Thinking of Selling your home by Yourself?

In my business folks who attempt to sell their home by without any representation are known as "FSBOS". Or "For Sale By Owner". You know you are one because as soon as you stick a sign in your yard you have dozens of local agents calling you to compete for your business. Not so long ago it was pretty easy for a FSBO to sell their own home. Especially if they were in a high traffic and desirable area. But times have changed. Selling your home is not as easy as it once was. So I thought I would provide some tips for those brave souls who intend to enter this difficult buyers market by themselves.

1. Make sure your home is ready to be shown. What does this mean? It means you have to look at your home as a buyer, not yourself. It's called staging. I use a professional stager for each one of my listings. You see...that velvet Elvis, and shag carpeting are not cool to most people. I once had a client tell me that she thought most buyers hated ceramic tile! WRONG! Take a good look at your home and remove clutter, and nick knacks and clear off counter tops. Have the floors cleaned, freshen the paint.

2. Sticking a sign in your yard with your phone number does not equate to your home being on the market. What it does do is let your neighbors know you are selling your home and all those pesky real estate agents know to start calling on you. But you have to do it. Let's talk about marketing your home. Most folks think that placing a sign in the yard and running an ad in the Sunday paper are all they have to do to sell the house. Nearly 90% of all home buyers use the Internet to search for their next property. So if your home is not on line...good luck.

3. Never let a stranger in off the street after knocking on the door to see the house. This is a serious one. There are weirdo's out there folks! If someone wants to see the house, make sure that you are not alone in the home with the person. Doesn't matter if they are male or female. This is simple safety. Then before showing the home ask to see their pre-approval letter from their lender and call to verify the info from the lender. Why show your $500K home to someone who is only qualified to buy a $250K home? Be Safe!

4. Work with a REALTOR. I know you are trying to avoid having to pay the REALTOR commission. The fact is that if you begin interviewing REALTORs know before you try to sell it yourself you will be able to avoid it later. Believe me I like to help FSBO's when they call. I know that if I take care of them now that perhaps they will give me the opportunity to earn their business later. Use the REALTOR to provide you with a Market Analysis or Brokers Opinion of Price. The RELATORs know the market better than you do! We do this for a living! If you don't know what your home is worth how will you price it correctly? And don't tell me Zillow or some other website. Can they see your home? Can they see the comparable sales? Does Zillow know if a factory is about to close down or open or that highway is going to get built? Of course not. There are many factors that go into establishing a value for a home. Call an expert.

5. The fact is that in today's market 95% of those folks who absolutely need to sell their home will end up using a REALTOR. For goodness sake interview more than one person. See what kind of marketing and advertising plan they have. Get to know them and their backgrounds and do your research. Not every REALTOR is created equally.

I hope this has been helpful. If you would like to learn more about selling your home visit my website www.MattSellsJax.com and click on the Buyer/Seller Tips button.