6 Ways to Sell a House in Ohio

Whether you’re ready to move out, move away, or move forward with the cash value of your home equity in your pocket, you’ve come to the right place to get started. 

Ohio real estate laws are governed by the state’s department of commerce. While they’re fairly consistent with most other states, it’s helpful to understand the legal obligations and choices available to you as a seller. Discover more about selling a house in Ohio and what to consider. 

Selling Methods

The first choice you’ll need to make is your home sale method. You don’t just have to work with a full-commission realtor. These days, you have more choices than ever on how to sell a house in Ohio, and each offers a different blend of time, presale work and cost, and profit potential. 

#1 Listing: Traditional 

Most home sellers choose a traditional listing with a real estate agent. Agents typically handle: 

• Researching recent and current listings to provide a CMA (comparative market analysis)
• Advising you on what changes to make prior to listing and showing the house
• Recommending a listing price
• Facilitating providers such as cleaners, staging experts, contractors, and title companies
• Listing your home on the MLS (multiple listing service)
• Marketing (photographs, online advertising, yard sign, virtual walkthroughs, etc.)
• Showing the property to a potential buyer (open houses and individual showings)
• Drafting, reviewing, and providing legal documents
• Arranging the closing process

If you opt for a traditional listing, interview three to five agents and review their CMAs, marketing plan, and pricing proposals before committing to one listing agent. 

#2 Listing: FSBO

“Fizz-bo” or “for sale by owner” is a property whose owner takes on the entirety of pricing, marketing, and showing their own home rather than engaging a real estate agent. On the plus side: FSBO means saving on the listing agent’s commission (typically 3% of the sale price).¹  

The downside is that you can lose time and money without a highly skilled agent. FSBO homes tend to stay on the market longer and sell for less. 

#3 Listing: Hybrid 

You can straddle the line between a full-service agent and FSBO by working with a licensed brokerage with MLS membership for your home sale. Instead of paying an agent commission, you pay flat fees for specific services that you need from a menu of options to help list, market, and sell a house in Ohio. 

#4 Listing: As Is

Listing a home “as is” is more about condition than sales method, but there are legal aspects to be aware of. In some states, you can sell a home as is with zero disclosure and complete responsibility on the part of the home buyer for what they end up with. 

Sellers who choose to list an Ohio home as is: 

• Are required to complete and provide the Residential Property Disclosure Form²
• Must disclose all known material facts that affect property value or safety
• Are basically informing buyers they won’t fix or warranty the home prior to sale

#5 Cash Buyer: Flippers

While it might feel like lost profit and opportunity, sellers who don’t have the resources, desire, or ability to either fix the home themselves or go through the time and work of a listing sale may find that a fair cash offer with a fast closing is their best option. 

A flipping company is often local or regional and can be as small as a single individual. Some will take on properties with major damage and renovation needs, and some are looking for properties in need of cosmetic upgrades that they can purchase at low prices. 

After fixing up your home, they’ll need to sell it at a high enough profit to come ahead after covering what they paid you, the time spent holding and financing it, the labor and repairs of work done, and the cost of reselling it. 

#6 Cash Buyer: Sell and Stay Transactions

Sell and stay transactions combine a sale of your property with the right to continued use of the property as a renter. For Ohio sellers, they provide the flexibility to continue living at home as a renter without having to worry about some key homeownership responsibilities.

Plus, if you’re looking to buy another home, a sell and stay transaction helps you leverage your unlocked equity to negotiate as a cash home buyer with no sale contingency. 

#7 Cash Buyer: iBuyer

Internet buyers, or iBuyers, are a more recent flavor of large-scale cash buyers, and you may want to reach out sooner than later to lock down an offer. Two of the four largest players closed their doors for good (Zillow iBuyer in 2021 and RedfinNow in 2022).³ 

There are still some iBuyers who operate in some Ohio cities and buy houses, and several smaller iBuyers can also be found. You can get an initial offer after answering a short set of questions, and schedule a video walk-through to arrive at a final offer within days. 

