Selling Your Own Home
Keywords: for sale by owner, fsbo, selling your home, home sales, real estate sales
If you have made the decision to sell your home yourself and save the money you would pay a realtor you need to make sure your homes shows itself in the best positive way. The following is a list of tips and tricks to help you prepare your home for selling.
TIP # 1
First impressions are always critical, and your driveway is part of that first impression. Calling a professional to come out and clean up stains can be very costly but here’s a quick tip that may be the solution for your cement driveway: try Drano or any high-powered liquid drain cleaner and sweep those oil stains away!
This simple technique does an amazingly good job of making your driveway look new again! Please use caution and read all manufacturers’ warnings before you begin this task.
TIP # 2
If your home is decorated in dark or unusual colors, you’re going to scare off a lot of potential buyers. It will be worth your while to paint your walls a neutral color.
Builders are experts at preparing homes for quick sales, so learn from them! If you’re not up to painting your entire house, at least paint the areas that make the biggest impression, such as the entry/foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen and master bedroom.
TIP # 3
Take as many of your personal items (i.e., clothes, shoes, stored boxes) as possible out of your closet and store them in an out-of-the-way place. When your closets are cleaned up they will look much larger to the potential home buyer! Abundant closet/storage space is a major selling point for most people.
Apply this rule to any storage area.
TIP # 4
Some potential buyers will be working with a real estate agent. If a Potential Buyer is working with a Realtor, always leave your house for a few minutes while the Realtor is showing it.
Run to the market or to a neighbor’s house. Remember, buying a house is an emotional experience. The buyer’s agent will tend to feel awkward inspecting the house while you are there. You are not obligated to pay a real estate commission to a buyers agent. That will be the responsibility of the buyer.
TIP # 5
Price may be a sensitive issue but it is the one thing that will sell your house faster than anything else. If you price your house right in line with the market it’s not likely to sell quickly. That’s because only the 10% or 20% of houses with the best prices are selling each month.
If the price of your house isn’t in that lower 20%, relatively, then it isn’t likely to sell as quickly. It’s not what your house is worth but what someone is willing to pay. Every shopper is bound and determined to get the best deal in town. Do you honestly feel your price makes your house one of the best deals in town? Now is a good time to compare your house with others on the market in the same area.
TIP # 6
When you are ready to sell your home it’s always a good idea to have the carpets cleaned. A clean home will always sell faster and you should accentuate the fact that you have a clean home. Even if you don’t have your carpets cleaned you can leave a few pairs of shoes just inside the front door. This will imply that you don’t wear shoes in the house and deliver the message to the potential buyer that you are meticulous about the appearance of your house as soon as they walk in the front door!
These are just a few ideas to give you the best chance at selling your home yourself. Remember, you can save thousands of dollars in realtor fees by doing the work yourself. No one knows your home better than you do. Good luck in selling your home.
Dave Huffman is a Licensed Real Estate Broker and offers consulting services for those interested in selling their own home. For a Home Selling Guide go to www.yourhomesellingguide.com
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