How to Sell a House Without a Realtor in New Hampshire

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  Written by Jon Stubbs

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  Edited by Lindsay Stefan

Should I sell without a realtor? | Cost of selling FSBO | How to sell without a realtor | FSBO paperwork | Best alternative: discount realtors | FAQs

Selling your home without a realtor means you won’t have to pay a listing commission, which in New Hampshire averages 2.7% of the sale price. Considering a typical New Hampshire house is worth about $417,000, that’s a savings of $11,092.

However, trying to sell a home For Sale by Owner (FSBO) can be tough. You’ll be responsible for every step of the selling process, which can take up a lot of your time and energy.

In the end, selling a house without a real estate agent isn’t worth it for most homeowners in New Hampshire. Many sellers don’t even realize that there are low commission real estate companies that offer professional assistance at reduced prices. 

If you’re considering selling a house without a realtor in New Hampshire, read on to find out everything you need to know to do it successfully.

Should I sell my house without a realtor?

Selling a house for sale by owner in New Hampshire comes with many pros and cons. While it’s not recommended for everyone, FSBO can help experienced home sellers save on commission—but only if they know what they’re doing. 

✅Selling your home without a realtor might be right for you if…

• You want to save on commission
• You have plenty of time to take on the responsibilities of a real estate agent
• You already have a buyer lined up 
• You’re in a hot seller’s market and you have a desirable home

🚫 Selling without a realtor might not be right for you if…

• You don’t have a lot of free time
• You’ve never sold a home in New Hampshire
• You want to sell for market value – or higher

If you’re still not sure, check out our thorough guide to selling FSBO to help you decide. If you’re open to other options, some low-commission real estate companies, like Clever Real Estate, allow you to work with a top local real estate agent at half the typical cost.

Cost of selling a house without a realtor in New Hampshire

Below, you’ll find a list of prices for common services you might want to consider if you decide to sell without a realtor. However, know that if your home is in need of repairs or is in a buyer’s market, you might need to spend a lot more to prep and market your property.

💸 Common costs for FSBO sellers

Appraisal	$315 to $420	To price your home more accurately
Photography	$175	To compete with homes listed by agents
Staging	$772	To stand out to local buyers
Real estate attorney	$250 to $375 per hour	To assist with paperwork, contracts, and legal requirements
Flat fee MLS listing	$200 to $1,500	To get listed on the MLS
Buyer’s agent commission	2.7% of sale price	To compensate the agent that represents the buyer (it’s customary for the seller to pay)
New Hampshire transfer tax	$0.75 per $100 of home price	Paid by seller to state

Overall, on average, it costs 7.5% of the home price to sell by owner and about 10% of the home price to sell with a real estate agent. However, the amount you’ll actually save will depend on repairs you need to make, concessions, and other expenses.

Use our calculator to get an idea of how much you can expect to spend if you sell without a realtor.

If you’re considering selling without a realtor in New Hampshire, check out our friends at Clever Real Estate. Clever eliminates all the hassles and headaches of FSBO while helping you pay less than you would for a traditional realtor.

In New Hampshire, sellers pay an average of 2.7% to a listing agent. Considering the median home value in New Hampshire is $417,000, that amounts to $11,092. But with Clever, you can sell with a top local agent for just 1.5%, letting you keep more of your home’s equity in your pocket.

7 steps to sell a home in New Hampshire without a realtor

Selling a home without a realtor involves many of the same steps as selling with one, except you’re on your own. To learn more about the basic steps to sell, read our simple, 12-step guide to selling a house. 

For New Hampshire FSBO sellers, here’s what you need to know.

1. Get your home ready to sell

Getting your home ready for showings goes beyond a simple cleaning. Make your home look spacious and inviting. Remove clutter and knick-knacks from shelves. Take down personal items like family photos so it’s easier for buyers to imagine themselves living there. Remove as much furniture as possible without making the space look empty. 

A fresh coat of off-white or light gray paint can brighten rooms and make them appear large. Shampoo carpets yourself or have them professionally steam cleaned. 

If your home could use a boost in curb appeal, plant annual flowers like petunias or zinnias to add colorful blooms outside. Leafy green hosta is great for filling in bare spots in flower beds. 

📸 Take listing photos once your home is looking its best.

Wait for the time of day when the sun shines the brightest in each room, and snap about 25–50 photos of the interior and exterior of the home. Be sure to capture unique features that set your home apart, like a screened-in porch or finished basement. 

If you’d prefer to have a professional handle the photography, you can hire one in New Hampshire for about $140 per session.

If your home needs too much work to sell to a typical buyer, you might consider selling to a cash buyer. You can quickly compare cash buyer offers against your home’s value on the open market with Clever Offers. Try it for free with no obligation.

2. Price your home accurately

Landing on a listing price for your home is one of the biggest challenges for home sellers, even when they have the help of a realtor. If you’re selling your own home in New Hampshire, this step may seem extra daunting. 

