How to Sell a House Without a Realtor in Texas

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  Written by Alex Long

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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

If you want to avoid working with a real estate agent, selling your Texas home yourself could be a good option. Listing your home for sale by owner (FSBO) means you won’t have to pay a listing agent commission, saving you between $5,521 and $8,281. It will also give you more control over the sale process.

However, trying to sell a home without an agent can be tough. It can cost you a lot of time, and you’ll also be fully responsible for completing all the necessary paperwork.

Want to save money, but don’t want to take on all the work? A better option for you might be to work with a discounted agent!

Clever Real Estate offers a free service that gets home sellers lower rates from top agents at trusted brands like Keller Williams and RE/MAX. You’ll get full service from a local agent (guaranteed) but pay just 1.5% in listing fees — half the rate agents typically charge. Get started today!

If you’re still set on learning how to sell your house without a realtor in Texas, we’ll go over the process below.

Should I sell my house without a realtor?

Selling a house for sale by owner in Texas 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 Texas
• 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 Texas

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. On a $283,000 home (the average home price in Texas), that would be roughly a savings of $7,000. However, the amount you’ll actually save will depend on repairs you need to make, concessions, and other expenses.

Do I need a real estate attorney in Texas?

No, but it’s highly recommended. An attorney can answer all your legal questions and help you avoid future roadblocks when selling.

If you just need help with a specific service, some attorneys may charge a flat fee to prepare documents of sale or review a contract.

Texas FSBO expenses calculator

Use our calculator to find out about how much you can expect to spend if you sell without a realtor.

7 steps to sell a home in Texas 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, 9-step guide to selling a house in Texas. 

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

1. Get your home ready to sell

The for sale by owner process in Texas begins with preparing your home for marketing and showings. This means making sure everything is updated and in great shape without breaking the bank. Common preparation tasks include:

• Replacing light bulbs and making small repairs
• Ensuring everything is up to code
• Shampooing carpets and deep cleaning
• Applying a new coat of paint
• Improving the landscaping

Strive for a neutral, clean look when prepping your home for sale. You want the buyer to be able to imagine living there, so eliminate decor that displays your personal style.

Also, avoid making any costly repairs unless they are addressing a major issue with the home. A cracked foundation could scare away buyers, so it should be addressed, but you probably won’t get your money back by adding a new porch or hot tub.

When you’re comfortable with how your home looks, it’s time to stage it and take listing photos. You can do this yourself or you can hire it out. On average, a Texas photographer will charge $140 for new listings, and a stager will charge about $1,529 per room.

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

When selling a house in Texas without a realtor, be very careful about choosing a list price. Listing too low leaves money on the table, but listing too high can cost you money and time as well. Often, high list prices result in more time on the market, lost buyer interest, and lowering the asking price before actually achieving a sale.

According to the National Association of Realtors, FSBO sellers make about 5–26% less on home sales than realtors with comparable sales. For the average-priced home in Texas, that could cost you between $14,700 and $76,500!

To get the most from your home sale, we suggest the following approaches to setting your list price.

Get a comparative market analysis (CMA)

The most common approach for valuing residential real estate is a comparative market analysis. Select 3–5 homes in your area that are most similar to yours that have sold in the past few months. You’ll use those to establish a likely range for how much your home would sell for. Finally, you zero in on a price based on similarities and differences between those comparable homes, or “comps,” and yours.

This analysis is usually included in the service provided by a conventional realtor, but there’s no reason you can’t do it yourself, as long as you stay objective in your analysis.

Working with a flat fee MLS service is a cost-effective alternative that allows you to employ an objective third party without spending a ton of money.

Hire an appraiser 

You can also hire an appraiser to give you a formal analysis of your home’s fair market value. An appraiser will tour your home, account for its amenities, age, and condition, and then factor in the state of your local housing market to determine what your home is worth. They also conduct a CMA, but they bring additional insight and expertise to give a more holistic evaluation of your home.

A pre-listing appraisal in Texas will probably cost between $300 to $435, but could be well worth it to avoid the thousands you could lose by mispricing your home.

» LEARN: Should I get an appraisal before selling?

After deciding on a list price, we recommend you read up on capital gains taxes to see if you’ll have a tax burden from the proceeds of your sale. This isn’t super common for primary residences, but it’s something you don’t want to be surprised by.

3. List and market your home

Before you begin marketing your home, we recommend reading up on advertising regulations in Texas to make sure you’re complying with the rules. Many of these are directed at brokers and agents, but sometimes they will apply to you as well, particularly if you plan to use physical advertisements.

These days, it’s more common for FSBO sellers to put their listing online for free. Popular free sites for FSBO properties include:

• Facebook Marketplace
• Zillow’s and Trulia’s FSBO sections
• ForSaleByOwner.com
• Craigslist

In cooler markets, you might consider gaining a wider audience by listing on paid websites as well, though many FSBO sellers prefer to save money by avoiding these. Between word of mouth, yard signs, and free websites, you can achieve a pretty big audience for your listing.

If you want maximum exposure, think about working with a Texas flat fee MLS company.

Texas flat fee MLS companies

You might consider paying for a flat fee MLS company to get your listing on the local MLS. This is the primary spot where realtors seek out listings to share with their clients, and missing out on that pool of buyers is a huge disadvantage to a seller.

In Texas, this will cost you about $80 to $1,000. Our top picks for flat fee MLS companies in Texas are:

🥇 Flat Fee By You: Best value
🥈 Creekview Realty: Best for inexperienced sellers
🥉 Texas MLS Broker: Best for seasoned sellers

Read our in-depth guide to Texas’s flat fee MLS companies to decide which one works best for you.

