How to accomplish a successful FSBO transaction
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By Justin Hunter
It generally feels good to accomplish something by yourself, especially
if it is a project that saved you money from not having to hire
a professional.
Some of these projects could include fixing a car, making a tree
house or even selling a home.
Now, at first thought, selling a home
may sound easier than building a tree house; at least you can eliminate
the splinters. However, selling a home by yourself or “For
Sale by Owner” (FSBO) is time consuming often confusing, but
yet very possible.
The article, “How to Sell
Your House ‘For Sale by Owner’ – 4 Important
Steps” written by Brad McCleary and posted on ezinearticles.com
explains how you can best ensure a rewarding FSBO experience.
“You don’t want to have to pay some agent thousands
of dollars of your money. Or worse, maybe you need the money for
your dream home. Well don’t worry; you already know by listing
with a Realtor you will be potentially spending tens of thousands
of dollars for them to do something that you are quite capable of
doing yourself.”
While selling your house via the “For Sale by Owner”
method can be very rewarding and profitable, you must have a good
idea of what to do before getting started. McCleary provides four
steps to follow that will be imperative in the success of your FSBO
venture.
The first thing you have to do is determine the appropriate selling
value of your property. Get an appraisal from a professional of
what your property is worth and then compare that figure to the
asking price of similar properties in and around your neighborhood.
Determining your asking price is very sensitive and important. If
you ask for too much you will likely drive away potential buyers
(especially in a buyer’s market) but if your price is too
low it will not only short change you but also bring up questions
and skepticisms as to why the price is so low.
Next, you have to focus on the property’s presentation.
“Presentation is vital when you are selling your house. If
your house is unattractive from the outside, no one will stop and
if your house is unattractive on the inside, no one will buy. Keep
your lawn and driveway tidy, thoroughly clean the inside of your
house, and fix any eye sores or major damages to your house. Be
objective and walk through you’re house like someone considering
it would, is there anything that you would notice if you were a
potential buyer.”
Now is the time to focus on the marketing aspect. If you do not
effectively market your property, no one will know it is for sale.
And marketing it in a few classifieds will not get the job done.
List your property in as many free classified advertisements and
local real estate publications as possible. Do not forget to market
on the Internet and do not just focus locally; go national. Business
people often have to move for job relocation without ever visiting
the area.
The last and probably most important FSBO aspect is to make sure
you have legal documents and that they are efficient and are presented
professionally to the buyer.
“It is a must for you to have some kind of sales contract.
Your contract should be clear, concise, and something that both
parties understand. You can have a lawyer prepare this document,
or you can save yourself some money and use a contract preparing
program. It’s still wise to have a lawyer look over it afterwards,
better safe than sorry.”
Selling a FSBO home is possible but stressful and time consuming.
If you do not have a very tight financial budget, you may want to
hire a real estate agent to be in the safe side.
