If you have decided to sell your home on your own, you need to remember that you will be performing various tasks. You will clean up, photograph, and advertise the house. Afterwards, you will receive and screen calls, and schedule viewings; either private viewing or through open house events. Though you may be able to perform all these tasks single-handedly, and without any hitches, you may encounter some difficulty when you are actually showing the house to potential buyers.
As the owner of the house, there is still a tendency for you to be somewhat “over protective” of your property. Oftentimes, you would “shadow” the buyers wherever they go; giving bits of trivia or ‘defensively’ offering explanations to perceived flaws. Although you only want to help, your buyers may feel intimidated or uncomfortably with your presence. Buyers, especially couples who come in together, tend to talk about the unit they are viewing between themselves. They will discuss everything from which room would be used for what to the envisioned color scheme. With you around, they may not be able to thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of the house as well as their future plans.
When you’re showing your house to guests, always keep a respectable distance. Don’t hover around them; ideally don’t follow them inside rooms. The absence of your ‘immediate presence’ gives them the freedom to open doors, pull drawers and draw shades; and most importantly, talk between themselves if the house is the one they are looking for. Keep the information you relay to them to the bare essential and go into detail only if they ask you questions.
You have to strike a balance though. You may go into extremes and completely leave them to their own devices – thus making them think that you are not interested in their business. It may be difficult to do, but if you carefully observe how your clients move and interact, you will be able determine whether or not they want your help or would rather be left alone.
Your Fsbo Support Group
Selling a house is not a very easy thing to do, especially if you have decided to sell your property on your own. Home sellers who have opted to secure the services of real estate agents have been spared this kind of trouble, but do not fret. Selling your property on your own is very much doable. You just have to do your homework and, make sure that you have a highly professional support group whom you can run to for help and advice.
To be totally honest, real estate transactions involve a lot of paperwork. There are a lot of documents that need to be completed and subsequently filed; and there are several forms that should be used when receiving or accepting offers. If you do not approach the task of home selling logically, may end up confused and miss out on a few details or two.
In order to have a relatively easy selling process, you should have a reliable group of people whom you can turn to if you find yourself in a bind. Generally, you only need a good surveyor or evaluator (so he can properly appraise the value of your home), and a good real estate lawyer. The lawyer can check if you have properly filled up the necessary forms and documents, and can advise you about the legality of the conditions indicated on the ‘offers to purchase’ you will receive. These two individuals can generally guide you through the entire home selling activity. Your lawyer can also tell you which local or state office you need to obtain the necessary permits and consents (if necessary).
To be totally honest, real estate transactions involve a lot of paperwork. There are a lot of documents that need to be completed and subsequently filed; and there are several forms that should be used when receiving or accepting offers. If you do not approach the task of home selling logically, may end up confused and miss out on a few details or two.
In order to have a relatively easy selling process, you should have a reliable group of people whom you can turn to if you find yourself in a bind. Generally, you only need a good surveyor or evaluator (so he can properly appraise the value of your home), and a good real estate lawyer. The lawyer can check if you have properly filled up the necessary forms and documents, and can advise you about the legality of the conditions indicated on the ‘offers to purchase’ you will receive. These two individuals can generally guide you through the entire home selling activity. Your lawyer can also tell you which local or state office you need to obtain the necessary permits and consents (if necessary).
Tips On Preparing Your Home When Selling FSBO Pt 2
Think Your Ready To Sell, Aren’t You Forgetting Something?
Once you have followed all FSBO the steps in part one, you are ready to progress to the outside of your home. Street appeal is very important when it comes to selling your home. Have you ever heard of first impressions? Well the front of your home is your potential buyers first impression! If the front of your home looks shabby they are likely to keep on driving and not even bother looking at your home.
Start off by removing all of the rubbish, or things in your front and back yard that doesn’t need to be there. Do a big clean up, and then get the mower out and mow all of your lawns. Once you have done this you will be able to see what areas of your yard needs your attention.
Pretty Sells
A well-tended yard attracts buyers. Think back to when you bought the house, you can almost guarantee that the yard was filled with well cared for gardens, with not a dead thing in sight. You need to get your front and backyard into shape.
