Back To Articles | Previous | Next |
How to Sell Your Home Yourself |
If you ask anyone who has ever tried to sell their home
themselves, they'll tell you that from the moment the "For Sale by
Owner" sign goes up, the phone begins to ring. Unfortunately, many
of those calls will not be from prospective buyers but rather from
real estate agents looking to obtain your listing.
Obviously the idea of not having to pay a commission to a real
estate agent is attractive to any home seller. But because of all
the issues involved in the process, selling a home on one's own can
be as challenging as many home sellers will attest to. The key is to
be properly prepared. If you are not, your home could remain on the
market longer than you expect because you are not attracting and
getting offers from qualified buyers. This can be the point where
many homeowners become frustrated and consider giving up their dream
of selling their home themselves.
However, there are sellers who successfully accomplish selling their
own homes. You can be one of them. This industry report has been
especially prepared to assist home sellers, such as yourself,
understand the elements involved so you, on your own, can sell your
home quickly for the most amount of profit.
To help you prepare, here are 10 inside tips that you should be
aware of before you make the decision as to whether or not this is
the right approach for you. |
Price it Right |
Correctly setting your asking price is critical. Setting your
price too high can be as costly as setting it too low. Home prices
are determined by fluctuations in the marketplace, not by your
emotional attachment or by what you feel your home is worth. In
order to establish a realistic price for your home, objectively
compare the price, features and condition of all similar homes in
both your neighbourhood and other similar ones that have sold in
recent months. It is also important for you to be familiar with the
terms of each potential sale. Terms are often as important as price
in today's market. Carefully budget your selling costs and prepare a
net proceeds sheet to calculate your best estimate of what you will
take away from your home sale. Prospective buyers may also request
this kind of analysis of buying costs.
Prepare your Home for Sale
First impression is crucial. Make sure your home makes a positive
statement by carefully inspecting all details and viewing it through
the objective eyes of a buyer. Don't gloss over needed repairs and
fix-ups, as your prospective buyers won't. Your job is to ensure
that your home stands out favourably from the competition. |
Prepare Yourself with all Necessary
Legal Documentation |
Not surprisingly, there are many important legal contracts and
documents that you must assemble, complete and understand. A partial
checklist of forms that you will require for prospective buyers and
for legal documentation is as follows:
Seller's Disclosure
Buyer's Advisory
Purchase Contract
Preliminary Title Report
Termite Inspection
Mortgage Payoff
HOA Disclosures & Restrictions
Loan Application Forms
Lead Based Paint Disclosures
Property Profile Fact Sheet
Buyer's Cost Sheet
Home Warranty Order Forms
Personal Property Exclusion List
Property Survey (if applicable)
Home Inspection Order Forms
Market Your Home Effectively
Beyond the sign you will put on your lawn, you should find effective
ways to spread the word about your home. Local buyers can be reached
through the newspaper, but this is only a small part of the market
you are after. Be sure you include the many buyers who could already
be working with a REALTOR®. To locate them, target as many top
agents as possible in your market to see if the criteria of their
buyers match those of your home.
Because out-of town buyers are also important targets, you should
create a strategy to reach these people as well. Above all, you
should be very service-minded and make it easy for pre-qualified
buyers to view your home. Ensure there is always someone available
to answer the phone, check messages frequently, and be ready to give
qualified prospects a tour of your home as soon as possible. |
Remain Objective During a Showing of
Your Home |
Keep emotion out of the sale of your home, and the best way to
do this during a showing is to remain physically in the background.
If a prospective buyer says something negative about your home, it
is better to counter-balance this point of view by illustrating the
positives rather than becoming defensive. |
Pre-Qualify Your Prospects |
Don't waste your time entertaining buyers who could never afford
your home. Research their financial steadiness with respect to job
security, salary, debts, liabilities and credit standing. |
Negotiate Effectively & Knowledgeably |
There will be many details to resolve before a sale can be
considered final: price, terms, inspections, possession date, buyer
concerns and objections. Make sure you fully understand the contract
you have drawn up so you can in turn explain details and
ramifications to the buyer and make any amendments to the sale that
are necessary. The contract you use should be thoroughly examined by
your real estate attorney. Some real estate brokers may be willing
to help you do this. While this is going on, manage the buyer's
interest in your home so that it doesn't wane during negotiations. |
Know Your Buyer |
Your objectives during negotiations are to control the pace and
set the duration. Try to determine what your buyer's motivation is.
Does he or she need to move quickly? Do they have enough money to
pay your asking price? Knowing this information will give you the
advantage in the negotiation because you will know up front what you
will need to do in order to get what you want. |
Don't Move Out Before You Sell |
Studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that
is vacant. It looks forlorn, forgotten, simply not appealing. It
could even cost you money. If you move, you're also telling buyers
that you have a new home and are motivated to sell fast which can,
of course, gives them an advantage at the negotiating table. |
Know Why You're Selling and Keep it to
Yourself |
The flip side of "understanding your buyer" is to "understand
yourself". Your reasons for selling will affect everything from your
list price to how much time and money you will invest in getting
your home ready for sale. Your motivation will help you determine
what is more important to you: the money you walk away with, the
length of time your property is on the market, or both. Different
goals will dictate different strategies. As someone who wants to
sell without a real estate agent in an effort to save the
commission, it is likely that money is one of your primary
considerations (see inset box below). Whatever your reasons,
however, it is very important to keep them to yourself so as not to
place yourself at a disadvantage at the negotiation table. When
asked, simply say your housing needs have changed. |
How to Assess Your Net Gain |
To analyze whether or not you will end up ahead by choosing to
sell on your own, consider the fact that most buyers do use a real
estate agent because it doesn't cost them anything for this service
(i.e. the seller pays the agent's fee). Be cautious as buyers,
investors and speculators who seek out For Sale by Owners are
typically those in search of a bargain. The low-ball offers from
these types of buyers will often net you much lower in the long run.
What you will have to judge for yourself is the following:
Be as prepared as possible with your marketing, negotiations,
evaluations, showings and all legalities.
Consider what it will cost you to effectively market your home and
assemble all necessary materials from the "for sale" sign to any
contracts?
What price will a buyer offer you as a For Sale by Owner minus the
costs identified in point 2 above. Is this net price higher than the
price an experienced agent could net for you minus his/her
commission? |