How to Sell Your House Without a Real Estate Professional..”FSBO”

How to Sell Your House Without a Real Estate Professional..”FSBO”

When the real estate market improves and home prices are increasing, there’s more demand and less inventory, “FSBO” become more visible. Why not? The real estate market is good, anything and everything with four walls are selling and last time you checked, the value of your home has increased a great deal where you can finally buy that waterfront home you’ve been dreaming about.

No matter what your background is, you certainly can sell your own home without a Realtor®. The question you must ask yourself is “will my net profit be higher”. See, whether you use a Realtor® to sell your house or sell it By Owner, there are certain costs associated with the sale of a house as well as the time it takes to get it sold. The faster you sell your house, better for you as you would spend less money on mortgage payments, costs associated with the upkeep, utilities and time you take away from your job.

Here’s how you can sell your house without a real estate professional..”FSBO”

 

-Price Your House to Sell: You’ve heard the old saying there’s a buyer for every house, while this is so true, that saying has been around for many years and times have changed. In year 2015, today’s buyers are savvy and they can easily find out what your house is worth as this information is available online but better yet, they are most likely working with a Realtor® who can run comps from MLS and be able to tell him/her what the houses in the area are selling for. Before you do anything, be sure to price your house within the fair market range. If it is priced too high, it won’t go anywhere, priced too low, you will be leaving money on the table.
You could hire an appraiser at about $300.00 to $400.00 to do the appraisal to provide you with the information needed to price your house.

-Prepare Your House to Show: Your house should not only attract buyers from the outside but once they’re in the house, they should be able to picture themselves living there. Some suggestions are, declutter inside and out, paint to neutral colors if necessary, clean..clean..clean.
If anything needs to be fixed, this would be a great time to do it as it will come out during inspection.

-Take Great Pictures of Your House: I suggest hiring a professional to do this, it usually runs between $250.00-$350.00. Remember, buyers will see photos online before they even consider your house.

-Market Your House Online and Off: Get professional postcards made and mail them out to your neighborhood announcing the sale of your house, they might know somebody who is looking to purchase a home. Most buyers today start their search online so you must reach out to those potential buyers. There are many websites such as ForSaleByOwner, Owners.com as well as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, Google, Yahoo, Craigslist. These are just a few, there are many more.

-Hold Open Houses: Depending on your area, Open Houses can be great if done correctly. I suggest advertising the Open House a week prior with the exact times, place minimum 10 directional signs(I use 25 signs for mine). Prepare your house for the special day, have a sign-in sheet so you know who’s in your house, have brochures available to visitors, offer light snacks and drinks.

-Show Your House: You should have a lock box on the front door with the key to your house so buyers can preview it anytime that is convenient for them. If you’re home every day including the weekends, you can show your house, if not, make it available somehow. Ohh, be ready to answer calls. Don’t get frustrated if most of these calls are coming from Realtors® as they are trying to get more listings and work For Sale by Owners.
I strongly suggest qualifying each potential buyer who is walking through your door. If they are cast buyers, they should have “Proof of Funds”, if they are using a mortgage, they should have a “Pre-Approval” letter.

-Negotiate: If you haven’t done so already, this is when you must remain calmand focused while remaining objective and detached from the house emotionally. Look at the negotiation as a business deal, if the offer is too low, it is not against you personally or the house. You must have a strategy and know exactly what you will settle for. Keep in mind price is not the only item that’s negotiable.

-Prepare to Close: Each state is different, for instance, Florida is a title state and most of the closings are handled by title companies. To ensure you are using the correct, legal forms, it is not a bad idea to contact a Real Estate Attorney. They of course have fees they charge just to do the paperwork and conduct the closing, again, each state is different, call at least three in your area to find out about their fees. There are forms available at Office Depot, Staples as well as online, be sure to use the most updated, legal form for the state you are in.

Between contract to closing, there are couple of things that take place, one is an inspection and the other is an appraisal. Inspection period should be outlined in the contract as well as repair limits, not every contract is the same, some buyers even remove the inspection and appraisal contingencies.

Whether you choose to sell your house on your own or hire a professional, above are some of the most important steps in a transaction. If you skip one, the end result might not be what you were expecting. Process of selling a home is work, it takes time, knowledge and willingness not to mention all the tools that are necessary.

How to Sell Your House Without a Real Estate Professional..”FSBO”

 

 

Beth Atalay, Broker/Owner Cam Realty and Property Management 407-929-1852 Wheretoliveinorlando.com BethAtalay@Gmail.com Your Orlando Agent - Where to Live in Orlando