Start off by making sure that you have clean lines between what is a garden bed, and what is lawn. Trim your hedges, and weed all of your gardens, so it looks tidy. If you have dead plants or planters with dead things in them remove or replace them.
Nothing makes a home look more inviting than flowers. If you are selling your home FSBO in the spring or summer annual flowers are sure-fire winners for giving a home street appeal. Carefully choose a color scheme, and begin planting your annuals in your garden beds. If you have concreted areas, try brightening them up with planter pots filled with colorful annuals.
Not only will the annuals make your yard look like a million bucks they are also very cost effective, and fast growing. About a month before you put your home on the market make sure you get your plants in the ground this will give them the time to get established, as well as start flowering for you.
Think Your Ready To Sell?
Look over your home, and ask yourself if it looks good enough to sell. If you answer yes then it is time for you to get a second opinion. Ask friends, family or even your neighbors to come through your home. Show it to them as if they were your potential buyers.
This will achieve two things for you. First of all you will get some practice in, since you will be selling your home FSBO you will need to polish up on your selling techniques. The second thing that this will achieve is you will be able to ask people for their honest feedback on what they thought of the home. Once you have done this you are ready to put your home on the market and sell it FSBO.
Once you have followed all FSBO the steps in part one, you are ready to progress to the outside of your home. Street appeal is very important when it comes to selling your home. Have you ever heard of first impressions? Well the front of your home is your potential buyers first impression! If the front of your home looks shabby they are likely to keep on driving and not even bother looking at your home.
Start off by removing all of the rubbish, or things in your front and back yard that doesn’t need to be there. Do a big clean up, and then get the mower out and mow all of your lawns. Once you have done this you will be able to see what areas of your yard needs your attention.
Pretty Sells
A well-tended yard attracts buyers. Think back to when you bought the house, you can almost guarantee that the yard was filled with well cared for gardens, with not a dead thing in sight. You need to get your front and backyard into shape.
Start off by making sure that you have clean lines between what is a garden bed, and what is lawn. Trim your hedges, and weed all of your gardens, so it looks tidy. If you have dead plants or planters with dead things in them remove or replace them.
Nothing makes a home look more inviting than flowers. If you are selling your home FSBO in the spring or summer annual flowers are sure-fire winners for giving a home street appeal. Carefully choose a color scheme, and begin planting your annuals in your garden beds. If you have concreted areas, try brightening them up with planter pots filled with colorful annuals.
Not only will the annuals make your yard look like a million bucks they are also very cost effective, and fast growing. About a month before you put your home on the market make sure you get your plants in the ground this will give them the time to get established, as well as start flowering for you.
Think Your Ready To Sell?
Look over your home, and ask yourself if it looks good enough to sell. If you answer yes then it is time for you to get a second opinion. Ask friends, family or even your neighbors to come through your home. Show it to them as if they were your potential buyers.
This will achieve two things for you. First of all you will get some practice in, since you will be selling your home FSBO you will need to polish up on your selling techniques. The second thing that this will achieve is you will be able to ask people for their honest feedback on what they thought of the home. Once you have done this you are ready to put your home on the market and sell it FSBO.
Sell Your Own Home - Revealed: FSBO Information that Realtors Don't Want You To Know! pt. 1
Selling your own home is attractive to many people. In this article, we will look at the good and bad of going For Sale By Owner or FSBO.
Why would you want to sell your own home?
Obviously, you have the potential to save yourself money. By selling your home yourself (For Sale By Owner or FSBO), you can save the commission you would normally pay a real estate agent (often as much as 6% or more!)
You may need to sell your home quickly. By lowering the asking price by the amount you save on commissions, you may be able to price your home below market value, still make the same profit, and sell it as quickly as possible.
You are probably the perfect person to show your home to buyers. Who else knows your home and neighborhood better than you do yourself? Probably nobody! So, who better to tell others about your home? (Be careful here. You may know all about your home, but you don't know just what may excite or turn off a potential buyer)
You can keep better control of your life. If you are setting the viewing appointments, you can choose when to have the prospective buyers come see your home. If you aren't feeling well, or didn't get a chance to clean up after the kids this morning, you can schedule the buyers to come through later in the week!
These are just a few of the advantages to selling FSBO. Now let's take a look at some of the downside to selling your own home.
Difficulties in selling your home on your own?