Required Texas seller disclosures

Texas property code requires that you provide a seller’s disclosure notice for prospective home buyers alerting them to any known material defects with the property. This means you can’t withhold knowledge of those issues if they would affect a buyer’s decision to purchase your house. When in doubt, it’s safer to disclose something, even if it’s been fixed, than to hide it.

In some cases, buyers may also be interested in the mineral rights of your land. According to a 2018 report out of Texas A&M, information on mineral rights can sometimes be found on the title insurance policy, but this is becoming less common. You could also check TexasFile.com for information on mineral rights.

Besides the general disclosure form, you also need to include a lead-based paint disclosure if your house was built before 1978. 

There are a variety of ways to share disclosures with buyers, including attaching them to your listing, providing hard copies at showings, or emailing them. Just make sure the buyer sees the disclosures before signing a purchase agreement so they can’t use any information contained in the disclosure to back out of the deal.

4. Manage showings on your own

When people consider how to sell a house by owner in Texas, one of the first things that comes to mind is probably managing showings. Showings are a major part of the home-selling process, and you need to be organized and strategic to solicit the best offers from buyers.

For starters, you need to keep a record of all communications with buyers and their agents. Usually this involves saving texts during the sale process and having a dedicated folder for emails.

You also need a scheduling tool to manage all the appointments you’re in charge of. Doodle or apps like ShowingTime are common tools for realtors, but even Google Calendar can work.

When conducting the showings, here are some tips to keep things orderly and effective:

• Set the temperature at a comfortable level.
• Let the natural light in.
• Use neutral candles or air fresheners.
• Schedule appointments on the same day with breaks in between.
• Make informational flyers and disclosures easily available and print extras.
• Use a lockbox so realtors can gain entry without you.

Although you might need to be on-site initially to get things prepped, we suggest not hanging around during the showings. Most buyers are more comfortable exploring and opening up about their impressions if the owner isn’t present.

If managing showings feels like too much to handle, flat fee companies sometimes offer add-on services to support you in the showing process.

Be prepared to answer questions about your house, utilities, taxes, and neighborhood after the showing.

5. Review and negotiate offers

Whether you get one offer or many, you need to know how to read these, what to look for, and how to negotiate them.

Don’t entertain verbal offers — a truly interested buyer should submit a written offer in the form of a Texas residential resale contract. This is a legally binding document that can be accepted, denied, or counteroffered as you see fit.

If you’re confused by any part of the purchase contract, reach out to the buyer’s agent or a real estate attorney for clarity. Although an attorney is not required to sell a house in Texas, working with one may be a good idea anyway. They will help you understand the implications of an offer, help you avoid major pitfalls, and even assist you in comparing different offers.

Pay attention to high-impact items on a purchase contract, such as:

• Purchase price
• Contingencies
• Traditional financing versus cash offers
• Pre-approval letters and amounts, if applicable
• Closing timeline
• Good faith deposit
• Seller credits and repairs

A savvy seller looks at the complete offer and figures out how to use the buyer’s priorities to negotiate the best deal for themselves. 

6. Allow the buyer to conduct due diligence

For most buyers, some due diligence will be required to proceed to closing. Cash buyers reserve the right to waive some of these actions, but even they will probably have some things they want to check on before actually buying the house.

“The majority of offers will come with an option period, where the buyers will have inspectors come and try and find as much wrong with your property as possible,” said Texas agent Sandy Finkelstein. If any major issues are found, the buyer might negotiate for a lower price or back out of the deal altogether.

To prepare for an inspection, make sure the five key areas are in good condition: 

• Roof
• Foundation
• HVAC
• Plumbing
• Electrical system

Finkelstein also warns FSBO sellers that “[i]nvestors may try to take advantage of the homeowner by getting them under contract, only to try and assign or resell the property before it closes.” Sometimes, they might inflate repair costs only “to bring the final offer way down, once they are under contract.”

In addition to an inspection, most conventionally financed homes require the following due diligence steps:

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

The buyer can attempt to renegotiate at any stage if a contingency clause applies. In this case, you may need to amend the purchase contract using an amendment form.

If you want to cancel the deal at any time without allowing a contingency, you will need to deliver a Notice of Seller’s Termination of Contract. We suggest speaking to an attorney before taking any steps toward that cancellation to understand the full implications of that decision.

If renegotiations are successful or unnecessary, you can proceed to close as planned.

7. Close

You will close on the date specified in the purchase contract, unless both parties agree to reschedule.

Most real estate closings in Texas take place at a title company to ensure that the buyer receives a clear title. The title company will facilitate the closing process, collect closing costs, and finalize all the paperwork.

The paperwork includes a closing statement that itemizes every part of the sale, as well as the transfer of title to the new owner. You will sign a series of documents saying you understand all of this and approve the sale.

Since Texas is a “wet funding” state, you will get the money from your sale that day either via check or wire transfer.

For sale by owner paperwork in Texas

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

• Flood Zone Disclosure
• Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
• Texas Seller’s Disclosure Notice
• Texas Residential Resale Contract

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 Texas

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

Selling a home in Texas can be complicated and confusing. If you need some extra guidance, these resources can further demystify the Texas home seller experience:

Average Real Estate Commission in Texas: What’s Fair in 2022?: Realtors earn commission when they help a client buy or sell a home. Learn how much Texas agents expect to earn and what you can do to reduce commission rates. 

Cost to Sell a House in Texas: Seller Closing Costs and More: Selling your home without a realtor can save you money on commission, but you’ll be on the hook for several other costs. Find out what you’ll need to budget for here!

How to Sell a House By Owner: Paperwork You Need: If you decide to sell without a realtor, check out all the forms you’ll need for a smooth transaction.