{"id":35782,"date":"2025-11-04T04:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=35782"},"modified":"2025-11-04T20:28:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T04:28:02","slug":"how-to-sell-a-house-by-owner-in-tennessee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-a-house-by-owner-in-tennessee\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sell a House By Owner in Tennessee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people in Tennessee turn to real estate agents<\/a> when it\u2019s time to sell<\/a>, but a few decide to go the For Sale By Owner (FSBO)<\/a> route instead. It\u2019s definitely the road less traveled \u2014 only about 6% of U.S. home sales in 2024 were done without an agent \u2014 but it comes with some big perks. You get to keep more of your profit and call all the shots from start to finish. Sure, it takes extra work, but the satisfaction of doing it yourself makes it worth it. Read this guide to learn how to sell a house by owner in Tennessee and make your sale a win-win.<\/p>\n

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\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Unsure about selling FSBO in Tennessee?<\/h3>\n

If you don\u2019t have the time or expertise to list your home FSBO, partner with a trusted, top agent in your Tennessee market. We analyze over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to find you the best agent for your unique situation.<\/p>\n \n

\n Get Started<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\u00a0
<\/div><\/p>\n

How does selling by owner (FSBO) work in Tennessee?<\/h2>\n

FSBO<\/a> is a method of selling your home without the involvement of a listing agent. In this scenario, sellers assume the responsibilities that would normally fall to their agent, such as pricing the home<\/a>, marketing it to potential buyers<\/a>, arranging showings<\/a>, and negotiating the deal<\/a>. This lets homeowners save on agent commissions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Commissions in agent-assisted sales<\/h3>\n

Historically, in an agent-assisted sale, the seller would pay commissions<\/a> for their listing agent and the buyer\u2019s agent. The combined commission would amount to around 6% of the sale price, which was then typically split 50\/50 between the agents. That 6% was deducted from the seller\u2019s proceeds<\/a> at closing.<\/p>\n

However, a landmark settlement<\/a> by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) changed the commission playing field. Beginning in August 2024, the new rules decoupled buyer and seller commissions<\/a>. Buyers are now expected to negotiate and pay their own agent fees. Still, some sellers may feel the need to cover the buyer\u2019s agent commission<\/a> to help attract buyers and accelerate the home sale.<\/p>\n

Commission savings in FSBO<\/h3>\n

By selling FSBO, you can eliminate the cost of the agent commissions since you won\u2019t have a listing agent. If you decide to cover the buyer\u2019s agent\u2019s fee, you\u2019ll only pay around 2.5% to 3% of the home\u2019s sale price, still saving you a good chunk of money.<\/p>\n

Even with new commission rules in place and in a FSBO transaction, buyers\u2019 agents expect compensation for the work they do to bring a buyer to a sale, such as arranging showings and helping qualify the buyer. Plus, when a seller isn\u2019t working with an agent, the buyer\u2019s agent may end up carrying more of the weight to get the deal to the finish line.<\/p>\n

Next:<\/strong> Consult our guide on who pays closing costs<\/a> when selling a house by owner for more details.<\/em><\/p>\n

FSBO logistics<\/h3>\n

A FSBO sale does not mean that a seller won\u2019t need any professional assistance. In Tennessee, sellers aren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Most people who sell by owner will need to hire an attorney to review and prepare key documents<\/a> and make sure paperwork is filled out properly, such as the seller\u2019s disclosures<\/a>. We\u2019ll address what disclosures are required when selling a house in Tennessee later in this post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Going the DIY route on your next home sale? Find out here how to sell a house by owner in Tennessee and make the process smoother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":48047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[323,319],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quick-tips","category-selling-advice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Sell a House By Owner in Tennessee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Going the DIY route on your next home sale? Find out here how to sell a house by owner in Tennessee and make the process smoother.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-a-house-by-owner-in-tennessee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Sell a House By Owner in Tennessee\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Going the DIY route on your next home sale? Find out here how to sell a house by owner in Tennessee and make the process smoother.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-to-sell-a-house-by-owner-in-tennessee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-04T12:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-05T04:28:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Untitled-design-2-min.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"564\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sandy John\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sandy John\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"25 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Sell a House By Owner in Tennessee","description":"Going the DIY route on your next home sale? 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