Don't let this scare you off, but there are some potential problems when you try to sell your own home.
Many buyers look at FSBOs for the same reason many FSBOs try to sell on their own... Saving Money! Now, that probably isn't a surprise to you, but think about what it really means. Both the buyer and seller are trying to save the same money on the same house. There are ways to work around this, but don't get defensive when someone comes in and makes a "low-ball" offer on your home.
At least some of the money you save from not paying the Realtor's commission will still have to be spent on marketing your home. Yard and directional signs, newspaper ads, flyers... it all adds up. You can still save considerable money, just make sure you budget beforehand for these expenses!
You are still going to have to deal with Realtors! It is a fact that most FSBOs get an average of 2-3 times as many calls from Realtors as they do from buyers! Especially during the first weeks you try to sell on your own. We'll talk about how to deal with these calls in a bit.
Speaking of phone calls, expect to get them from Realtors, buyers and "lookers" at all hours of the day and night. It is often difficult for a seller to know who is actually a good prospect, so you will probably show your house much more often, for the same results. Also, you should have a way for buyers to get in touch with you immediately, which can be difficult if you work, or go shopping, or go to soccer games, or to... well, you get the idea! At the very least, you will need to get a good answering machine.
You will need to answer your messages frequently! The more motivated a buyer is, the less time you have to respond to them. You are probably not the only one they are calling, and if you wait a few hours to call them back, they will have moved on to another house.
Last and possibly most important, you will be competing against all the other home sellers in your area, and that includes those who have listed their house with a Realtor.
A good real estate agent does offer many advantages to their clients. The agent has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and probably works in an office with many other agents, all of whom have buyers looking for different types of homes. They can advise you of the best selling features of your home and anything you can do to give your home more "curb appeal" so it will sell quickly. You will have to work harder without an agent, but you expected that, right? After all, you are saving their commission!
Preparing your home to sell.
OK, good. You're still with me. You can work around not having an agent, and possibly even get one to do some of the work for you for a lot less, maybe even for free! But first, let's get your home ready to sell.
First, get rid of clutter. Empty closets, clean the garage, if you don't need it, get rid of it! It is amazing what most people (myself included) can accumulate in just a few years of living somewhere! Get rid of as much as you can! I know it's hard, (get a storage unit if you have to) but I can tell you that 99 times out of a hundred, the house with minimal furniture and knick-knacks will sell a lot faster and for more than a house with all that stuff still in there. Plus, getting rid of the excess stuff will save you a fortune on your move!
Once the clutter is gone, clean your house. Better yet, save time and effort by finding a reputable cleaning service and have them do it! ou want the house to be immaculate. If your home is really clean, buyers will feel that you have also kept it in good shape.
Speaking of clean, if you have any pets, or if you smoke, have a friend or relative come over and smell your house. We don't see or smell what we get used to. I've been in houses that absolutely reeked of pet odors or cigarette smoke, and the owner couldn't smell a thing. This can cost you thousands!
Make minor repairs, or hire someone to do it. Little things can really turn off a buyer. They get the impression that your home isn't well cared for, and that costs you money! Paint a wall, fix a dripping faucet, replace a burned out bulbs, all those little things you've been meaning to do... get to them!
There's a reason it's called "Curb Appeal"
Your home's entry makes the first impression on your buyers. Paint the front door, it really helps your home look inviting. Bright colors are considered welcoming, many experts believe that red is the best color. Clean around your entry, if your screen door is unsightly, repair or replace it.
Mow the grass, rake up the leaves, trim those overgrown bushes, plant fresh flowers! If it needs it, seal the driveway and cracks in the walkways... your home will look very welll cared for!
Next, get your family mentally ready for what's coming! Having strangers walking through what is a private, secure space, is unsettling for everybody. Explain what is happening to young children. Who knows, you might even get them to keep their own room clean!
Finally, depersonalize your house as much as possible. The family photos of great-uncle Jesse may mean a lot to you, but will make it that much harder for buyers to imagine themselves living in your house.
Well, that's it for now. In the next installment, we will talk about setting up your team, pricing your home, attracting potential buyers, showing your home, and accepting the offer.
Why would you want to sell your own home?
