How to sell a home without a real estate agent: FSBO

Not everyone has the luxury of putting their residence on the open market and waiting patiently for months to execute the deal. The common process when listing your property on the open market will be:

• Question / Interview with many real estate professionals

• Authorize a listing contract with a person to list your home for an exact period of time (usually a 6-month listing)

• Handle a variety of open houses

• Wait for offers and then negotiate with potential buyers

• Set up home inspections, reports and also other disclosures to complete

• Sign contracts to close the escrow.

For anyone who is lucky, the process can take between six and eight weeks. If an offer doesn’t go through, or maybe your home just doesn’t get many offers, you could end up waiting six months or even longer. Alternatively, instead of all that inconvenience, having to pay five percent or more in commissions and settlement costs, let’s review how to sell a home without a realtor.

For sale by owner (FSBO)

A basic strategy for marketing your property without a real estate professional is “For Sale by Owner” or FSBO for short. The common way people try to market their property in this way is to put up some signs on your lawn or perhaps in your neighborhood newspapers and then wait for people to arrive. In lieu of this non-aggressive and often unsuccessful strategy, let’s take a quick look at several other methods to market your home and sell it quickly. It all starts with better promotion. Instead of making the minimum amount, you need to do a lot to make the home stand out in a crowded housing market. Some things we recommend are:

• Tell all of your close neighbors that you are selling your home and ask if they know anyone who is looking. (Bonus: you can easily offer referral fees to bind your neighbors)

• The first opinion can be everything, so fix the front of your property. It is commonly known as “curb appeal.” If it doesn’t look good when potential buyers are around you, they may not want to enter the home.

• Getting superior quality photos can make a big difference; hire or just take them yourself, but make sure your property is beautifully decorated. Which means no wide-open toilet seats, no trash, made beds, pushed chairs, etc.

• Post sandwich panel signs along with balloons or other displays advertising your property at active intersections in your community.

After a little preparation, a few dollars plus some FSBO home advertising has a significantly higher chance of selling.

Craigslist

Craigslist turns out to be an absolutely crucial resource for everyone who is going to sell their home without resorting to a real estate agent. Be sure to use descriptions of your residence that make it sound as pleasant as possible. Discuss the area: are there parks, local community facilities, schools, places of worship, or other facilities nearby? What about your specific community / subdivision? Are the roads lined with trees, are there hills, any kind of views? Also, use those high-quality photos as a way to attract buyers. The determination to view your residence or not will be made entirely in your descriptions along with photographs of your residence.

Open houses

Open houses are a good way to attract potential buyers (just check with any real estate professional). It should help potential buyers feel as much at home as possible. You should definitely clear out any clutter, trash, or toys and games. Some other ideas might be to have the fireplace lit when it’s cold outside, make lots of cookies to give the house a nice scent, set the table, and possibly light up the game if the local sports team is present. The secret is for people to imagine themselves living there, so consider getting rid of any personal trinkets and family photos. Be sure to promote your open house early and often by using signs near your neighborhood, Craigslist, sharing with your neighbors, and anything else that draws people to your home. One last tip: Purchase booties that can cover people’s boots and shoes so they don’t trace dirt and grime through your spotlessly clean property.

Investors

The final point, but certainly not the last, is investors. If you have to sell your home quickly, have a few problem areas that need to be remedied, or you may not want to deal with any of the problems above, call a nearby investor. These people are dedicated to acquiring buildings without resorting to a real estate agent.