You've Been Thinking About Selling Your Home For Sale By Owner
You want to sell your home for the most money.
We get it.
Below is Vital Information You Need to Sell For Sale By Owner
You want to sell your home yourself for a variety of reasons: you don't want to pay a Realtor® commission;you had a bad experience in the past; you do not have enough equity to sell with a Realtor; you want more control over how your home will be marketed and advertised; you don't trust the process; you had luck in early 2000's and avoided paying real estate fee's; You have lots of time on your hands and are sure it can't be that hard. You did it once before.
Ok then so what's changed? Learn more about the process of selling For Sale By Owner.
When you put your home on the market for sale by owner, you are what we in the industry call a "Fizz-bo", slang for the acronym that comes from For Sale By Owner.
Here are some vital tips on how you can sell your home alone....
1. For Sale signs are readily available at Lowe's or Home Depot. You can also get signs with brochure tubes.
2. Make sure you know the county rules and your HOA rules about For Sale Signs. In Prince William County Virginia the fines for leaving out for sale signs can be steep!
3. You can take photos of your home, use a template in your computer to make color brochures.
4. You can hire a For Sale By Owner company who will give you a lockbox, a for sale sign and forms if you opt for that fee. These types of agents are called Limited Service agents. They only do what they get paid to do. Period. Fee for service.
5. Or you Set an appointment with your attorney to obtain the disclosures and disclaimers, plus a Virginia-approved sales contract. Sure, you can get a simple real estate contract online or at Staples, but it will not contain the key terms, disclaimers, and disclosures required by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
6. It is best if you walk outside and pretend you are seeing your home for the very first time. It should look like a model. If it does not, pack up the clutter, take it to a storage unit, or have a storage unit delivered/picked-up at your home. Be sure you store your most precious possessions in your storage unit or storage pod
7. Decide whether or not you are willing to pay a Realtor® a fee if a Realtor brings a ready, willing, and able buyer to your home. If you want to make your home available to Realtor sales, you would be wise to offer attractive compensation to Realtors... offer a fee equal to three percent of the price to make your home attractive to Realtors. If you really want your home to sell offer a four percent incentive. Remember, most home buyers have a Realtor. You want those buyers to see your home.
8. Be prepared for numerous phone calls from Realtors offering to list and sell your house. Be prepared to say "No" until your tongue bleeds.
9. Stop right now and think. Really ponder this. You would never just open your door to a stranger. Yet now that you are getting ready to sell For Sale by Owner, that is exactly what you will be doing. You will be letting strangers wander around your home when you schedule a showing. When a prospective buyer calls about seeing your home, ask her/him if they are pre-APPROVED to buy a home at your price. Tell them to bring a copy of their pre-approval letter with them when they meet you to see your home. No letter, no showing. That way you know the person on that piece of paper has all of their personal information and knows who these folks are. ( Note- REALTORS® do not show properties to people who are not pre-approved. Buyers have been vetted, verified and have a Exclusive Buyers Representation when they work with a REALTOR. Burglars often ask to see FSBO's to case your home for valuable items and calendars showing when you will be at soccer practice with the kids. Ask each prospective buyer to show you proof of identification before you let them into your home... if your printer is also a copier, make copies of each form of ID for the police.
10. The typical FSBO buyer knows you are not paying a fee to a Realtor if that buyer makes an offer on your home, so be prepared for buyers to offer you a below ask because the buyer doesn't want you to pocket the Realtor's fee.
11. You do not control the documents, disclosures, or disclaimers the buyer may present to you, so take any offer to your attorney for review and approval; Be prepared to require the prospective buyer to comply with other documents he or she may not approve.
12. This is very, very important. Make sure your bank statements, and credit card bills are out of sight and locked away; Nearly every cell phone has a camera in it, and you don't want visitors snapping photos of your credit card numbers or bank account numbers. One may keep you busy in one room the other has to use the bathroom and now you are a victim as well as a FSBO.
13. More important, price your home at a market price, a price at which similar homes have SOLD over the past 120 days. For a nominal fee your attorney can obtain a title search from the county records showing the SOLD prices of homes in your neighborhood over the past 120 days.
14. Most important, resist the urge to over-price your home. Buyers are savvy when it comes to price because they can compare your home price to homes with similar features on the internet. Over-pricing your home will discourage prospective buyers from choosing your home for a showing... everybody wants a "deal".
This list goes on and on. The bottom line is proceed with caution. Professionals use secure lock boxes, and technology to allow only licensed real estate professionals in your home. We take great care in presenting your home to prospective buyers.
Remember, when you sell your home alone, you are taking a risky path to a sale because you don't have someone on your side, screening shoppers, providing services, marketing, and vital protections and coaching you on the current market conditions and what the trends are indicating.
If you weigh your options and choose to hire a Realtor instead of selling your home alone, get in touch. Remember REALTORS only get paid if they get you what you want and need a contract you can live with! You never pay up front fee's.
We are full service real estate professionals who service the Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, Dale City, Manassas and Dumfries area. We offer old fashion service combined with today's technology.
Check out homes we have SOLD VIEW HERE
Learn what makes us unique in the local real estate market- VIEW HERE
Peggy James is the Listing Specialist for the Twins Selling Real Estate Team at EXIT Choice Realty in Woodbridge Virinia 22193. Feel free to call here at 703-851-3085.
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