Selling a house on your own is not like selling a bicycle, so why would you advertise for sale by owner Cedar Rapids, and skip using a realtor? Isn’t that like defending yourself in court?
Selling your home without hiring a real estate agent could mean thousands of dollars back in your pocket, which sounds tempting, especially as housing prices rise. There are many websites that allow you to skip the listing agent and offer your home as “for sale by owner” — or FSBO (pronounced FIZZ-bo).
But FSBO sellers should be prepared to do a lot of legwork to manage the sales process, with no guarantee of a final sale. Do you remember what you went through finding a home you could afford and getting a mortgage? Selling a home on your own can be far trickier.
Price it right – Bankrate says, “A common mistake FSBO sellers make is pricing their home too high, leaving the property to languish on the market.
“When a home sits for a long while, buyers start to wonder what is wrong with it,” says Piper Nichole, author of “The For Sale By Owner Handbook.” “The best option is to come out of the gate priced right.”
To market a home competitively, sellers should research the final sale prices of similar properties in their community.
Learn how to work with the buyer’s agent. if you’re selling on your own, sometimes you can offer a commission to the buyer’s agent to incentivize them to show your home. The commission is about 3 percent of the sales price.
“It’s been my experience that a lot of real estate agents don’t know the laws or the code of ethics. If you offer a commission to a buyer’s agent, familiarize self with state and local laws first.”
Stage the house properly – Your home must be clean, sleek, with no distractive décor. You want prospective buyers to see your home as if they lived there already. That means your stuff must be out of the house, sold or in storage. Homes that have been staged sell quicker, and for a higher price.
Be agile – make the house available for showing. That means you will show the house at every possible time, within reason. I would balk at 9:00 PM to 9:00 AM.
Network. Hire an appraiser, an inspector and meet a mortgage broker who can shepherd you and your seller through the paperwork.
Market your house – Some FSBO sellers underestimate the amount of effort it takes to market their house. You need to keep the home clean, clutter-free and “show ready” at all times.
Marketing a home successfully starts with taking the highest quality pictures with a professional camera to ensure that the home receives maximum exposure. Since much of the initial shopping for a home is online, photos of a staged house draw more buyers to an open house. Take a look at Craigslist at houses for sale by owner.
You don’t want to clown around. You want to sell your house fast without going through all those FSBO steps. Call us. We can buy your house as-is. There are no fees or commissions, and we can close in 30 or less.
As investors, we are in business to make a modest profit on any deal. However, we can help homeowners out of just about any situation, no matter what! There are no fees, upfront costs, commissions, or anything else. Just the simple truth about your home and how we can help you sell it fast to resolve any situation.
Harmony Property Solutions, LLC is part of a nationwide group of investors who help tens of thousands of homeowners every year. We may not be the “traditional” route, but we CAN help, and we can do it quickly!
Give us a call today at 319-343-6773 to let us know how we can help YOU.