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Top 10 "Insider Tips" To Sell Your Home By Owner!

by Michael E. Hart

1.     Get Your Home In  Top Selling Condition: Clean your home to within an inch of it’s life. Make necessary repairs. And de-clutter the entire house. Clutter is the #1 enemy of anyone selling a house.  Invoke “The Rule of HALF”. Clear off at least HALF of everything on kitchen and bath countertops. Half of all collectibles and family photos. Half of everything in closets (boxes, shoes, clothes, hats, belts). And then consider “HALF AGAIN”! Put them in storage. Next, consider removing some furniture. Most people move because they want more space. Make your home look and feel “spacious”. Remember that “sparse” is better than “cluttered”.

2.     Set a Realistic Asking Price: The best way (and cheapest) to determine a reasonable asking price for your home is to call 3 real estate agents and ask each for a “CMA”. Most every agent will offer to do a FREE “C.M.A.” for you, which is a “Comparative Market Analysis”. A CMA provides information such as what other homes similar to yours in size and location have sold for recently, the address of homes sold, original asking price, eventual selling price, and the number of days it was on the market before it sold. It’s an invaluable tool for the by-owner seller. 

3.     Use Signs To Your Advantage: Signs sell more houses than anything else. Buyers see signs and follow them into neighborhoods they may otherwise have not known about. You need 3 types of signs. For Sale by Owner, Open House, and the little directional For Sale By Owner arrow signs. Put the large For sale By Owner sign out front of course. Put the Open House sign up every weekend. And the little directionals should go on every corner all the way back to the nearest main road to your house. And don’t forget an “info box” for your flyers. You do have flyers, don’t you? See tip #4.

4.     Create a Sales Flyer That Sells: Here’s what you need to put on your flyer. Asking price, Address, Directions from the nearest main road, number of bedrooms, number of full baths and half baths, schools (elementary, middle, high school), interior description noting any special features (vaulted ceilings, fireplace, etc.), exterior description noting special features (old oaks, landscaping, fenced), convenience to highways, shopping centers, malls, grocery stores, hospitals, etc. Your name, phone, and I’d suggest … “Shown by Appointment”

5.     Advertise Where Your Buyers Are Looking: Classified ads are usually a good investment. Local classifieds help get the word out to local readers as well as potential transplants who are actively seeking a home and searching for one in the “local papers” from the areas they’re considering moving to. The 4 most important items that must be in the ad: Price, Location, Number of Beds and Baths, and Phone. Beyond that, if you have room, note any stand-out features such as: waterfront, on the golf course, mountain view, financing available, pool, acreage, etc.,  and you’ve got it!

6.     Make Arrangements To Help Your Buyer Get Financing: This is something too often overlooked by sellers. Make arrangements with an independent mortgage broker to refer potential buyers to him/her for a FREE mortgage pre-qualification. (Don't call your local bank, or "big name mortgage" because they are limited to their own companies loan programs). A smart seller will even put “financing available” on their flyer and refer those asking about financing to the mortgage broker. Benefit to you? The mortgage broker can save you time and aggravation by telling you whether a potential buyer can or cannot qualify for a loan. And if your buyer goes through your mortgage broker, the broker can keep you “in the loop” during the mortgage process!

7.     Set Up a Voice Mailbox to Take Calls When You Can’t: Every phone call that comes in could be the one buyer you’ve been waiting for. Don’t take the chance of missing any calls. When I was actively calling sellers, I was surprised by the number of sellers who didn’t have voice mail or an answering machine. That means their advertising money was wasted. Don’t let that happen to you. Be sure you’re phone rings to an answering machine or a voice mail service. And it’s always best to return calls as quickly as possible. You never know which caller will be the one who ends up buying your house.

8.     Set Up Specific Times To Show Your House: I don’t run to the house every time I get a call from someone who says they want to see it, especially since at least 1 out of 4 won’t even bother to show up! It can be frustrating to say the least. I usually tell everyone they can "see the house on Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm or on Sunday from 1 pm to 4 pm". These are my “Open House” days. Showing the house only on these days helps me stay in control of my own time (and my sanity). It also has the advantage of creating somewhat of a “competition” among potential buyers that works to my favor.

9.     Brush Up On Your Negotiating Skills: If you have to lower your price in negotiation, it's usually considered a good idea to make your first price cut the biggest, and your second price cut (if necessary) should be smaller, so that your buyer knows you’ve gone about as far as you’re going! And keep in mind that price is not the only  thing you can negotiate on. Maybe instead of dropping the price, you might offer your buyer a home warranty instead. You also will want to consider what items you intend to might include with the sale of the house. Items such as the refrigerator, washer/dryer, patio furniture, closing dates ... all  can be a part of your negotiation strategy.

10.    Patience Required: Don’t expect a whirlwind of activity the moment you put your For Sale sign out in the yard. Sure, you may get lucky and have the perfect buyer show up at your door within just days of your sign going up, but don’t bet the farm on it. It’s possible that it could take several weeks, or even 3 or 4 months if you’re in a slow moving market and you're trying to get a retail price.

Michael Hart is a private investor who has been involved in real estate for over 20 years. For more information he can be contacted through www.LocalInvestorNetwork.com 

10 More Quick Tips To Help You Sell Your Home By Owner!

by Michael Hart

1.  Have a garage sale to get rid of a few household items you no longer have use for...and use the opportunity to hand out a sales flyer about your home to every person that comes by!

2.  Make sure to put “Shown By Appointment Only” below your phone number on your sign, and on your flyer.  This  won’t stop all “door knockers” but it will stop most from showing up unannounced, expecting to walk right in at any time they like.  (Not everyone is as well mannered as you or I!)

3.  Make sure your home smells nice!  Try vanilla scented candles or even better, bake some chocolate chip cookies in the oven just before your  “Open House”.  Just pick up a can of the “ready made dough”  at the grocery store and pop them in the oven!

4.  Burning candles in the  bathroom and adding some fresh cut flowers on the dining room table can add to the ambience of the home when entertaining potential buyers.

5.  During an “Open House”, if you have pets, keep them at a friends house or some other location for the day.  Many people are allergic to dogs, cats and other pets that we love.

6.  Go by the local plant nursery and pick up few fresh plants to perk up both the inside and the outside of your home (like the front porch).  One great place to place fresh plants is just outside the front door. Not only do they look good, but they smell nice too.

7.  Make sure to check with your neighbors when you’re planning an “open house” to let them know you’re probably going to have a few visitors and ask if it’s okay to allow people to park in front of their homes while viewing yours!

8.  Open the curtains and blinds and put the lights on in any dark rooms of the house to lighten things up.  Bright rooms look larger, cleaner and more appealing than closed up dark rooms.

9.  Start packing items you don’t often use and put them away in the garage or attic.  This will improve the look and feel of the house and make it easier on you when the house does eventually sell.

10. Organize, organize, organize.  Go through your entire house, including garage, pantries, closets, and basements (all areas that will be seen by would be buyers) and organize the contents to make each area look as spacious as possible.  This will enhance the overall appearance and appeal of your home.