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For Sale by Owner Inside Tips for Selling Your Home FSBO

 

 

If you ask anyone who has ever tried to sell their home themselves they will tell you that from the moment the "For Sale by Owner" sign goes up, the phone begins to ring. Unfortunately, many of those calls will not be from prospective buyers, but rather from real estate agents looking to obtain your listing.

Obviously the idea of not having to pay a commission to a real estate agent is attractive to any home seller.

FSBO Homes Get More Buyer Interest

As the real estate market cools down, attracting buyers is becoming more difficult. FSBO sellers, however, certainly will have fewer problems with this issue. That is where we can also Help FSBO sellers.

Why FSBO Homes Get More Buyer Interest

As the red hot real estate market cools off, owners are finding the demand for their properties slowing down to traditional levels. No longer is there a stampede to make offers on houses. As this evolution occurs, one area of the real estate market is less traumatized than others – the FSBO market. For a variety of reasons, a FSBO property priced appropriately will typically receive more interest than those listed by Realtors.

Here are a few reasons for this. These assumptions could be to your advantage!

As a FSBO seller, it is important to understand that people assume things about you. They assume you are unsophisticated. They assume you can be had. Most importantly, they assume they can get a deal on your property. Is any of this true? Not really, but you should not complain. These assumptions are going to help you move your house quickly.

Real Estate Investors love to hunt for and buy FSBO properties. This occurs because the investor understands that you have room to move on the price without an real estate agent involved. They also assume that the property may have more potential than you realize as a FSBO seller, so they can buy the property and flip it for a nice profit. Regardless of their intentions, rest assured real estate investors will be knocking down your door if you list your property for sale by owner.

With traditional buyers, the situation is not much difference. They perceive a FSBO property as one that has a lot of potential movement on the price. They also often feel they are going to get a deal on the property. With these assumptions being made by buyers, you need to consider you approach as a FSBO seller.

Many FSBO sellers go out of their way to make it clear to potential buyers that they know what they are doing. A better approach, however, might be to play upon the assumptions. If a potential buyer thinks they can take advantage of you, why disavow them of this assumption? The point is to sell the property. As long as you know your bottom line and stick to it, who cares? Let them think they are getting a deal. When you walk away with more than your bottom line, who will be smiling then? I am not suggesting you do anything nefarious, just leverage your position to get the best deal you can for FSBO seller!

As the real estate market returns to a more typical pace, sellers need to figure out how to attract buyers.

Going FSBO is definitely one way to do it.

Please read the Tips below... When you decide to Sell your home "For Sale by Owner", we can help you with worldwide advertising. See our " Advertising Rates "

For Sale by Owner 10 Inside Tips for Selling Your Home Yourself

 

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Correctly setting your asking price is critical. Setting your price too high can be as costly as setting it too low. Home prices are determined by fluctuations in the marketplace not by your emotional attachment or by what you feel your home is worth. In order to establish a realistic price for your home, objectively compare the price, features and condition of all similar homes in both your neighborhood and other similar ones which have sold in recent months. It is also important for you to be familiar with the terms of each potential sale. Terms are often as important as price in today’s market. Carefully budget your selling costs and prepare a net proceeds sheet to calculate your best estimate of what you will take away from your home sale. Prospective buyers may also request this kind of analysis of buying costs.

 

 

First impression is crucial. Make sure your home makes a positive statement by carefully inspecting all details and viewing it through the objective eyes of a buyer. Don’t gloss over needed repairs and fix-ups, as your prospective buyers won’t. Your job is to ensure that your home stands out favorably from the competition.

