About
95% of all real estate legal actions are directly related to "For Sale
by Owner" transactions. For example:
- You need to be extremely careful about what you say to a prospective buyer. Even an "off the cuff" remark may lead to a legal action.
- Today there are "politically correct" words you can't use.
- You may accidently misrepresent something by saying something is okay when it's really not, in the opinion of the buyer.
- you may have a neighbor help show your home: this is illegal in this and most states.
Realize when handle all the paperwork and legalities on your own: disclosures, home inspections, valuation, negotiating the deal, closing, etc. you may open yourself up a myriad of legal problems you haven't even thought of. If you MUST sell your home yourself consult an attorney who specializes in home sales. If you aren't very cautious you may lose your property, your money, or any possible savings you were after in the first place by selling your home yourself.
Be
Sure you pre-qualify every single person you show through your home.
Much time is wasted and emotions are crushed. This happens when someone
agrees to your price and you start the selling transaction, then at the
closing table you find the buyer has financial problems or is by some
other reason unable to fulfill the purchase. You may lose many
potential buyers when you have your home tied up for months. By
that time you have lost lots of money on house payments, utility
payments, taxes, and any profit you might have made. Also this
results in an emotional roller-coaster ride.
Sharpen
your negotiation skills. Homes that do get sold by their owners
typically fetch lower prices than similar homes sold through Realtors.
This is because most home owners are not professionals in the real
estate field and don't know how to price their home for sale, as well as
knowing how to negotiate expertly with the buyers to get top dollar for
the home. Over time, most people who sell their homes themselves
get frustrated and "settle" for almost any offer because they are just
"tired of fooling with it" or sometimes they are so happy to even get an
offer they get reckless and lose money. So know how to negotiate
and what to negotiate with when selling your home is important.
Remember when you "accept" an offer it is "set in stone" and it cannot
be renegotiated.
Be
very cautious to whom you show your home. Many predators act and
look like "real" home buyers. It's their purpose to "case" your
home for possible valuables and security "weaknesses." Some
times when you show your home they may unlock a window or door for later
access. Some not only check our your valuables, furniture,
electronics, etc. but some may even check out your family. They
look for vulnerabilities you don't think about.
Don't
waste time! Wasting time will cost you money! According to
the real estate industry statistics, a huge percentage of FSBO homes -
about 80% - do not get sold by their owners and ultimately are passed on
to a real estate agent. (I would like to by your agent in that case .)
The delay that is caused in trying to sell the home on your own can
result in much lower sale prices. As noted above FSBO sellers
have a tendency to accept the first offer they get, or "settle" for a
much lower price just because they get tired of the hassles of selling a
home.
Although the commission may be more than you would like, hiring a
Realtor to sell your home is usually a better bet and get you more money
back to you on the deal if you use a Realtor.
Open
Houses usually will NOT sell your home. Very few homes are sold
through an Open House. Unless it is a Realtor hosted open house
you get unscreened people coming through your home: predators and "looky
loos.". As your Realtor, I have successful open house attendance.
I have special techniques only I use to get more interested
people to your home. 
Knowing
how to market your home is very important. You need to spend lots of
money to properly market your home. People who sell their own
homes (FSBO’S) have: a) a lack of centralized exposure to the
right target markets, b) a lack of a full understanding of the selling
and buying process, c) a lack of skill, ability, and money to utilize
the tools a Real Estate agent has available and d) the most important
issue, you are one person marketing your home. This is unlike
brokerages which market your home in hundreds of Internet web pages
(internationally), home for sale magazines, newspapers ads, etc. as well
has the MLS; and personally showing it to hundreds of other agents who
may have a buyer for your home, and have hundreds of other agents also
help marketing your home.
Do
a complete comparative market analysis regarding your home. This
includes comparing your home to every single home that is like yours
within your area which has sold in the last few months. It also
includes looking closely at every single home in your area that is
currently for sale. Also, you should look at every single home in
your area that didn't sell, and find out why. Do this BEFORE you
put your home on the market. It is extremely important you price
your home in the lower middle range of what other homes like yours are
for sale, comparing also with home that have sold. Normally FSBO's
price their homes too high because they like their home and just can't
understand why it may not be worth as much as they want. That's
why you should have a Realtor. A good Realtor will give you an
honest evaluation of what your home is worth.
Have
your home inspected by a reputable home inspector. Then do
whatever it takes to fix the problems found. It will save you a
lot of money to have your home inspected BEFORE you market your home.
Let Me, Paul Holtzheimer, Sell Your Home Quickly and Safely!
Call me at
360-303-4444
or e-mail me at Paul @ RealtorPaul.com
