FSBO Help Part 4:
"Top 10 Ways to Sell Your Home Faster Than the Neighbors (tips 6-10)" 

TIP #6:  DON'T IGNORE THE GREENERY!
First impressions are made as soon as the buyer pulls into the driveway, so make sure your yard is in tip-top condition.  Clean up your landscaping, and get rid of any plants that are dead or are not healthy looking.  Trim all trees, plants, and shrubs.  Cut the grass, trim the hedges, get out the weedwacker, and add new mulch to the flower beds.
REMEMBER:  Colorful flowers look great near a front door and on porches and balconies.  However, don't overdo it.  Limit yourself to one pot on either side of the door and one pot in each corner of a balcony.

TIP #7:  GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!
When there is a showing scheduled for your home, LEAVE!  I know this is inconvenient, and can be on short notice, and I know it can be next to impossible if you have small children at home.  But trust me, buyers will stick around longer and look around more if you are not there.  Your presence makes them feel like intruders.  If you want them to give your house a fair chance, get out fefore they get there!

TIP #8:  HOME WARRANTY!
This tip is pretty self-explanatory.  Offer prospective buyers a one-year home warranty.  This will only cost you a few hundred dollars, and will make your home much more attractive than the house next door without a warranty.
BONUS:  Some Realtors offer Home Warranty Packages to their sellers.  If you are interested in this service, and live in or around the Jupiter, FL area, the Take 5 Team can help!

TIP #9:  NO KIDDIE FLYERS!!!
Make sure you have professionally designed flyers/brochures.  This does not mean have your Realtor print out a copy of the MLS sheet or type up a Word document and add a picture.  Any 3rd grader can do that.  Luckily, most of your competition will think this is adequate material to hand out to buyers.  Have a sharp looking brochure, and you will stand out from the crowd!

TIP #10:  OFFER AN INCENTIVE!!!
If you have followed every one of these tips, chances are you are already going to sell your house faster than the guy next door.  But, just in case he is reading the same tips you are, offering an incentive to the buyer can give you a leg up on the competition if all else is equal.  You can be traditional (offer to pay some or all of the closing costs, or pay the HOA fees for a year), or creative (offer a 5-night cruise to the buyer).  The idea is to give your home that little extra something that buyers can't find anywhere else... especially not at the neighbor's house!

(This is the fourth post in our 7 part series "FSBO Help".... Add us to your "favorites" and stay tuned for more!)

FSBO Help Part 1: "Thinking INSIDE the Box:  Packing to Stay Ahead of the Pack"
FSBO Help Part 2: "Why Staging is Taking Center Stage"
FSBO Help Part 3:  "Top 10 Ways to Sell Your Home Faster Than the Neighbors (tips 1-5)"

Meghan Mullee
Jupiter, FL Real Estate

Copyright 2008 Meghan Mullee