The Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid in 2015 if You Are A FSBO.
1. Drafting the real estate contract on your own is very dangerous. Tackling the challenge to sell your property, do the marketing, showing and negotiating is something most for sale by owners should avoid. It is a good practice to hire a lawyer to assist with your real estate purchase contract if a Realtor is not involved in the transaction.
2. Failing to provide a seller’s disclosure. Normally most real estate transactions involve a detailed disclosure provided by the seller outlining minor and major issues regarding the property being sold. Things like mechanical and structural defects. Courts can determined that if particular items are not disclosed to the buyer that a contract could be resented or monetary damages could result to the previous owner.
3. Failing to provide the federal lead based paint disclosure documentation, if your property was built before 1978.
4. Neglecting to register all potential buyers who preview your property.
5. Providing too much information. Although many sellers know how much money they have invested in their property and believe that is a good selling feature to provide potential buyers. Sometimes telling too much information during the showing of the property can make it appear as though you’re desperate.
6. Failing to disclose material defects. As noted earlier with the sellers disclosure which normally does provide for this situation. Failing to disclose a material defect in the property can become a major liability in the future after the sale. Three words we learn in the real estate business when in doubt disclose.
7. Pricing your property incorrectly. Even though most for sale by owners want to sale their property because they can save the marketing fee and what a real estate brokerage charges.
8. Most for sale by owners are not used to negotiating price and other items during the real estate transaction. Understanding important issues such as earnest money, possession, loan commitment and inspection dates all can play a major role in negotiation in the sales contract.
9. Understanding contingencies. Sometimes it may be easy to get an offer to purchase on your property as a for sale by owner. However, what kind of contingencies have been placed in the verbiage of the contract? How quickly must the buyers get their loan approval? What about building inspections? All of these issues can play a major role.
10. The closing. It is always a good idea to make sure the transaction is closed at a local escrow or title insurance company You could as choose a local attorney to close your real estate transaction too.
These are only ten mistakes that many for sale by owners make when trying to go down that long road of selling their property on their own.
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