Real Estate Tips - Selling It Yourself?
Plan It Out!
If you plan to sell your home on your own, or already have your home on the
market, good luck! Some homeowners choose to sell their homes themselves, and
do so successfully. However, you have a lot of competition. Real Estate Agents
are in the business because they know what they are doing, and if they don't,
they won't last long. In this multi-part series, we will tackle the road to
selling your own home. The questions you should ask yourself, how to develop a
marketing plan and where to go with your questions.
Questions To
Consider
Why? Why are you thinking of selling
your home on your own? Are you trying to save money?
Were you burnt in the past by an unscrupulous agent?
Are you sure you can do better than some stranger?
How much time can you invest in selling
your home? Can you be available at various times of
the day or week to show your home? Are you accessible
by phone when potential buyers have questions?
Do you feel safe inviting strangers into
your home? What precautions will you take in order to
ensure the safety of you, your family and your home?
Do you have all the legal forms required
to complete a real estate transaction? Do you feel comfortable
with these forms, in filling them out and understanding
their role in the sales process?
Do you have a marketing plan? How will
you bring buyers to your front door? How will you find
buyers who qualify?
Selling On Your
Own
Many For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) start
out because the homeowner just doesn't want to pay that
pesky commission. Homeowners are sure that the agent
just isn't worth a small percent of the sale price of
their home. So FSBOs plan on saving that dollar amount
by selling the property themselves. Can you save money?
Possibly! Can you become the victim of buyers looking
for a good deal? It happens! Many buyers who shop around
look specifically at FSBOs because they smell a bargain.
These buyers know that you, the homeowner, aren't paying
a commission to an agent. So these buyers immediately
cut that commission amount straight off the top of your
asking price. Not fair, you say. You already figured
in the cost of saving that commission and you put the
price at a point where you could come out on top. But
just as you are trying to save money, so is that buyer.
So, many FSBOs end up with lowball offers, lower than
they want or perhaps are even able, to take. Lowball
offers aren't the case with every for-sale-by-owner,
but it happens more often than a homeowner would like
to believe.
Another reason a homeowner goes the FSBO route is because the last
transaction was a bad one. The agent lost the respect or trust of the homeowner
and it just left a bad taste in the homeowner's mouth. This happens, more often
than most real estate agents would like. As in any profession, there are bad
apples. But there are many, many more professionals who take their real estate
career seriously and work diligently to do the best they can for their clients.
Talk with trusted family and friends. Ask for a referral. Then meet with the
agent and see how you feel. If you still have a nagging feeling about working
with an agent again, then consider forging ahead as a FSBO!
Help Along The
Way
There are many resources available to FSBOs! Here
are just a few of your options:
Sign
up for a flat fee and save thousands in commission.
Get maximum exposure for minimum cost!
Visit your local library. There are plenty of books
outlining the sales process. There are even videos on
how to present your home, negotiate deals and complete
the transaction.
Partner up with a local loan officer you know and trust.
A loan officer will be glad to give you sales and marketing
tips, and you will have a knowledgeable person who can
screen your buyer prospects and make sure they financially
qualify to purchase your home.
Surf the Web! There are many websites with FSBO selling
tips. Beware of FSBO tip sites which are really the
sites of agents trying to obtain your contact information.
Don't forget to take a close look at your state's Department
of Real Estate site! You can find out what forms you
will need and what your legal obligations are as a seller.
Talk to real estate pros in your area. Really! Many
agents would be happy to answer your questions or provide
you with a form or two. But keep in mind that if you
end up turning to an agent to sell your home, you should
give the first crack to the agent who helped you.
Still going to tackle the sale on your own? In the next article we'll take
a look at how you can price your home to sell!
by: Tina McAllister
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