Set a Listing Price

Before you settle on a price point, it’s crucial to pull out the calculator and do some math. Ask realtors to provide two or three price options instead of one, with a rundown of how to get to each through home improvements, staging, etc. 

Even if you’re already set on your selling process, it’s useful to gather as much information as possible. If you receive a few fair cash offers and proposals from at least two real estate agents, you should have a solid understanding of your Ohio house’s value range: 

1. Walk-away, zero-investment cash offer with money in hand in two weeks
2. Middle price that involves clean up and a few cosmetic tweaks or minor projects
3. High price point with as much prep, updating, and staging as makes sense economically

Don’t forget to factor in time as a cost. If you’re already moving out and your home is on the market for three months, that could mean three extra months’ worth of property tax, homeowner’s insurance, utilities, and cleaning services—plus the ongoing cost of interest if you’re waiting to pay off a mortgage loan with the sale proceeds. 

Decide When to Sell

The shortcut on this topic: aim for late spring if possible. Seasonality plays a role in both how long it takes to sell a home and what price you can get for your property. 

In Ohio real estate, the best month to sell is June, and the worst is January. June sales average 27 days on market (DOM), which is the period from listing a home to signing a purchase offer contract, and sell at 9.2% higher median price than in January, when DOM averages 58.⁴ 

In terms of how long it will take to close on a sale, the good news is that Ohio sale periods are about 11% faster than the national timeframe.⁵ In 2022, the Ohio average was 74 days total (listing to close) and 35 days closing period (from offer to close). 

Averages are the tips of the iceberg, though. There are a boatload of variables that go into predicting the timing of your sale, including: 

• Sale method – Cash home buyers may offer a one-week closing period along with taking on all cleaning and even emptying the house of remaining furniture and belongings. On the other end, a traditional listing could include two to six weeks of pre-listing prep, one to three months of marketing and showing, and a 30–60 day countdown to closing. 

• Amount of prep – Where will you fall between zero time for an as-is sale to invest weeks or months into sorting and storing belongings and updating, deep-cleaning, and staging your home?

• Economic conditions – Inflation and interest rates are key factors in timing as they’ve shifted dramatically over the past few years. Higher rates today mean fewer buyers and more time on the market. 

• Market conditions – What’s going on with the buyers’/sellers’ market pendulum, the local job market, and state, city, or neighborhood home value trends can all shorten or lengthen your selling period.

• Property type – A sprawling estate with 40 bedrooms, a 2,000 square-foot, four-bedroom home with a single bathroom, and a stained-glass Victorian with an original coal furnace—what they all have in common is a long time on the market. The more standard and updated your home is, the sooner it’ll sell to someone buying a home in Ohio. 

Add Flexibility to Your Sale with Truehold

If you’re groaning at the thought of the work, cost, and time of a traditional sale, we can help. Truehold's sell and stay transaction allows you to jump straight to a simple closing—no staging, renovation, or showings needed. You can receive an offer on your home in 48 hours and close in just 30 days. In fact, Truehold will take immediate responsibility for essential repairs, as well as property insurance and property tax. 

You’ll gain the flexibility to remain in your current home as a renter, while freeing up your home equity and paying off your current mortgage. Plus, you’ll be able to enter into negotiations for a new home purchase with no sale contingency or complicated schedule juggling.

Find out more today—our representatives can walk you through our process and answer questions so you can decide whether Truehold is the right solution for you. 

‍

Sources: 

1. Clever Real Estate. Average Time to Sell a House in Ohio. https://listwithclever.com/real-estate-blog/average-time-to-sell-a-house-in-ohio/‍
2. HomeLight. How to Sell a House ‘As Is’ in Ohio. https://www.homelight.com/blog/selling-a-house-as-is-in-ohio/‍
3. HomeLight. 6 of the Top iBuyer Companies That Want to Buy Your Home in 2023. https://www.homelight.com/blog/ibuyer-companies/