As real estate values decline, many sellers are looking at those commissions they have to pay at closing and think, "I can sell my own home!" After all, if you can get $500,000 selling your home yourself, you have potentially saved about $30,000, which in today's market can mean the difference between a loss and a profit. Here are some tips to help guide you through the FSBO process:
1. Disassociate yourself with your home and make the mental decision to let go of any emotional ties to the house.
2. De-Personalize the house by removing any personal photographs or heirlooms so that the buyers can picture themselves living there as opposed to wondering "what type of people live here"!
3. De-Clutter, not only is this a great start to unpacking buyer’s love to snoop through cabinets & closets and the last thing you want is random items falling out. Either clean it out or organize it very well by stacking dishes, line up shoes, stage the home if need be! Create an atmosphere the buyer will want to live in and picture their own lives their! Rent a storage room to hold the excess clutter if needed!
4. Remove or Replace your Favorite Items. If you want to take built-in appliances or window coverings or fixtures with you remove them NOW! If a buyer never sees it they won't want it. Failure to do so can kill a deal when the buyer request this item that is not a part of the package!
5. Make Minor Repairs by patching up holes, fix leaky faucets, replace cracked floor or counter tiles, fix doors and kitchen drawers that do not properly open or close, consider painting your walls a neutral color you don't want buyers to remember your house as the one with the ‘ugly’ orange bathroom. Replace old light bulbs and a brand new bed spread is a nice added touch!
6. Clean, Clean, Clean, most people like "NEW" so an unkept home can turn potential buyers off. Wash windows inside & out, rent a pressure washer for exterior of house, sidewalks, & driveways. Mow the lawn, paint any faded window trim, plant flowers for curb appeal, & trim your bushes. Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks, polish chrome faucets and mirrors, clean out the refrigerator, vacuum daily, & wax floors. Dust furniture, light fixtures, and don't forget those ceiling fans. Bleach any dingy grout & replace old worn out rugs. Hang up fresh towels and for a added touch fasten them with a ribbon or bow for appeal, & lastly de-odorize the entire house!!!
7. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes, would you buy this house as-is, would you even want to go inside of the home, examine how the furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense, the more spacious it appears the better. Make sure window coverings hang well & do the rooms have an emotional pull, impact and pizzazz???
8. Research what similar homes are selling for in the neighborhood within the last 6-12 months? You can visit www.zillow.com and enter your address in the search engine and filter search with recently sold single family or multi family homes (whichever applies). This will allow you to see all the homes that recently sold in your neighborhood. Be sure to compare homes similar to yours in size, # of beds/baths, sq.ft, & the year built, and DO NOT rely on the zestimate.
9. Get Help from either a real estate closing attorney or a title company, depending on where you are from, to handle the closing. Familiarize yourself with the needed paperwork and let them handle the complicated disclosures during closing for you! Also real estate investors can be a great help when having issues selling, they can provide you with a quick sale, pay all cash, and pay most if not all of the closing fees, no risk or obligations to you. They would do all of the work!
10. Pricing can be made once you determine the comparables in your neighborhood. If a similar home on your street sold for $100,000, because you are FSBO you have the privilege of offering yours at a bargain price of $85,000. You can get a quicker sale and come out of it with more money than your neighbor who has to pay a realtor's commissions!
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