For sale by owner

There are a number of ways to sell your house yourself.

The real estate market in Calgary is sizzling and many Calgarians are taking advantage by selling their homes themselves while the iron is hot.

Abby Richards has sold a few houses through a real estate agent but has decided to sell her house herself for the first time.

She says she will benefit by having direct contact with buyers and will save the commission that would otherwise go to the realtor.

Richards says there is a wealth of information on the Internet for independent sellers to access as well as many websites to list your house.

“There's kijiji. Facebook has been really good, social media. I'm using welist.com and they're able to put me on the MLS as well so that's been a huge perk," said Richards.

Realtors would rather sellers hire them and say they have the tools to professionally market your home.

Agents are also able to expose your house to the thousands of other realtors in the city and say that increases your chances of maximizing your sale.

Many realtors also make sure all your bases are covered when it comes to the legalities of selling a home.

Some people are successful at selling their homes independently but realtors say more often then not, that's not the case.

"Generally houses that are sold on their own through somebody that’s working independent, trying to sell through kijiji or things like that, the houses generally sell for 9% less than if you use a realtor" said David Cousins, RE/MAX First Realty Ltd.

Some realtors don’t think MLS listings should be open to the public and say there a risk that houses could be misrepresented by inexperienced sellers.

(With files from Kathy Le)