4 Steps to FSBO Success

The home selling process is much more straight-forward than you would imagine. Start by reviewing our 4 Steps to FSBO Success!        

1. Prepare…your home and set your price.
• Estimate your home’s true market value, and set your asking price. Find the selling price of similar homes in your neighborhood. Internet websites make this task easier than it might seem. Zillow.com offers a free tool which provides the tax assessed values of homes. This is great for comparing your neighborhood’s home values to help in deciding on your price.
• Don’t ignore the curb appeal. Are the bushes out front bigger than your house? If so, they definitely need a trim or need to be removed all together. Shrubs that are higher than the bottom of your windows begin to have a shrinking effect on the size of your house and yard. Your front yard is the first impression of your home; make it a good first impression! That means mow your lawn, paint your front door, and clean up any dirty spots. A well kept yard implies a well maintained home. 
• Clear out the clutter. Be sure to pick up personal items and kid’s toys. Having stuff lying around your house distracts buyers and makes your house look messy. Put your stuff in plastic bins and store them in your garage or a shed. Keep your closets clean. Buyers love lots of storage space so your closets can be a big selling point. 
• Clean, clean, clean. You may not be able to change your home’s location or floor plan but you can do a lot to improve its appearance. Pick up, straighten, scrub, scour, and dust. Fix everything no matter how unimportant it may appear. Present your home to get a “Wow!” response from buyers. If you own a pet, be sure to really clean your house. Get rid of any hair and smells that your pet leaves behind. Once you are done, ask a friend to assess your efforts, an honest third party opinion helps.


2. Advertise…with FsboFM.com to reach many potential buyers.
• Use FsboFM.com to showcase your home online. Create a web listing for your home on FsboFM.com. Upload photographs and create a personalized description of your home. Email your online listing to friends and family so they can keep their eyes out for a buyer.
• FSBO signs. Place a FsboFM.com yard sign in front of your home, with our web address and your phone number. Use directional signs or open house signs on nearby streets to lead potential buyers to your front door.
• Print home fact sheets. The purpose of a home fact sheet is to provide quick facts and helps buyers remember your property. Home fact sheets can be printed directly from your listing on FsboFM.com. These mini advertisements can be distributed during open houses, placed in info tubes on your sign, or posted on bulletin boards in neighborhood stores. 
• Print advertising. Local readers looking for a home will check the weekend real estate section. Place an ad in the newspaper with your web address, directing potential buyers to more details about your home.


3. Sell…your house by showing it and negotiating with buyers.
• Kick off with an open house. Make sure all your neighbors for several blocks around know that your home is for sale. Why? Because over 50% of homes are bought by friends and relatives of people who already live or work in the neighborhood. (80% of homes are bought by people who live or work in the county or in surrounding counties, but the open house is targeted at your immediate neighborhood.)
• Get ready. Open blinds and curtains and turn on the lights to make the place look open and large. Buyers may have a hard time picturing themselves in a house filled with too many pictures of others, so remove personal or family photographs.
• Show your house. Buyers want to try on your home just like they would a new pair of jeans. If you follow them around pointing out improvements or if your décor is so different that it’s difficult for a buyer to strip it away in his or her mind, you make it difficult for them to imagine themselves as the owner. Greet them warmly, tell them you’d like to answer any questions, give them a flyer and leave them alone to look at the house.
• Negotiate.  Don’t negotiate verbally with a buyer. For instance, if your home is priced at $175,000, the buyer may ask if you would take $170,000. If you say yes, you’ve just given away $5,000 and you don’t know any of the terms of the contract! You should only consider written offers by qualified buyers. Examine written offers and decide if you accept the offer as is, make a counter-offer, or reject the offer. Once buyer and seller sign the offer, this becomes the binding sales contract.


4. Close…the deal!
• Appraisal. The buyer's lender will send a real estate appraiser to determine the value of your home. If the appraised value is below the agreed sale price, the lender will not provide a mortgage loan. If your price is in line with comparable homes sold in the immediate neighborhood, you can avoid this problem.
• Inspection. Under the sales contract, the buyer can order several inspections at his own expense such as: termite inspection, roof inspection, and general inspection of appliances, air conditioning & heating, electrical system, plumbing, sprinklers, etc. Be available for the inspections and ask questions. Having your own inspector can help in disputing a questionable report, but your main aim is to fix problems, get agreement and avoid giving the buyer an excuse to get out of the contract.
• Closing Day. Complete a buyer walkthrough. An Escrow Agent, Title Company, or Real estate attorney typically handles the closing. The title to the house is transferred to the buyer, all outstanding bills are paid, and your portion of funds from the sale is disbursed to you.