 

 

Not surprisingly, there are many important legal contracts and documents which you must assemble, complete and understand. A partial checklist of forms that you will require for prospective buyers and for legal documentation is as follows:

• Mortgage Payoff

• Loan Application

• Deposit Receipt

• Property Profile Fact Sheet

• Buyer’s Cost Sheet

• Closing & Settlement

• Personal Property

• Exclusion List

• Property Survey

• Sellers Statement /Plot Plan of Representation

 

See Our Free Real Estate Forms, Documents, Contracts and Agreements

 

 

Beyond the sign you will put on your lawn, you should find effective ways to spread the word about your home. Local buyers can be reached through the newspaper, but this is only a small part of the market you are after. Be sure you include the many buyers who could already be working with a Realtor®. To locate them, target as many top agents as possible in your market to see if the criteria of their buyers matches that of your home's. Because out-of-town buyers are also an important target, you should create a strategy to reach these people as well. Above all, you should be very service minded and make it easy for pre-qualified buyers to view your home. We have the Pre-Approval system here that can help with Pre-Qualification of your potential buyers. Ensure that there is always someone available to answer the phone, pick up messages promptly, and be ready to give qualified prospects a tour of your home as soon as possible. The pictures we can show here on www.JimBonham.com will help weed a lot of browsers out, giving you serious buyers. They are able to see what you have without intruding on the family before knowing whether they are interested in your home.

 

 

Keep emotion out of the sale of your home, and the best way to do this during a showing is to remain physically in the background. If a prospective buyer says something negative about your home, it is better to counter-balance this point of view by illustrating the positives rather than becoming defensive.

Don’t waste your time entertaining buyers who could never afford your home. Research their financial steadiness with respect to job security, salary, debts, liabilities and credit standing. We provide Free Pre-Qualification from our website. This will help you know your prospective buyer is serious. Ask for a Mortgage Pre-Qualification letter from the potential buyer.

There will be many details to resolve before a sale can be considered final: price, terms, inspections, possession date, buyer concerns and objections. Make sure you fully understand the contract you have drawn up so you can in turn explain details and ramifications to the buyer and make any amendments to the sale that are necessary. The contract you use should be thoroughly examined by your real estate attorney. Some real estate brokers may be willing to help you do this. While this is going on, manage the buyer’s interest in your home so that it doesn’t wane during negotiations.

Your objective during negotiations is to control the pace and set the duration. Try to determine what your buyer’s motivation is. Does he or she need to move quickly? Do they have enough money to pay your asking price? Knowing this information will give you the advantage in the negotiation because you will know up front, what you will need to do in order to get what you want.

 

 

Studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that is vacant. It looks forlorn, forgotten, simply not appealing. It could even cost you money. If you move, you’re also telling buyers that you have a new home and are motivated to sell fast which can, of course, give them an advantage at the negotiating table.

 

 

The flip side of “understanding your buyer” is to “understand yourself”. Your reasons for selling will affect everything from your list price to how much time and money you will invest in getting your home ready for sale. Your motivation will help you determine what is more important to you: the money you walk away with, the length of time your property is on the market, or both. Different goals will dictate different strategies. As someone who wants to sell without a real estate agent in an effort to save the commission, it is likely that money is one of your primary considerations, (see, "How to Assess Your Net Gain" below). Whatever your reasons, however, it is very important to keep them to yourself so as not to place yourself at a disadvantage at the negotiation table. When asked, simply say your housing needs have changed.

 

 

To analyze whether or not you will end up ahead by choosing to sell on your own, consider the fact that most buyers do use a real estate agent because it doesn’t cost them anything for this service (i.e. the seller (you) pays the agent’s fee). Be cautious as buyers, investors and speculators who seek out For Sale by Owners are typically those in search of a bargain. The low-ball offers from these types of buyers will often net you much lower in the long run. What you will have to judge for yourself is the following:

 

1.) Be as prepared as possible with your marketing, negotiations, evaluations, showings and all legalities.

 

2.) Consider what it will cost you to effectively market your home and assemble all necessary materials from the “for sale” sign to any contracts.

 

3.) What price will a buyer offer you as a For Sale by Owner minus the costs identified in point 2 above.

 

Is this net price higher than the price an experienced agent could net for you minus his/her commission? (Most of the time, 3% to 6% of total selling price)

 

 

Have a Great Day!!

Article by: Jim Bonham

 

 

Jim is the Creator of Bonham Enterprise's

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