Photo: Pleasant Ridge. Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0For Metro Detroit owners selling without an agent
Selling it yourself? Good. Here's what nobody tells you.
You can absolutely sell your own home and do fine. The ones who don't almost all trip on the same handful of things, and every one of them is knowable before you put the sign in the yard. Get the kit, free, and skip the mistakes that cost sellers the most.
The honest part
Five things that end most for-sale-by-owner attempts
None of these are about effort, and none of them are about you. They are about information you did not have on day one. Here they are on day one.
- The price came from the wrong placeAlmost every FSBO price starts with what a neighbor said their house was worth, or what an online estimate guessed, or what you need to walk away with. Buyers do not price against any of those. They price against what actually closed within a mile of you in the last ninety days. That number is knowable, and it is usually not the number you started with.
- Buyer agents never brought anyoneMost buyers in Metro Detroit are working with an agent, and that agent is deciding which homes to put on the tour. If the compensation question is unanswered or awkward on your listing, the easiest thing for them to do is skip it. You will never hear about the showings you did not get.
- The photos cost you before anyone cameA buyer decides on their phone whether to bother driving over. Nine dim photos shot on a cloudy afternoon is a decision, and it is usually the wrong one. This is the cheapest thing on this list to fix and the one that changes the most.
- The paperwork got real, fastMichigan requires a Seller's Disclosure Statement. Homes built before 1978 require a Lead-Based Paint Disclosure. Several Metro Detroit cities require a point-of-sale inspection or certificate of occupancy before the deed transfers. None of this is impossible, but finding out about it two weeks before closing is expensive.
- You ran out of patience, not timeTaking calls from investors fishing for a discount, people who want to see it at 8pm on a Tuesday, and one person who asks if you would consider land contract. Most FSBOs do not quit because they could not do it. They quit because they got tired of it.
What you get
The For Sale By Owner Kit
Everything above, answered for your specific address.
- What comparable homes actually closed for near you in the last ninety days, from the MLS, not an automated estimate
- The price band buyers in your area are transacting in right now
- Michigan's required seller disclosures, listed plainly, with what triggers each one
- Which Metro Detroit cities require a point-of-sale inspection or certificate of occupancy
- The compensation question, explained, so you decide it before your first showing instead of during one
- A short punch list of what to fix and what to leave alone before you photograph it
Why would we do this for free? Because some of the people who read one of these end up hiring us, and that math works fine for us. The rest of you sell your own house and remember who helped. We'll take that trade every time.
One thing we won't do: give you an exact price over the phone. Two kinds of people will, and both are telling you what they need you to hear. An investor guesses low, because they want to buy it. An agent guesses high, because they want to list it. You get a range built from real closed sales, and if you want the exact number we come look at the house for twenty minutes.
If you decide you want help
The Smart Seller program
Most brokerages give you one option: hand over the whole thing at one price. That is a strange way to sell something to a person who already decided they want to do it themselves. So we do it the other way. You pick how much you want us involved, and you pay for that.
You market it, you show it, you negotiate. We are not involved and you keep every dollar of what you save.
Your home goes on the MLS and syndicates to the portals buyer agents actually use. You handle showings and negotiation.
MLS plus the pieces you do not want to do yourself. Photography, the marketing, or the negotiation and paperwork. You pick.
The Full Court Press, the guarantees, and we run the whole thing.
Each level has its own price, and we will tell you exactly what it is before you commit to anything. There is no version of this where you find out the number at the end.
Real clients, real words
People who sold with us, in their words
“I didn't want to get rid of the lot when I got your letter. That letter just made everything clear for me. It helped me make that tough decision. Every question I had was answered to my satisfaction.”
“I think it took us less than a week. People came in to look at it and wanted to buy. There were no problems with the selling of the property at all. We sold the place so quickly.”
“Right away we felt comfortable. We felt we could ask any question without being embarrassed or ashamed. They were there when I needed them. When I called, they answered the phone. I didn't have to track them down, so they took the stress out of the situation.”
“I have never encountered a realtor like you guys. You showed me the professionalism, the kindness, the generosity that I deserve. I do appreciate it.”
“They were very patient with me. I would ask a question and they would say I'm working for you, whatever you want me to do just let me know. You do what's supposed to be done, the right thing.”
Questions we get
Straight answers about selling it yourself
Can I sell my house myself in Michigan?
Yes. Michigan does not require a seller to use a real estate agent. You can market the home, negotiate directly with a buyer, and close with a title company. What you cannot do without a license is list the home on the MLS yourself, and you are still responsible for the state's required disclosures, including the Seller's Disclosure Statement and the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure on any home built before 1978.
Do I have to pay a buyer's agent if I sell it myself?
No, and since the 2024 changes to how buyer agent compensation works, that conversation has changed for everyone. What is still true is that most buyers in Metro Detroit are working with an agent. Whether and how you compensate that agent is now negotiated on each deal, and it is one of the first things you should decide before your first showing rather than during one.
What paperwork does a Michigan FSBO seller need?
At minimum: a written purchase agreement, the Seller's Disclosure Statement, the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure if the home was built before 1978, and any local requirements such as a city certificate of occupancy or point-of-sale inspection, which several Metro Detroit municipalities require. Your title company handles the deed, title work and closing, and they are the right call to make early.
Why do most for-sale-by-owner homes end up listed with an agent?
In our experience it is rarely about effort. It is usually one of three things: the price was set from what neighbors said rather than from what actually closed, buyer agents never brought their clients because the compensation question was unresolved, or the seller ran out of patience taking calls from people who were not serious.
Can I just pay for MLS access without full service?
That is what our Smart Seller program is for. Instead of one price for one package, you pick the level of help you actually want, from MLS entry only up to full service, and you pay for that level. Call and we will walk through the options and what each one costs.
Will Pretty Home Realty help me if I want to keep selling it myself?
Yes. The For Sale By Owner Kit is free whether you ever list with us or not. We would rather you sell it yourself successfully and remember who helped you than have you list with the wrong person in a hurry.
This is general information about selling a home in Michigan, not legal advice. For anything specific to your situation, talk to a real estate attorney or your title company.
Get the kit. Sell it yourself. Or don't.
All three are fine with us, and only one of them costs you anything.