How to Sell a House By Owner in Washington State: A FSBO Guide
Selling your Washington State home yourself? See a list of expert tips to learn how to sell a house by owner (FSBO) in Washington State.
Selling your home on your own is an overwhelming task, but for some homeowners in Washington State, it’s a challenge worth taking on. Whether it’s to save on realtor commissions or get full control over the process, choosing the “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO pronounced fizz-bow) route can be empowering for some.
But let’s be real: it’s not all smooth sailing. You’ll need to handle paperwork, understand the market, and be ready to show your home at a moment’s notice.
It’s perhaps the reason it’s not a popular move for homeowners — only 6% of all sellers in 2024 chose FSBO, a historical low. Still, if you’re really up for the challenge, it’s possible to achieve a successful sale even without the assistance of a realtor.
Feeling Overwhelmed by the Process of Listing Your Home FSBO in Washington State?
If you don’t have the time or the expertise to list your home FSBO, working with a top agent in Washington State could be your best bet. HomeLight analyzes over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to find you the best agent for your unique situation.
The key is to know the ins and outs of the FSBO transaction. In this guide to selling FSBO in Washington State, you’ll learn the key steps in the process, including the most challenging aspects of the sale. It also contains FSBO mistakes to avoid and selling alternatives to explore.
Note: Once you’ve seen what’s required, you can roll up your sleeves and get started with your FSBO sale. Or — in the event you’d prefer to work with a real estate agent — HomeLight would be happy to introduce you to highly-rated professionals in your Washington State market who can help you command top dollar and provide a low-stress selling experience.
How does selling by owner (FSBO) work in Washington State?
Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for educational purposes only. HomeLight recommends that you look into the real estate regulations for your area and consult a trusted advisor.
FSBO is a method of selling your home without the involvement of a listing agent. In a FSBO scenario, the seller assumes the responsibilities that would normally fall to their agent, such as pricing the home, marketing it to potential buyers, arranging showings, and negotiating the deal. This primarily enables sellers to save on commission fees.
Agent commissions
For decades, the seller has been responsible for paying agent commissions, which typically range from 5% to 6% of the home’s sale price in a traditional agent-assisted sale. This fee was split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. Recently, however, agent commission rules have changed following the historic National Association of Realtors lawsuit settlement.
Under the new commission structure, sellers are no longer required to pay their buyer’s agent’s fee, as buyers are expected to negotiate directly with their agents. Thus, sellers working with an agent only have to cover their listing agent’s fee, which is about 2.5% to 3% of the home’s sale price, depending on negotiations.
But while these new rules aim to reduce fees, some sellers still feel the need to cover the buyer’s agent’s fees to entice more buyers or expedite a sale. Thus, if you partner with a realtor, you may be looking at paying a commission of 3% (your listing agent’s fee) to 6% (your listing agent’s fee and your buyer’s agent’s fee) of the home’s sale price.
Commission savings
By selling FSBO, you can eliminate the cost of the agent commissions since you won’t have a listing agent. If you decide to cover the buyer’s agent’s fee, you’ll only pay around 2.5% to 3% of the home’s sale price, still saving you a good chunk of money.
Even with new commission rules in place and in a FSBO transaction, buyer’s agents expect compensation for the work they do to bring a buyer to a sale, such as arranging showings and helping to tee up and qualify the buyer. Plus, when a seller isn’t working with an agent, the buyer’s agent may end up carrying more of the weight to get the deal to the finish line.
Next: Consult our guide on who pays closing costs when selling a house by owner for more details.
A FSBO sale does not mean that a seller won’t need any professional assistance. In Washington, sellers are not required to hire a real estate attorney, but FSBO sales typically warrant legal and professional oversight of some kind to avoid an abundance of legal risk.
Most people who sell by owner will need to hire an attorney to review and prepare key documents and make sure paperwork is filled out properly, such as the seller’s disclosures. We’ll address what disclosures are required when selling a house in Washington State later in this post.
