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Get instant access to the most wanted secrets on how to successfully selling your home yourself without an agent. To help you prepare, here are the most wanted tips to homeowner most real estate agents don’t want you to know. As many For Sale By Owners can attest, selling your home yourself is more than just sticking a “For Sale By Owner” sign in your front yard, there are much more preparations goes into this process to ensure the success of your home sale. The most common reason a homeowner decides to sell their home without an agent is to avoid having to pay agent commission. However, there are many challenges in the process of selling a home on your own that most homeowners don’t know and are not aware of. Without the proper information, selling a home can be risky, stressful, complicated, not mentioning it may cause you thousands of dollars as your home sits on the market. 

FSBO

To help sellers who want to successfully selling their own homes, this industry FSBO report will offer you inside tips to help you understand the elements involved in successfully selling your home on your own, for the most amount of profit in the shortest amount of time.

Follow these steps to avoid the common mistakes that cost sellers valuable time and money.

1. Carefully Select Your Agent

Not all real estate agents are the same. Be sure to interview multiple agents (at least three) to find the one

best suited to you and your situation. Look at their experience and approach to home selling. What is their

selling record: number of homes sold in the last year, average number of days their listings are one the

market, etc.? During the interview, a good agent should provide a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA)

detailing the properties currently for sale in your area and those that have recently sold. This will help you

to set your price.

2. Have a Broad Marketing Strategy

In today’s fast paced, technologically savvy world, traditional sales techniques are not enough. Agents who

use innovative strategies to attract homebuyers will always outperform those who rely on traditional

methods. Today’s housing market demands 24/7 exposure.

3. Cater to the Convenience of the Buyer

People are accustomed to convenience. This is just as true for home buyers. One of the simplest things you

can do is to make your home as accessible as possible. If buyers are too restricted when making an

appointment, they will look elsewhere. This is especially true if someone is relocating and only has a short

time in which to find a house. This is definitely the type of buyer you want to court.

4. Negotiate with Pre-approved Buyers Only

It is best to work with buyers that are pre-approved. Pre-approval is a lender’s guarantee of how much they

will loan an applicant. So before you being negotiations, you can be assured of their ability to secure

financing. This will prevent you from having your home tied up in fruitless negotiations. Your real estate

agent will also be helpful in determining if the buyer is serious or if they are just casually looking to see

what is available.

5. Set a Realistic Price

It may seem counterintuitive, but homes that are priced high tend to take longer to sell and often for a lower

price than if they had been priced realistically. Buyers and their agents are typically quite knowledgeable

about the market and will have a good idea when a house is overpriced. When a house lingers unsold it

becomes stale in the minds of real estate agents. It will then take more effort to attract buyers. Conversely,

pricing a home too low can lose you thousands of dollars in profit. The Comparable Market Analysis is the

best tool to help you understand the current market and make the most informed pricing decision.

6. Maintain a Spotless House

A bad first impression is impossible to correct. Wouldn’t it be terrible to lose an interested buyer because of

a dirty bathroom, cluttered kitchen, unkempt lawn or unpleasant odors? Poor housekeeping can overshadow

even the most competitively priced house. Not only is it important to do a thorough cleaning before the

house is placed on the market, you must maintain it in this condition until it sells. Unless a buyer is truly

imaginative, it is hard to look past someone else’s dirt to see a home’s true potential.

7. Complete All Necessary Repairs

Before you put your home on the market, thoroughly inspect it for any necessary repairs and have them

completed. It can make the difference between a sale and a home that remains on the market for months on

end. Just like a clean house, a property with no obvious repair needs will be more attractive to buyers.

Repairs that are made as a condition of the sale can also cost as much as three to five times what they

normally would. Under such tight time constraints, you can’t always search for the best price and you may

have to pay rush fees when hiring a contractor.

8. Be Professional

In addition to a clean and tidy home, you need to learn what to say and do during a showing. One wrong

comment could turn away a potential buyer. Always act courteous and friendly. You want to appear

approachable so buyers will feel comfortable asking you questions. However, you don’t want to hover. That

can make them feel uncomfortable or rushed. Give them as much time and space as they need to scrutinize

your home. Leaving the house altogether is usually the best solution.

9. Use Logic in Your Decision Making

During the home selling process it is best to remain as logical as possible. If a buyer criticizes your house,

remember not to take it personally. They are not criticizing you but simply trying to consider all aspects in

order to make the most informed decision. Homeownership is one of the biggest financial transactions most

people experience. This is bound to cause some anxiety. Don’t be pressured by these emotions.

10. Learn the Market

The real estate market fluctuates based on supply and demand. Markets can also vary from neighborhood to

neighborhood within the same community. The more your learn the better prepared you will be to make the

necessary decisions.

Tip # 1: Make your house presentable

You don’t want to lose the interest of potential buyers because of an unkempt or cluttered house. To ensure

your home makes a good first impression, keep the landscaping maintained and clear your driveway and

entrance of everything but the essentials. Remove extraneous decorations and knick knacks from each

room. A house that is overfilled will appear smaller and dirty. Enlist a friend to help you maintain your

objectivity during this process. Before you place your home on the market, do a thorough cleaning and be

diligent about maintaining it until it sells. Unsavory cooking odors, dirty laundry or a messy bathroom are

an immediate turn-off to buyers.

Tip # 2: Complete repairs and refresh the paint and carpet

To make sure your home shows well, complete any necessary repairs and consider refreshing the paint,

carpet and other cosmetic elements. A fresh coat of paint will make a tremendous difference in how your

house appears to buyers. Stained carpet, dirty window treatments and chipped walls or other cosmetic

imperfections tend to turn off buyers. You don’t want your house to look like a fixer-upper unless you plan

to negotiate on those terms.

Tip # 3: Be proactive in the marketing of your home

Don’t be a passive participant. You will sell your home more successfully if you take an active roll. First,

interview a number of agents and select the one that appears the most motivated and qualified. In addition

to placing your listing on the MLS, your agent should employ a number of other marketing techniques,

such as the Internet, local papers, flyers, signs, open houses and networking. The more exposure your house

receives, the more potential buyers it will attract. Communicate your expectations to your agent and hold

him/her accountable. The more specific you are up front, the less miscommunication you will experience

later.

Tip # 4: Make your home as accessible as possible

You need to be as accommodating as possible to potential buyers. That includes giving your agent a key or

having a lock box on your door. The longer it takes to arrange a showing, the more you risk a potential

buyer losing interest even before they see your home. Some buyers, especially those that are relocating,

have a tight schedule and may only have a short window in which they can schedule an appointment. Also,

it is best to leave the house during a showing. This will alleviate any pressure or hurriedness the buyer may

feel.

Tip # 5: Price your home right

Work with your real estate agent to determine your listing price. They should provide you with information

about comparable properties that have sold recently and ones that are currently on the market. This data

will be the most useful when setting a price. Every seller’s goal is to make a large profit. However, this

doesn’t mean you should set a high price. How your house is priced in comparison to the market will

directly affect the number of interested buyers you will have and offers you will receive. Potential buyers

know their buying potential and are usually very knowledgeable about the market. A house with a market

value price will attract many more potential buyers. The more interest there is in your property, the greater

the chance you will receive an offer, or even multiple offers. Conversely, the longer your house lingers

unsold, the fewer and fewer buyers it will continue to attract.