Date Posted: 2012-10-01 04:11:45
Site Posted: Myproperty.ph
A lot of people are convinced that selling their property without a real estate broker will save them a lot of money. To some extent it is true, but you’ll have to have a lot of knowledge in real estate to do it right. While doing an FSBO (for sale by owner) is tougher than working with a professional, it can be done as long as you have enough information and patience to see it through. Here are some tips on successfully putting up your property for sale.
Educate yourself
If you’re not a real estate expert and this is your first time selling a property, then you’ve got a lot of studying to do. Familiarize yourself with the process of home selling, from the preparations involved to the closing. In addition, find out about the paperwork you need to accomplish, such as legal documents, property appraisals and the title. You should also take care of hiring the people who will help you with the sale, like a property appraiser, a home inspector and a real estate attorney.
Stage your home
Look at your house & lot for sale the way prospective buyer would see it. Determine any problems that you need to take care of, whether operational or aesthetic. Doing so will also allow you to figure out which of these repairs you can do yourself and which of them will need professional help. When these have been attended to, give the whole house an intensive cleaning (particularly in the kitchen and in the bathrooms) and stage it for people who want to come in for a showing.
Price it well
Overpricing is probably the biggest mistake that homeowners make when holding a DIY home sale. This drives away potential buyers and leaves the property sitting in the market, where it loses value every day that it goes unsold. You can determine the right price of your home by a) getting an appraisal, b) finding out how much houses have been sold for in your neighborhood recently, and c) going to other houses for sale and finding out their prices.
Do some marketing
One of the most effective means of marketing your FSBO is through real estate listing websites, where you can input details about and photos of your home, and prospective buyers can easily search for it. Other online attention-grabbers are social media websites like Facebook, as well as community discussion boards. If you would prefer a more traditional approach, classifieds ads in newspapers and “for sale” signs on the property are also good methods of advertising.
Meet and negotiate
When choosing prospective buyers, be sure that you focus on serious ones, meaning that they are pre-approved for a mortgage. You have to be ready to negotiate with the buyer; it’s easy to lose your head when you get into a negotiation so stay calm and listen to what the buyer has to say. If you want to stick with your selling price, make sure that there is enough reason to back it up, such as a home valuation and current market conditions.
Seal the deal
When you reach the closing stage, be ready with the paperwork involved and get a real estate attorney to look them over and see if they’re all in order. A number of things can go wrong at closing (delay in mortgage approval, renegotiations after the buyer’s own home inspection or appraisal, etc.), so you have to be prepared to adapt to keep the sale on track.
An FSBO is a challenging task but not an impossible feat to pull off. Armed with research, some marketing savvy and the right attitude, you can successfully put up a home sale by yourself.
Jillian Cariola, Writer
Image attribution:
Thumbnail: Aaron Murphy
This page: Steve Mann
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