Luckily, you can use one of the same approaches that realtors use when advising sellers on how to price their home. 

Get a comparative market analysis (CMA)

A comparative market analysis—or CMA for short—is the tried and true method for determining a listing price. A CMA compiles information about recently sold homes in the neighborhood that are similar in style, size, age, and condition as your home. Once you see what these homes sold for, you’ll have an idea of what buyers are willing to pay for yours. 

Real estate agents often prepare a CMA for sellers who are considering hiring them to list their home. Or, you can create your own CMA with just a few simple steps. When it’s time to describe the condition of your home, make sure you’re being honest and unbiased. Overestimating your home’s worth and pricing it too high could mean it sits on the market for a long time. 

Some flat fee MLS companies will provide a CMA for an extra fee. 

Hire an appraiser

Calling a professional appraiser to inspect and value the home is typically the most accurate way to determine fair market value. If your buyer ends up financing their purchase, it’s likely the lender will hire an appraiser before closing anyway. In New Hampshire, you can hire an appraiser for $300 to $435.

» LEARN: Should I get an appraisal before selling?

3. List and market your home

As you’re putting together the listing description for your home, review the rules for advertising real estate in New Hampshire. While many of these rules are for realtors, it’s important that you know what the rules are since you won’t have an agent to double check for mistakes. 

New Hampshire Real Estate Sign Rules

FSBO signs are allowed in most zoning districts in New Hampshire. Throughout the state, sellers need to follow a few basic rules when putting up real estate signs:

• Don’t obstruct views of traffic signs
• Don’t place the sign on public property or interfere with public right-of-way
• Don’t use flashing lights or illuminate your sign in any way (if you live in a residential district)
• Make sure the sign doesn’t cause glare on a public road or neighboring property
• Remove the sign within 30 days of selling the property

In residential districts, real estate signs can’t exceed 8 square feet in area and 6 feet in height. No more than one sign per street is permitted unless the property spans more than 500 feet on a single street. In this case, a second sign can be added to face that road.

Free FSBO listing websites

Start by listing your home on free FSBO listing websites such as Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, ForSaleByOwner.com, and Zillow/Trulia. Use social media to spread the word about your listing, as well. 

These sites are a good start, but if you want maximum exposure, think about working with a New Hampshire flat fee MLS company.

New Hampshire flat fee MLS companies

If you really want your listing to be seen by as many people as possible, you’ll need to list it on the New Hampshire multiple listing service, or MLS. Buyers and their agents comb through the MLS to find homes to tour. You have to be a real estate agent to add a listing to the MLS, but if you’re selling FSBO in New Hampshire, you can pay a company a flat fee to add your home to the MLS without using a full-service realtor. 

In New Hampshire, a flat fee MLS listing will cost somewhere from $80 to $1,000, depending on the service package you choose. 

Our picks for the best flat fee MLS companies in New Hampshire are:

🥇 EntryOnly.com: Best customer service
🥈 Landfall Properties: Best for hard-to-sell homes
🥉 Flat Fee Realty: Best for rock-bottom prices

Check out our in-depth guide to New Hampshire’s flat fee MLS companies to decide which one works best for you.

Required New Hampshire Seller Disclosures

New Hampshire doesn’t require sellers to disclose all known issues with their properties. New Hampshire’s disclosure laws only require sellers to tell buyers about:

• The type of private water supply system (if applicable)
• The private sewage disposal system (if applicable)
• The home’s insulation, including its type and location
• Radon gas, lead paint, and/or arsenic hazards

Well water testing isn’t mandatory at the state level, but some mortgage lenders or specific cities might require it. Having a test done can’t hurt, and it can give buyers extra peace of mind. 

About half of New Hampshire homes use public water and sewage systems. If your property uses public systems, most of the disclosure requirements don’t apply to you.

However, choosing to fill out the state’s standard disclosure form can help attract buyers. People will feel more confident purchasing your house if you’re honest about its known issues.

The disclosure form lists several questions that you can respond to with “Yes,” “No,” or “Unknown.” You’re also encouraged to provide additional details you think buyers should know about, such as: 

• The age of your home
• Known problems with your heating, cooling, electrical, or plumbing systems
• The condition of the roof
• Past repairs
• Current or past pest infestations

If your property is a condo or part of an HOA, there’s another document you can add to the general disclosure form. The HOA disclosure document should list important information about the property’s insurance, monthly fees and assessments, and any pending litigations.

4. Manage showings on your own

With any luck, you’ll be fielding calls to schedule showings shortly after you list your home. It’s important to stay organized and keep track of showing appointments and contact information for potential buyers. Simple tools like Google Spreadsheets and Google Calendar can be helpful. Some flat fee MLS companies also provide apps to help schedule showings. 

💡Tips for successful home showings

Leave the home before showings. Get a lockbox from a local hardware store so agents can access the home after you leave. Let the buyers have the home to themselves so they can imagine themselves in it and discuss the home openly as they tour it. 

