For Sale By Owner Pocket Guide

These recommendations are the result of years of experience helping people buy and sell homes. In my local real estate market I provide a For Sale By Owner Help Kit to individuals that are selling their home without the help of a realtor. Most of the suggestions in this article are condensed versions from the Help Kit.

It is a strange world out there and it can be dangerous. If you are acting as your own agent the first rule of business is Safety First. Research is simple, go to Realtor.org and search for the word safety. You will discover nearly 7,000 entries. In fact, there are many good topics on this site that will help sell your home. No matter how bad you want to sell, it is not as important as your safety and that of your family. Never let a total stranger in your home without some type of safety system in place. If you live alone ask a family member, friend, neighbor or co-worker to help out when showing your home. Never divulge personal information in your advertising materials.

Know what is going on in your market. If you are acting as the selling agent it is part of your job. It is important to estimate how long it may take to sell. Determine the total number of homes listed on your local MLS and divide that number by the number of homes that sold last month. It will give you an indication of what to expect. If the number is higher than six months, dig in because most of the sales last month were closed by realtors. If you are going it alone it pays to be informed. At least this will give you an idea of how long it may take.

I personally have not had much success with newspaper ads in my market, they have a low ROI and I prefer high returns on my investments. It is not possible to convince a seller that they are not important so if you are going to spend the money on classifieds, get the most for your money. Spend a couple of hours thinking about your home before placing an ad. That may seem like a long time but not when compared to the cost of running an ad for the entire marketing period. This is why I suggested researching the marketing period so you can know what to expect. It will allow you to estimate one of the expenses that is coming up. If you run an ad daily for the entire period it could cost $3,000 to $4,000. Those are hard dollars; you pay even if it doesn’t bring you a buyer. A soft dollar example would be to offer that same amount as a bonus to any realtor that brings a buyer to the table.

My guess is you are still going to run an ad, so here is how to go about it.

1. List all of the best features of your home and then number them from most important to least. Chances are if it is something you enjoy so will a buyer.

2. Focus your ad copy on top 5 features on your list.

3. Use an unusual opening statement describing the home: not a 3 bdrm brk ranch.

4. Appeal to all of the senses by using warm words.

5. Avoid exaggerating.

6. Less is more. Include some facts about the house but keep it brief.

7. Include your name, phone number, email address and web site.

8. If you use photos, show the best feature of the house instead of the standard front shot. If using a shot of the façade take it from an angle and not at noon. I prefer early morning or late afternoon. Use the shadows for adding depth to the picture.

9. Here are the top things a buyer wants to know about a property:
a. Location
b. Price (don’t be shy or play games)
c. Type or style
d. Square footage
e. Number of Bedrooms
f. Number of Bathrooms
g. Lot size
h. Amenities
i. Garage size
j. Your phone number

10. End by asking for action, “For a private showing appointment, call 555-555 today.”

I’ll let you in on a little secret; most of my listings are sold to buyers represented by other realtors. I have given this fact a lot of consideration and capitalize on it as much as possible. Instead of fighting it I embrace it and spend a lot of time and energy soliciting realtors for sales. Percentage wise it is one of my highest ROI activities. I sold almost three million dollars worth of homes last quarter during one of the worst markets in history. And the average price range in my market is around $175,000. It works so use it if you are selling your own home. Hang in there.

Article Source: http://www.propertymagnate.com/articles

Debbie Rood is a Realtor in Louisville, Kentucky. She is a residential real estate specialist. She publishes many articles on real estate and mortgage financing on her web site www.debbierood.com/

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