The Home Show

Tips For Selling Your Own Home (FSBO)

 
Here are some tips to assist you if you plan to sell your own home or have been trying to sell your own home.

For Sale By Owner

Action Items
  1. Place an ad in your area newspaper. Include the area of town, the price, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. These are the most important considerations for a buyer.

  2. Consider placing additional ads in other local publications.

  3. Place ads with four or five Internet "For Sale By Owner" web sites.

  4. Design a flyer or brochure for your property. A photo and description of your home is important.

  5. Be aware of at least three different possible ways to finance the sale of your home. Seller financing, adjustable rate, and fixed rate loans are good examples. Buyers need to know the total cash down payment, including closing costs and monthly payments.

  6. Be aware of the current interest rates and points on fixed and adjustable rate loans as part of your preparation to negotiate a selling price for your home.

  7. Consider having an appraisal done on your home to determine its current value. This is important since buyers will typically offer less than you are asking because they know a savings of the commission is often built into your price. You are trying to save the commission and so are they. Therefore, you need to know what the fair market value of your home is.
  8. When a prospective buyer wants to visit your home, follow these guidelines:

    • Exercise care when a prospective buyer arrives at your home unannounced. It is always a good idea to pre-screen them first before letting them into your home. Verify their phone number and current home address, if possible.

    • Serious buyers are usually looking at a lot of homes. You might need to take time off from work to accomodate their schedule.

    • Always prepare the home before it is shown. Do not leave money or other valuables lying about. 

    • Have your brochures available on your kitchen table or close to your front door.

    • Introduce yourself at the front door (or go outside to meet them in your yard). Strike up a conversation. Get to know a little about them and what kind of home they are looking for.

      If you determine they are not serious, or that your home would not be suitable for them, do not let them in!  If they persist, they could have a second agenda.
    • You should accompany your prospective buyer(s) as they tour your home. Keep them together in a group. Ask them to leave their children outside. It is very easy to become distracted and lose control if there are too many strangers in your home at the same time.

    • Most people will not seem to express an interest in your home. To some extent, this is a potential negotiation technique. Buyers shop by comparison and there are usually a great number of homes for them to consider.

    • Be sure to have the legally required disclosures on your home available to potential buyers - "Residential Sellers Disclosure" and "Lead-Based Paint Disclosure" (for homes built prior to 1978).  An undisclosed problem with your home can cause untold problems - at best holding up your closing and at worst, putting you in legal hot water.

    • In the event that you receive an offer from a buyer, have them put it in writing. Prior to this it would be wise to retain a real estate attorney to assist you with the transaction through closing.

Open House

 
Open House Tips
  1. Look in your local newspaper, in the classified real estate section, to determine which is the most popular day for your open house (typically Sundays).

  2. Schedule your open house at least one week in advance.

  3. Restrict the total open house hours to no more than 3-4 hours.(i.e. 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.) This will increase the odds that several people will be looking at your home simultaneously. Your negotiation position will be enhanced if a potential buyer knows that someone else may also be interested in your home.

  4. Place directional signs from 3-4 blocks away pointing to your house.

  5. Place a very visible "Open House" yard sign in front.

  6. Remove any litter on the grounds and pick up/organize your yard (i.e. kid’s toys, rake leaves, cut the grass, etc.).

  7. Your front porch area and entryway should sparkle! You only get one chance at a first impression. If it is a bad impression, they might not even bother to come to your door.

  8. Turn on all lights (including closets) and open the draperies.

  9. Place your brochures, or other printed material, in the entry area.

  10. Make sure your bathroom is extra clean.

  11. If you have very organized closets, open a few for inspection.

  12. Verify that all valuables are secured and not accessible.

  13. Turn on soft music on the same radio station in each room, where available.

  14. Consider a guest registration book for visitors to sign in.

Decisions, Decisions.

 
In Summary...
 
There's an old saying that any attorney who represents themselves has a fool for a client. It's no different in real estate - most agents will have a colleague negotiate offers for them when they buy or sell their own homes!
 
So, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  Selling your own home successfully is not an easy venture.
 
If you do decide to list your home for sale with a Realtor, I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to describe my services and marketing plan for your home.

 
 

Excerpt from National Association of Realtors
Survey of Home Buyers & Sellers (July 15th, 2003)
 
A trend in recent years showing a decline in for-sale-by-owners (FSBOs) has stabilized, with 14% of sellers conducting transactions without the assistance of a real estate professional. This compares with 13% in 2001 and a cyclical high of 18% in 1997.
 
However, Whatley said this number doesn't tell the whole story. "44% of buyers who purchased their home directly from an owner during the first quarter knew that seller in advance, compared with about 27% in 2001," she said. "What this tells us is that a significant portion of FSBO transactions are not placed on the open market."
 
"In fact, the slight increase in overall FSBOs results entirely from the rise in closely held transactions," Whatley said. "If you just look at homes placed on the open market, only 5% of buyers in early 2003 purchased directly from sellers they didn't know in advance of the transaction – down from 11% in 2001."
 
Because sellers are faced with a number of challenges, only half of recent FSBOs said they would sell their current home without the assistance of an agent, while many were unsure of what they'd do. The biggest problem areas for FSBOs were understanding and completing paperwork, preparing a home for sale, getting the right price and having enough time for all aspects of the sales process.