Home Selling Guide
Part 2
By Jeanette Joy Fisher
Are you considering selling
your home by yourself?
Contrary to what 99 out of 100
agents will tell you, it IS possible to sell your home
yourself. When you undertake that task, you'll become a
FSBO (pronounced "fisbo," and short for "for sale by
owner"), and though it can be a challenge, it's one that
thousands of home sellers tackle every day. And you can do
it, too! In a nutshell, here are the things to do to
become a successful FSBO.
-
Clean
your home (inside and out) and get the yard looking
spic-and-span.
-
Set
a sales price based on selling prices of homes nearby of
similar size and amenities.
-
Put
a FSBO sign in your front yard with your phone number
and/or email address.
-
Place
an ad in the real estate classified section of your local
paper.
-
Pass
out flyers to your neighbors and put at your local
shopping mall, stores, libraries, and apartment complexes.
-
Hold
an open house.
Now let's look at each home
selling step.
1. Cleaning up and doing whatever
maintenance seems self-explanatory, but be aware that you
get used to certain things (especially odors) when you
live in a home everyday. So it's worthwhile to ask someone
to walk through your house and give you an honest
appraisal of things that need to be fixed or smells that
need to be addressed, such as sticky doors, squeaky
hinges, and the cat box in the utility room.
2. Setting a price can be a bit tricky, but you can find
out what other homes are on the market by calling the
agents listed on signs in your neighborhood and asking the
prices of their houses. If the homes have been on the
market a long time, you can assume they're over priced.
3. Putting a sign in your yard is easy. They're available
in most hardware or department store, and they're cheap.
Yet most agents will tell you that signs are the best
advertising mediums, since people who see yard signs are
cruising the neighborhood. That means they're in the
market for a home in that area, so if you put a sign out,
you'll get calls.
Now a word for those who are squeamish about putting your
phone number on a sign. You can substitute an email
address to protect yourself from unwanted calls. It will
limit your number of prospects, but it will give you a
greater degree of privacy. Since you're moving anyway, it
might be best to list your phone number. If you know how
to put pictures on the Internet, you can list you website
address on the sign.
4. Placing a newspaper ad is easy, but make sure to give
accurate information and make it enticing. Be brief, but
tell buyers what's special about your home. Even with the
advent of the Internet, a majority of homebuyers still
cruise neighborhoods and religiously peruse real estate
ads, especially on Sundays.
5. Putting up flyers in the area will also let people know
your home is available. This can be especially effective
for apartment dwellers longing to own a home of their own.
6. Handing out flyers to neighbors and inviting them to an
open house can be your most effective selling tool. After
all, your neighbors are happy living in your area and
often have friends or family they'd love to have closer to
them.
You'll notice I didn't suggest holding an open house and
inviting the world. The type of open houses you see agents
promoting are for the agents to get leads on home buyers.
Few houses sell at open houses.
There are other factors to consider after you've found a
buyer, but you can generally find help through a lawyer or
an escrow company. The bottom line is: you CAN sell your
home yourself. It just takes time, diligence, and
attention to detail.
Copyright © 2007 Jeanette J. Fisher
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