Save Money when Selling by Owner (FSBO)

One of the biggest advantages of selling by owner is that you can save money. As you may know, hiring a real estate agent to sell your home can cost you a lot of cash. In most cases, an agent is going to want at least 6 percent of the sale price. While this may not sound like a lot, go ahead and do the math. You will see that this can add up to quite a large sum if you end up selling your home for a lot of money. For this reason, more and more people are selling by owner. This is a great way to save money as long as you are willing to deal with all of the other details that go along with these transactions.

So how do you save money when selling by owner?

But before you get caught up in saving all this money, remember that you must also spend more of your own during the sales process. When you work with a real estate company they will take on the cost of printing flyers, putting your home in the paper, and much more. But when you are selling by owner, these are all expenses that you are responsible for. So while you will save money in the end, you need to make sure that you have enough cash to make it through the sales process. The good thing is that since there is no agent involved, you can make all the decisions as to what you are going to spend your money on.

As mentioned above, you will never have to give money to a real estate agent. Depending on how much you sell your home for, this could add up to quite a large amount of savings. At an average of 6 percent commission, a real estate agent will take $6,000 for every $100,000 that your home sells for. So if you have an average priced home, you can expect to give up approximately $10,000. It is safe to say that there are plenty of things that you could do with a large sum of money like that.

In the end, there is no denying the fact that selling by owner is a great way to save money. If you are going to be putting your home on the market, and want to maximize your profit, you need to consider selling on your own.

More For sale by owner articles and a lot of information about FSBO.

Price Comparisons and Market Analysis

We take the business of selling our home as seriously as we do any other major investment ~ in fact, probably even more so because it is our most major investment. So the question comes up from a buyer (or possibly a realtor), ‘How did they arrive at their price?’. It is a valid question. We did hire several market analysts, and have continued to follow the market prices for homes that are comparable to ours.

We think you as the buyer would have the same questions before purchasing a home as we have. Most people have a list of their ‘must haves’ followed by their ‘wants’, and it likely includes items they do not want. These are good questions. Therefore, in order to do a market analysis of our property, you must ask yourself these questions. If you wish to live on a lot approaching a zero-lot line, that is great! This would not be the home for you, however. It also would not be a comparable comparison for pricing. For examples of homes that have similar sized lots that are also well-built homes, a neighborhood near our home you might look at for good comparison of pricing would be Quail Run. It is within a few miles of our home. No two homes are equal, but this is a neighborhood that will offer you a good analysis of pricing. We have done a lot of homework, and we know you want to do so also.

FSBO How-To (For Sale by owner Listings)

Clear and comprehensive listing is the first introduction your prospective buyer will have for the property. The real estate listing should be complete and the facts contained in the listing should be accurate. The prospective buyer should find the listing easy to understand and tempting enough to make them motivated to learn more and come out to view the property. As technology moves forward with advances in print and the internet getting the attention of buyers can be an easier assignment.

Your real estate listing should not only be factual but honest. Many prospective buyers invest a lot of time and energy to get out and view properties. They are therefore not likely to appreciate finding that the home they see listed as lakefront property is actually overlooking the lake from a block away and has lake access. There really is a difference. The more inflated the claims, the less likely buyers will be willing to work with a property owner. Since buyers ultimately want to feel good about their purchase, it is better to be honest and show credibility than to be dishonest and run the risk of having no one to sell to. Plus in many areas it’s against the law not to disclose all the facts about the property.

How many times have you read a real estate listing with vital information left out? Basic things like number of bedrooms or the amount of property tax paid. On the other hand others put in such an excessive amount of information, or with nothing by abbreviations that the prospective buyer will just move on to the next listing. You can’t go wrong starting with the basics. Numbers of bedrooms, if raw land the zoning, size of the lot and so forth. Detail the properties most attractive selling points like large lot, or remodeled master suite or location. Color pictures always support the written real estate listing.

It’s widely known that you’ll make the sale sooner and closer to the asking price if a larger number of prospective buyers are motivated to take the next step and view the property. So with a proper balance of facts, technology and good old fashioned sales savvy will go a long way toward selling your property.

Online real estate listings are a great option to marketing a home. Visualization plays an extremely vital role when it comes to marketing a property and the internet is a perfect venue for creating stunning visual portfolios. The number of technological advances, such as the 360 degree camera shot, allows prospective buyers to pan around and see a property from every angle without ever having to leave the comfort of their home. This is a bonus for those who find themselves in need of a residence in an entirely different city or state. Properties with these types of listings are also likely to get a higher number of views as compared to the conventional real estate listing.