Seller Information

A Guide To Selling Your Property “For Sale By Owner”

Prepare Your Home For A Fast And Successful Sale

The potential buyer's first impression is the most important aspect to consider while preparing your home for sale. Before putting your home on the market, clean it top to bottom (we mean spotless!) Have the carpets cleaned, touch up paint where needed and make your home feel more spacious by removing clutter. Before each showing or open house, it is important to have all the lights on in your home, keep up with the cleaning (nobody wants to buy a dirty house and remember people will open closet doors…make sure these are also appealing), keep the yard well maintained and make sure it smells good inside your home (ex: don't cook a strong smelling meal right before a showing, your favorite smell could turn some else off). Pet odors and the smell of smoke are both HUGE turn offs to potential buyers. We suggest having a friend that will give you honest feedback act as a potential buyer and have them give you suggestions for improvement.

Pricing Your Home

Make sure you pick a realistic price for your home. Ultimately, the buyer decides how much your home is worth. If you over-price your home, the buyer will feel cheated and look elsewhere. Research other homes that are comparable to your home in your neighborhood and find out what they are going for or sold for. Remember to consider the size of the home, the lot size and any extra amenities your home may or may not have compared to others. A local home appraiser can always help with the pricing of your home.

Legal Advice

It is extremely important to get a real estate lawyer. You will need a lawyer to handle the closing and contacting one early in your pursuit to sell your home will ensure that your interests are being protected. Having a lawyer as a resource can be a great tool to help with examining offers, holding escrow, handling the closing and providing any additional legal advice concerning your transaction.

Marketing Your Home With FSBOGSP.com

FSBOGSP.com will provide marketing for your home, please see “What's Included in Your Listing.”

Writing the Description of Your Home

The description of your home should be truthful and to-the-point, but be sure to use eye-catching and thought-provoking words. There is a fine line between over indulgent and dull. It is important to make your house sound appealing by using descriptive words and phrases, but don't make it too wordy so it is hard to get through (Don't forget to use your thesaurus and look at other ads.) Be sure to include the important facts about your home and the features that make your house different (better) than the one for sale down the street. Since people usually read ads very fast, be sure to put your “catch phrase” at the very beginning to attract the buyer to read on. It may also be helpful here to get a friend's opinion of your description.

Photos Are Crucial

Most people decide to look further into a home based on the pictures on the internet. Make sure your photos do not have any clutter in them (yard/driveway and countertops). People are looking to buy your house, not your possessions. You may want to move things around to open areas up and make the areas seem bigger. Start packing early and pack up the possessions you will not need that can reduce the clutter.

Lawn Signs

The lawn signs provided by FSBOGSP.com will play an intricate role in marketing your home. Be sure to use all signs provided; the professional yard sign and the directional signs. If there are multiple ways to get to your home, you may want to consider purchasing additional signs for more exposure.

Open Houses

Open houses can be a great way to expose your home to a large number of potential buyers in a short amount of time. You might want to find out when (date and time) other homes in your area are having open houses; you are likely to get the overflow.

Home Flyers and Additional Information

You should keep flyers of your home from FSBOGSP.com in your home (on the counter) during showings and in an information box in your yard. Also, you may want to make a binder with any inforomation about your home that might be helpful to a potential buyer. For example: floor plan, plat, seller's disclosure, contract to purchase, tax info, utility info, school info, any warranties etc. Make sure you have plenty of copies of these items for potential buyers to take with them.

Receiving An Offer To Purchase

When you receive an offer, it is important to go over the entire contract before accepting, rejecting or making a counter offer. We advise you to have your attorney review the contract with you. Remember, the offer you receive can be negotiated.

Home Inspections

Standard real estate contracts, give the prospective home buyer, the right to have the property inspected by a professional. You may want to address any known problems before you put your home on the market.

Final Details Before Closing

The buyer and/or their attorney will to a title search. If a loan is involved, the mortgage lender will order an appraisal and possibly a survey of your property to make sure the boundaries are properly laid out. Prior to closing, if you have a mortgage, you should notify your lender that you will be paying off your mortgage. Don't forget to let your utility companies know you are moving.

Closing

Usually, the buyer will take a "walk through" before the closing to make sure all agreed repairs are completed and that the home is in the same condition as when they made their offer. You must close with an attorney. At the closing, all monies will be collected, any existing loans or liens will be paid, the deed will be transferred and insurance will be issued to guarantee a free and clear title. It is important to go over these matters with your attorney ahead of time to ensure there are not any surprises at the closing.

This is an overview of selling your home “for sale by owner”. Details will vary from transaction to transaction and this is by no means conclusive.