Obviously, you have the potential to save yourself money. By selling your home yourself (For Sale By Owner or FSBO), you can save the commission you would normally pay a real estate agent (often as much as 6% or more!)
You may need to sell your home quickly. By lowering the asking price by the amount you save on commissions, you may be able to price your home below market value, still make the same profit, and sell it as quickly as possible.
You are probably the perfect person to show your home to buyers. Who else knows your home and neighborhood better than you do yourself? Probably nobody! So, who better to tell others about your home? (Be careful here. You may know all about your home, but you don't know just what may excite or turn off a potential buyer)
You can keep better control of your life. If you are setting the viewing appointments, you can choose when to have the prospective buyers come see your home. If you aren't feeling well, or didn't get a chance to clean up after the kids this morning, you can schedule the buyers to come through later in the week!
These are just a few of the advantages to selling FSBO. Now let's take a look at some of the downside to selling your own home.
Difficulties in selling your home on your own?
Don't let this scare you off, but there are some potential problems when you try to sell your own home.
Many buyers look at FSBOs for the same reason many FSBOs try to sell on their own... Saving Money! Now, that probably isn't a surprise to you, but think about what it really means. Both the buyer and seller are trying to save the same money on the same house. There are ways to work around this, but don't get defensive when someone comes in and makes a "low-ball" offer on your home.
At least some of the money you save from not paying the Realtor's commission will still have to be spent on marketing your home. Yard and directional signs, newspaper ads, flyers... it all adds up. You can still save considerable money, just make sure you budget beforehand for these expenses!
You are still going to have to deal with Realtors! It is a fact that most FSBOs get an average of 2-3 times as many calls from Realtors as they do from buyers! Especially during the first weeks you try to sell on your own. We'll talk about how to deal with these calls in a bit.
Speaking of phone calls, expect to get them from Realtors, buyers and "lookers" at all hours of the day and night. It is often difficult for a seller to know who is actually a good prospect, so you will probably show your house much more often, for the same results. Also, you should have a way for buyers to get in touch with you immediately, which can be difficult if you work, or go shopping, or go to soccer games, or to... well, you get the idea! At the very least, you will need to get a good answering machine.
You will need to answer your messages frequently! The more motivated a buyer is, the less time you have to respond to them. You are probably not the only one they are calling, and if you wait a few hours to call them back, they will have moved on to another house.
Last and possibly most important, you will be competing against all the other home sellers in your area, and that includes those who have listed their house with a Realtor.
A good real estate agent does offer many advantages to their clients. The agent has access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and probably works in an office with many other agents, all of whom have buyers looking for different types of homes. They can advise you of the best selling features of your home and anything you can do to give your home more "curb appeal" so it will sell quickly. You will have to work harder without an agent, but you expected that, right? After all, you are saving their commission!
Preparing your home to sell.
OK, good. You're still with me. You can work around not having an agent, and possibly even get one to do some of the work for you for a lot less, maybe even for free! But first, let's get your home ready to sell.
First, get rid of clutter. Empty closets, clean the garage, if you don't need it, get rid of it! It is amazing what most people (myself included) can accumulate in just a few years of living somewhere! Get rid of as much as you can! I know it's hard, (get a storage unit if you have to) but I can tell you that 99 times out of a hundred, the house with minimal furniture and knick-knacks will sell a lot faster and for more than a house with all that stuff still in there. Plus, getting rid of the excess stuff will save you a fortune on your move!
Once the clutter is gone, clean your house. Better yet, save time and effort by finding a reputable cleaning service and have them do it! ou want the house to be immaculate. If your home is really clean, buyers will feel that you have also kept it in good shape.
Speaking of clean, if you have any pets, or if you smoke, have a friend or relative come over and smell your house. We don't see or smell what we get used to. I've been in houses that absolutely reeked of pet odors or cigarette smoke, and the owner couldn't smell a thing. This can cost you thousands!
Make minor repairs, or hire someone to do it. Little things can really turn off a buyer. They get the impression that your home isn't well cared for, and that costs you money! Paint a wall, fix a dripping faucet, replace a burned out bulbs, all those little things you've been meaning to do... get to them!
There's a reason it's called "Curb Appeal"
Your home's entry makes the first impression on your buyers. Paint the front door, it really helps your home look inviting. Bright colors are considered welcoming, many experts believe that red is the best color. Clean around your entry, if your screen door is unsightly, repair or replace it.
