Pricing Your Home
- Visit the open houses of comparable homes, as many as possible! List what sets your home apart, both bad and good. Be realistic. If you test the waters first by listing at a higher price, then you may be hurting your homes ability to sell.
- Contact a Realtor and request a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from them. Be upfront and let the Agent know that you are trying to sell your home FSBO. If your home doesn't get much activity as a FSBO, then you can consider forming a business relationship with the Agent that assisted you. Obtain their credentials before you list your home. (If you get VERY little activity, then your home may be overpriced.)
Selling Tools
If you do not use professional photos, you will drastically reduce your home's exposure. People LOVE beautiful photos and they are worth a thousand words. When it comes to photos, quality is best. Quality = wide angle, curated space, decluttered, well staged, good lighting, etc etc. Below are some great sites that are FREE!
Challenges
The biggest challenge we see with FSBOs listing their property, is that they did not imagine how much time and effort it would take. You become the first point of contact whether it is someone calling or texting you late at night about questions about the property to showing your home to strangers at random hours of the day. Cleaning, marketing, working your full time job, and maybe taking care of pets and children all at the same time can be a lot. On top of all of this, it becomes your full time job. So be sure to consider all of the moving parts of what is involved. Working with a brokerage like Tamara Williams and Company, we know how to market your property, have the tools in place, and have the staff and knowledge to take care of you.
Showings
- Declutter your home: You may love all of the family photos on the walls and the stack of magazines may provide a good read, but get rid of it. Make your home a blank canvas so the prospective buyer can imagine their life in your home.
- Fix Cosmetic Flaws: Peeling paint, an old damaged window, sidewalk pavers falling apart? Fix them! The cost of fixing small cosmetic flaws will make your home more appealing to buyers and may get your home sold that much faster.
- Stage Your Home: Contact a staging company or do it yourself. Homes that are staged tend to sell faster than homes that are not. A professional staging company may be able to give you the advice or tough love that a family member or friend could not.
Paperwork/Closing
- Make sure your home buyer is pre-approved.
- Accommodate the Home Inspector and/or the Appraiser by giving any assistance they may require.
- Realtor (A real estate Agent may be willing to write up the forms for a fee without representing you or the buyer).
- To make sure your i's are dotted and t's crossed, consider consulting an attorney.
Professional Services
- Home Inspector
- Appraiser
- Title Company
- Realtor (if you choose).
- Attorney (if you choose).
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