as 7 days or on the date you pick, at a Rhode Island title company or attorney's office.

Our offer is less than a full retail sale. If your house is in good shape and you have time, selling it yourself or listing it may get you more. Cash offer or realtor: what you'd net both ways.