Question 1

What paperwork do I actually need to sell my house myself in Texas?

Accepted Answer

At a minimum: a written contract, a seller's disclosure notice, and a lead-based paint disclosure if the home was built before 1978. Your HOA, if you have one, will need to provide a resale certificate. A survey or a T-47 affidavit usually comes up too. The title company will tell you what it needs to close, and it's worth calling one early rather than at the end — they do this all day and the call is free.

Question 2

Do I have to pay a buyer's agent if I'm selling it myself?

Accepted Answer

No. It's negotiable and it's entirely your call. What's worth knowing is that most buyers are working with an agent, and if you're not willing to pay one, those buyers can still buy your home — they'd just have to pay their agent themselves, which many can't or won't do. So the real question isn't whether you have to. It's whether the buyer pool you'd lose is worth more than the fee. That's arithmetic, and you can do it with your own numbers.

Question 3

Can I get on the MLS without hiring a listing agent?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Flat-fee MLS services will enter your listing for a set price, and from there it syndicates out to the big search sites the same way any listing does. It's a real option and I'd rather you knew about it than found out afterward. Just be clear on what you're buying: MLS entry, and nothing else. Pricing, showings, negotiation, deadlines, and problem-solving stay with you.

Question 4

How do I figure out what my home is worth?

Accepted Answer

Use closed sales from the last few months, in your subdivision, with a similar size and floor plan. Adjust for the obvious differences — a pool, an extra bathroom, a backing-to-the-road lot. Ignore the online estimates; they're built from public records and they don't know your kitchen. If you want the actual closed comps for your street, email me and I'll send them. No meeting, no pitch, no follow-up.

Question 5

How do I know a buyer is real?

Accepted Answer

Ask for it in writing before they see the house. A financed buyer should hand you a pre-approval letter from a lender, with a phone number you can call. A cash buyer should hand you a recent bank statement or a letter from their bank. Anyone who won't provide either is not a buyer yet. This also keeps strangers out of your home, which matters more than the business side.

Question 6

When is selling it myself genuinely the right answer?

Accepted Answer

Honestly, more often than most agents will admit. If you already have the buyer — a neighbor, a relative, your tenant, someone who has been asking — then there's no marketing job to do and the fee is hard to justify. Same if you're comfortable with contracts, you have the time, and your home is the kind that sells itself. What tips it the other way is a home that needs real marketing to find its buyer, a price you're genuinely unsure of, or a life situation where you don't have the bandwidth to run a transaction. That's the honest dividing line.

Question 7

What's the catch on this page?

Accepted Answer

There isn't one, and I'd rather say so plainly. I've built a business on giving away information, because the people who find it useful tend to come back. If you sell it yourself and never speak to me again, that's a fine outcome. If somewhere along the way you decide you'd rather hand it off, I'll show you both columns in dollars and let you decide from there.

Selling It Yourself? Here's the Help, No Strings

Your options

Sell it yourself, properly

Sell it yourself, but pay a buyer's agent

Put it on the MLS without a full listing

Compare it honestly against listing

How I help

What to keep in mind

Frequently asked questions

Want the real comps for your street?

Whatever you're facing, you don't have to figure it out alone.