Schedule showing appointments close together. If one buyer sees another leaving the home right before their appointment, it creates a buzz and sense of competition. This also makes it easier to be away from the home during a block of showings. Of course, still try to be flexible and accommodating when buyers request appointments. 

Respond promptly to buyers’ questions. Get used to answering your phone on the first ring and responding immediately to texts and emails. 

Place all disclosure forms and property fact sheets with your contact information listed in an obvious place, like a kitchen counter or dining room table. Be clear that agents should contact you with any questions or offers. 

5. Review and negotiate offers

When a buyer makes an offer on your home, it will be sent to you in the form of a purchase and sale agreement, also known as a buy-sell agreement. This is what a New Hampshire purchase and sale agreement typically looks like. 

A realtor is really helpful when reviewing and negotiating offers, but as a FSBO seller, you’ll be on your own. It’s important to make sure you understand everything in the offer, including all of the fine print. 

Since an attorney is required for the closing process in New Hampshire, it might not hurt to find a real estate attorney to review the offer ahead of time. In New Hampshire, you can expect to pay $250 to $375 per hour for an attorney. 

When reviewing the offer, read everything carefully, but pay specific attention to these details:

Offer price. If the buyer is offering less than the listing price, do they explain why? Sometimes a buyer just wants a good deal, but other times buyers may name specific repairs the home needs and rationalize their offer price that way. 

Cash vs. financed offer. Most offers involve some type of financing, where the buyer uses a mortgage lender to pay for the home. Cash offers are faster and generally preferred, but there are some exceptions. 

Contingencies. If the buyer needs to sell their old home before buying yours, they might ask for a home sale contingency, requesting that you wait for that home to sell before closing on this one. An offer can also be contingent on a home inspection or the buyer’s approval for financing. It’s up to you to decide if the contingencies align with your goals.

After careful review, your options are to accept, reject, or counteroffer. If you get a lowball offer or requests for contingencies that are just too much of a hassle, you can reject the offer. If the offer is close to what you are looking for, you can amend the form and send it back with a counteroffer asking the buyer to meet you in the middle. 

Before reviewing offers, hone your negotiating skills by reading our guide to 26 negotiation strategies.

6. Allow the buyer to conduct due diligence

Once you accept an offer, you’ll move into the “due diligence” period where the buyer (and the lender, if applicable) has an opportunity to make sure the home is a wise investment. 

Depending on the specifics of your purchase agreement, the due diligence period may include the following steps:

• Inspection
• Appraisal
• Mortgage underwriting
• Property title search
• Final walkthrough

Any one of these steps could reveal problems with the house that could lead to further negotiations. There also may be opportunities for the buyer or seller to back out of the deal entirely. If you wish to abandon the deal without allowing for a specific contingency, you may do so, but we recommend speaking with an attorney first. 

If everything goes smoothly without complications, you’ll be ready to move on to the final step: closing.

7. Close

In New Hampshire, your closing will likely take place in the office of an attorney, title company, or realtor. During closing, you and the buyer will sign a lot of documents, such as the deed transfer, which gives the buyer ownership of the home. 

New Hampshire is one of several states that requires sellers to hire a real estate attorney for the closing process. An attorney can answer your questions, review your paperwork, and help you avoid common legal complications that can come up during real estate transactions.

At the end of closing, you’ll receive a statement that details the sale price of the home, the closing costs you’re responsible for, and the total amount you’ll earn from the sale. In New Hampshire, you can expect a check or wire transfer for that amount later the same day.

For sale by owner paperwork in New Hampshire

Here’s a list of the New Hampshire paperwork you’ll need to sell your home without a realtor.

• Seller Disclosure Form (optional)
• Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
• Flood Risk Disclosure

Not finding what you’re looking for? Check out our comprehensive list of paperwork for selling your house without a realtor.

Best alternative: work with a discount broker

For many people, trying to sell without an agent isn’t worth the hassle. If you think you’ll need some help along the way, a discount broker is a good alternative.

Discount brokers are full-service real estate agents who are willing to work for a reduced commission rate. Sellers can save thousands while still receiving assistance from an expert local agent.

» READ: The Best Discount Real Estate Brokers in New Hampshire

For discount broker services, we highly recommend our friends at Clever! Clever pre-negotiates with top agents to offer you low commission rates without compromising on service quality.

Related links

Need some more advice for selling your New Hampshire home? Here are a couple resources for you to check out:

Average Real Estate Commission in New Hampshire: What’s Fair in 2022?: Even if you don’t hire a listing agent, it’s still a good idea to offer commission to your buyer’s agent. Find out what realtors in New Hampshire expect for their services here!

Top We Buy Houses Companies in New Hampshire REVEALED: If selling quickly is your top priority, a We Buy Houses company could be the best option for you. Learn more about the pros and cons of selling your home as-is to one of these agencies.