Mow the grass, rake up the leaves, trim those overgrown bushes, plant fresh flowers! If it needs it, seal the driveway and cracks in the walkways... your home will look very welll cared for!
Next, get your family mentally ready for what's coming! Having strangers walking through what is a private, secure space, is unsettling for everybody. Explain what is happening to young children. Who knows, you might even get them to keep their own room clean!
Finally, depersonalize your house as much as possible. The family photos of great-uncle Jesse may mean a lot to you, but will make it that much harder for buyers to imagine themselves living in your house.
Well, that's it for now. In the next installment, we will talk about setting up your team, pricing your home, attracting potential buyers, showing your home, and accepting the offer.
Sell Your Own Home - Revealed: FSBO Information that Realtors Don't Want You To Know! pt. 2
In the first segment, we looked at the good and the bad aspects of going For Sale By Owner or FSBO. This time we will talk about setting up your team, pricing your home properly, and attracting potential buyers.
Setting up your Team
Just because you have decided to sell your house on your own, doesn't mean that you should do everything yourself. It is important that you set up a team of experts to help you with the details. Here are a few people you should have on your team:
Title Company/Real Estate Attorney: You will want help preparing the sales contract and any disclosure documents pertaining to the sale of your home. You really want to get this part right to avoid any legal difficulties later. If you have a trusted friend who is an attorney, they can help. Also, most title companies prepare these documents several times each day, and may provide these services free or for a reduced fee, with the expectation that your will use their services for title and escrow, a good deal for both of you!
You may also find a real estate agent who will perform these services for you for a nominal fee. If you are staying in the local area, your buyer's agent may help you with the sale of your home, and with a little negotiating on your part may even do it for nothing, since they are going to be compensated on the purchase of your new home (which you won't be buying unless your current home sells).
Mortgage Lender: OK, I'll admit that I may be a little bit biased here, but a good lender can be one of the most valuable people on your expert team. A good loan officer can pre-approve any interested buyers for you, so you can weed out those who are just incapable of buying your home. A lender should also be willing to prepare a financing breakdown on your home, allowing buyers to compare different financing options.
You can also get pre-approved for the purchase of your new home! This can save you money and puts you in a stronger bargaining position compared to others who may be interested in your NEW home. I have seen this one item make and break a home purchase agreement.
Home Inspector: You may want to think about having your home inspected prior to putting it on the market. This will help you with your disclosure statements, and makes a very favorable impression on buyers!
Pricing your home to sell
How much should you sell your home for? It's simple... Just as much as you can get, and still sell in a reasonable time frame, right?
Absolutely! The problem is that most homeowners don't really have an accurate idea of the value of their home. How can we solve this dilemma?
The best way to value your home is to have an appraisal done. An appraiser will look at your house and compare it to other, similar houses (comps) and arrive at a fair market value.
You would then take this value and make any adjustments you feel are necessary. Do you need to sell quickly? You might want to lower the price a little. Have time and want top dollar? Then maybe you want to leave the price right at market, or even a little higher.
Don't want to pay for an appraisal? After all, they will cost several hundred dollars. You can get an idea, though not as accurate as an appraisal, by asking your title company (you did remember to set up your team already, didn't you?) or a real estate agent to "pull comps" for you. Just take what you see with a grain of salt, and remember to figure in whatever direction the market is moving. Remember, comps deal with past sales prices, not what they would sell for today.
Attracting potential buyers
There are numerous ways to lure prospective buyers to your home. Some of the most common are:
Signs: Probably the most important thing you can do to sell your house quickly is to put a professional looking FSBO sign in your front yard. This will tell everyone who drives by that your home is on the market, and will also make it much easier for potential buyers, who may be looking for your house, to find it.
Flyers: You will want to have flyers printed up that describe your house. Be sure to include such highlights as the number of bed and bathrooms, square footage, and any unique features that may not be obvious at first glance. Put a photo on the flyer (black and white is fine). An excellent idea is to put some financing options on the back of the flyer. Your lender can give you this information.
Classified Ads: You will probably want to put an ad in the classified section of the local paper. Keep it short and sweet (it's cheaper that way). If you are holding an open house, you will definitely want to place an ad in the real estate section the day before.
