For Sale by Owner

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Seller,

I appreciate that you would like to sell your home yourself and save some money. Who wouldn’t want to net more on the sale of their home? I have some suggestions and information that might help. 

First of all, you should offer a 3% commission to the agent that brings you a buyer. Actually, you should offer more if you really want to sell your home quickly. Here’s why. According to NAR, only 9% of homes are sold by owner. That means most of the serious buyers are working with agents. I define a serious buyer as one that wants or needs to move soon, and are qualified for a mortgage or have funds available to close the deal. You'll want to filter out nosy neighbors, unqualified buyers, and investors looking for a steal. So you want agents to bring their prequalified buyers, but agents don’t want to work directly with sellers because they end up doing all the work for both sides. To make it worth their time, offer a broker bonus or a higher commission rate.

Second, be prepared to drop everything and show your home when the buyer is available to see it. You aren’t really on the market if you aren’t home to show your property. Buyers are out looking at homes all day, every day. If you aren’t available to open the door, they will move on to the next house and make an offer there. 

Third, be careful when you do show your home. You will be fielding phone calls from strangers off your internet ads and the sign in your yard. Screen them carefully, make sure they are qualified to buy your home, and are serious buyers. Criminals use for sale by owner listings as opportunities to case potential targets. Use common sense, protect yourself, your family, and your property.

Finally, have a plan for hiring a professional agent. Even before you list by owner, choose an agent to step in if the process becomes unmanageable. Don’t make a rash decision after you’ve had a bad weekend of trying to show the house yourself. Take the time to thoughtfully interview agents. Set a time limit of a few weeks for you to market it yourself. If you are offering a commission to the buyer’s agent, then the cost of an agent to protect your best interests will only cost you 3% more. And according to NAR, homes sold by agents typically sell for as much as 22% more than homes sold by owners, so you may actually end up netting more than you expected.

I wish you the best of luck marketing and selling your home. But if you need a hand, give me a call. I promise to net you the most money possible in this market, while making the process as smooth and painless as possible.

On second thought, call me first!