Tips on Selling Your Home on Your Own
If you're thinking about selling your home by owner, you need to understand a few acts. Although many sellers sell FSBO
(For Sale by Owner), most home sellers turn to an agent for help. This happens when the unprepared
seller gives up after
a few frustrating weeks of wasting money on advertising with poor results.
 For Sale by Owner Sign
According to the National Association of Realtors, almost two-thirds of the people surveyed who sell FSBO say they
wouldn't do it again themselves. Primary reasons included setting a price, marketing handicaps, liability concerns,
and time.
If you want to hire yourself, here are a few tips for selling by owner.
For Sale By Owner Tips
Step #1 Change Your Thinking
The minute you decide to sell your home, start thinking about your house as a marketing product instead of HOME.
you're selling real estate property, whether you have a
house with land, a condo in a
community, or a cabin in the
woods.
Because your home may well be your largest asset, you need to think of your house as the investment it represents to
your future. Capitalize on your most valuable asset, reduce home selling stress, take control of your sale, and make the
most profit possible.
Your motivation for selling determines how you
prepare your home for sale and the steps you take to sell. For instance,
if you need to sell right away without spending any cash or charging up your credit cards to dress up your house, you
would need to discount the sales price. If you home benefits from perfect condition you still could sell fast for a
better price. However, if your home lacks pizzazz and you have time, you can make simple changes to
sell for top
dollar. The key to making the highest profit possible is to make changes that don't cost a lot but give you a high
return on your money and effort.
Step #2 Check out Your Competition
Like the professional marketer that you must emulate, research similar properties for sale. Take notes on house
features, conditions, seller’s enticements like owner financing, and rate properties in comparison to yours. You
must understand what home shoppers will compare your home to. What is your home’s best benefit to a prospective buyer?
What makes your home better than any other house for sale?
Step #3 Make Your Home Stand Out
Prepare your home to sell. This doesn't just require deep cleaning and removing cutter. You must create a buyer’s
dream home. You might need to paint and redesign some rooms. This step means that you think about your prospective buyers
and their emotional needs and desires.
Start with the first glimpse of your home. Pretend you are a home buyer seeing your home for the first time.
What do you see from your car? Make your home so inviting buyers will get out of their comforting cars and walk to
your front door. Place fresh seasonal flowers, in pots or planted, along the front walk or by your front door.
You might need to make repairs -- like lubricating squeaky door hinges,
fixing dripping faucets, and making
sure toilets flush properly.
Exterminate. One bug or spider, dead or alive, can cause some buyers to leave immediately.
Depersonalize. Pack your personal mementos and photographs. Give your buyers the opportunity to visualize
their personal effects in your home.
Clean or replace carpeting. You may be accustomed to the way your carpet looks, but what do buyers see? If you're
selling to first-time home buyers, they most likely won't have the money beyond the down payment to pay for new
carpeting. Move-up buyers expect perfection, even if they want to tear it all out.
Stage your home. Take the extra care to stage each area of your home. Consider your target buyer’s profile and
stage spaces for this audience. First-time buyers with young children appreciate space for family games. Move-up buyers
with older children appreciated spaces for entertaining. You could set up a board game for the younger market and a bar
for older buyers.
Step #4 Prepare Your Services
Find a knowledgeable loan officer to help you with pricing and screening buyers. Loan officers can arrange an
appraisal, give you a list of comparable sales, and qualify your buyers. Also, look for an escrow officer or closing
agent to help you with sales contracts and disclosures. Many escrow offices double as title companies to help you with
legal papers. Depending on your local customs, you may need a real estate attorney’s help with the legal details.
Step# 5 Price to Sell
When you have worked so hard to prepare your home for sale,
price it right. Keep your emotions out of this step. You
must price your home right because buyers shop around and will know if your price is too high.
Step # 6 Market Your Property
Plan your marketing strategy. Write ads for your buyer. don't copy real estate agent ads because they write to
attract all buyers. Write your ad featuring the best benefit for your buyer--the advantage that sets your home apart.
Create a sizzling home flyer and use directional signs as well as a yard sign.
When you show your home, keep the reasons you're selling to yourself. don't give home buyers an upper hand by letting
them know of any problems you may have. If they ask why you're selling, just tell them that your housing needs
changed.
Step # 7 Sell to the Right Buyer
Sellers selling FSBO get many investor calls looking for a desperate home seller. To get full price for your home, you
must sell to a home buyer who plans to live in your home. Avoid wasting your time with investors. Ask prospective
buyers when they plan to move to determine if you're talking to a real buyer. Have
your loan officer qualify a buyer
before you accept any offer.
Step #8 Monitor Your Sale
Stage your home for the appraisal. Invite your buyers to return early in the sale to reinforce their desire and avoid
buyer’s remorse.
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