Neighbors: This is an often neglected source of buyers, by realtors and FSBOs alike. Tell all your neighbors, or send out a postcard, that you are selling, and ask them if they have any friends or relatives who would like to live in the neighborhood.
Internet: Think about listing your home on the net. Many people start their home search online, but most are just browsing, and you may wind up with less serious shoppers. Be sure to weigh the costs vs. the advantages. Craigslist is a free site that is getting more and more real estate traffic, check it out before spending money on an expensive listing service.
Showing your home
Oh No! There are people coming to look at your house. What do you do now?
Before hand, make sure you have your flyers printed. Now, go out and buy a few packages of ready-made chocolate chip cookie dough and some microwave kettle corn, you'll see why in a sec.
OK. It's the day of the showing. First, take a quick run through of your entire house. Make sure everything is clean and picked up. Remember, no clutter is best! Next, give the carpets a quick vacuum. Even a soiled carpet looks better when it has been recently vacuumed.
About a half hour before the home shoppers arrive, put a dozen of those chocolate chip cookies in the oven. They will make the house smell much more "homey," plus you can put the cookies on a plate to offer to your "guests." This is an old real estate agent's trick, that will work wonders... try it.
What if you are going to be getting home from work just a few minutes before the showing? Pop the kettle corn in the microwave. The scent reminds many people of apple pie, and that has to be a good thing, doesn't it?
RELAX!! The showing will go much better if you do. You are now better prepared than most of the people who have sold their houses. You'll do just fine.
Accepting the offer
When you receive an offer on your house, don't take it personally. Remember, many people will look at any FSBO home as an opportunity to make a "low-ball" offer. Take your time, and try to look at the offer objectively.
Have a professional help you with the purchase agreement. Once again, your buyer's agent may be willing to help you look over the offers on your home. It never hurts to ask (preferably when you are interviewing various agents). You will probably want to make a counter-offer, and there will likely be a time limit on the offer you received, so again, it is best to have your experts lined up ahead of time. From my own experience, I can tell you that "Good contracts make for good friends!"
Again, remember not to take the offer personally. After all, this is a business decision for you. If the numbers work, Great! If they don't, then don't feel like you have to take the offer, especially if it is the first one.
Finally, before accepting the offer, make certain that the potential buyers have the ability to qualify for the loan. If they have not been pre-approved (not just pre-qualified, there is a difference) your lender can help you make sure they can actually buy your home before you waste a lot of time, and possibly turn away other, qualified buyers.
I hope this helps you negotiate the pitfalls of selling your home For Sale By Owner. Good Luck!
Setting up your Team
Just because you have decided to sell your house on your own, doesn't mean that you should do everything yourself. It is important that you set up a team of experts to help you with the details. Here are a few people you should have on your team:
Title Company/Real Estate Attorney: You will want help preparing the sales contract and any disclosure documents pertaining to the sale of your home. You really want to get this part right to avoid any legal difficulties later. If you have a trusted friend who is an attorney, they can help. Also, most title companies prepare these documents several times each day, and may provide these services free or for a reduced fee, with the expectation that your will use their services for title and escrow, a good deal for both of you!
You may also find a real estate agent who will perform these services for you for a nominal fee. If you are staying in the local area, your buyer's agent may help you with the sale of your home, and with a little negotiating on your part may even do it for nothing, since they are going to be compensated on the purchase of your new home (which you won't be buying unless your current home sells).
Mortgage Lender: OK, I'll admit that I may be a little bit biased here, but a good lender can be one of the most valuable people on your expert team. A good loan officer can pre-approve any interested buyers for you, so you can weed out those who are just incapable of buying your home. A lender should also be willing to prepare a financing breakdown on your home, allowing buyers to compare different financing options.
You can also get pre-approved for the purchase of your new home! This can save you money and puts you in a stronger bargaining position compared to others who may be interested in your NEW home. I have seen this one item make and break a home purchase agreement.
Home Inspector: You may want to think about having your home inspected prior to putting it on the market. This will help you with your disclosure statements, and makes a very favorable impression on buyers!
Pricing your home to sell
How much should you sell your home for? It's simple... Just as much as you can get, and still sell in a reasonable time frame, right?
Absolutely! The problem is that most homeowners don't really have an accurate idea of the value of their home. How can we solve this dilemma?
The best way to value your home is to have an appraisal done. An appraiser will look at your house and compare it to other, similar houses (comps) and arrive at a fair market value.
You would then take this value and make any adjustments you feel are necessary. Do you need to sell quickly? You might want to lower the price a little. Have time and want top dollar? Then maybe you want to leave the price right at market, or even a little higher.
Don't want to pay for an appraisal? After all, they will cost several hundred dollars. You can get an idea, though not as accurate as an appraisal, by asking your title company (you did remember to set up your team already, didn't you?) or a real estate agent to "pull comps" for you. Just take what you see with a grain of salt, and remember to figure in whatever direction the market is moving. Remember, comps deal with past sales prices, not what they would sell for today.
Attracting potential buyers
There are numerous ways to lure prospective buyers to your home. Some of the most common are:
Signs: Probably the most important thing you can do to sell your house quickly is to put a professional looking FSBO sign in your front yard. This will tell everyone who drives by that your home is on the market, and will also make it much easier for potential buyers, who may be looking for your house, to find it.
Flyers: You will want to have flyers printed up that describe your house. Be sure to include such highlights as the number of bed and bathrooms, square footage, and any unique features that may not be obvious at first glance. Put a photo on the flyer (black and white is fine). An excellent idea is to put some financing options on the back of the flyer. Your lender can give you this information.
Classified Ads: You will probably want to put an ad in the classified section of the local paper. Keep it short and sweet (it's cheaper that way). If you are holding an open house, you will definitely want to place an ad in the real estate section the day before.
Neighbors: This is an often neglected source of buyers, by realtors and FSBOs alike. Tell all your neighbors, or send out a postcard, that you are selling, and ask them if they have any friends or relatives who would like to live in the neighborhood.
Internet: Think about listing your home on the net. Many people start their home search online, but most are just browsing, and you may wind up with less serious shoppers. Be sure to weigh the costs vs. the advantages. Craigslist is a free site that is getting more and more real estate traffic, check it out before spending money on an expensive listing service.
Showing your home
Oh No! There are people coming to look at your house. What do you do now?
Before hand, make sure you have your flyers printed. Now, go out and buy a few packages of ready-made chocolate chip cookie dough and some microwave kettle corn, you'll see why in a sec.
OK. It's the day of the showing. First, take a quick run through of your entire house. Make sure everything is clean and picked up. Remember, no clutter is best! Next, give the carpets a quick vacuum. Even a soiled carpet looks better when it has been recently vacuumed.
About a half hour before the home shoppers arrive, put a dozen of those chocolate chip cookies in the oven. They will make the house smell much more "homey," plus you can put the cookies on a plate to offer to your "guests." This is an old real estate agent's trick, that will work wonders... try it.
What if you are going to be getting home from work just a few minutes before the showing? Pop the kettle corn in the microwave. The scent reminds many people of apple pie, and that has to be a good thing, doesn't it?
RELAX!! The showing will go much better if you do. You are now better prepared than most of the people who have sold their houses. You'll do just fine.
Accepting the offer
When you receive an offer on your house, don't take it personally. Remember, many people will look at any FSBO home as an opportunity to make a "low-ball" offer. Take your time, and try to look at the offer objectively.
Have a professional help you with the purchase agreement. Once again, your buyer's agent may be willing to help you look over the offers on your home. It never hurts to ask (preferably when you are interviewing various agents). You will probably want to make a counter-offer, and there will likely be a time limit on the offer you received, so again, it is best to have your experts lined up ahead of time. From my own experience, I can tell you that "Good contracts make for good friends!"
Again, remember not to take the offer personally. After all, this is a business decision for you. If the numbers work, Great! If they don't, then don't feel like you have to take the offer, especially if it is the first one.
Finally, before accepting the offer, make certain that the potential buyers have the ability to qualify for the loan. If they have not been pre-approved (not just pre-qualified, there is a difference) your lender can help you make sure they can actually buy your home before you waste a lot of time, and possibly turn away other, qualified buyers.
I hope this helps you negotiate the pitfalls of selling your home For Sale By Owner. Good Luck!
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