The world of real estate truly is complex, and selling your home on your own is certainly no easy task. However, putting in the extra work to do so may be very beneficial. Real estate agents don't come cheap. They usually make about 6% commission on the selling price of your home. For a $300,000 home, that's $18,000 in their pocket. For a $500,000 home, it's more like $30,000. Think about it. That's easily enough money to buy a brand-new car. Of course, selling your home independently is no walk in the park, but, if you do your homework, you should be able to handle it.
Preparation
The initial stages of buying a home aren't too bad. You've just got to start shopping around. The first steps of selling, however, can be the most trying part of the process. The first thing you have to do is assess the situation. Have you paid off your mortgage? If not, how much is left? You can find this out by requesting a pay-off statement from your lender. You'll need to factor this in when figuring out how much you can and need to sell your home for.
Next, determine how much your home is worth. There are many websites, like Yahoo Real Estate, that can provide you with an estimated value for your home. Remember, though, these values are only approximations. Research the surrounding area as well. Home buyers are going to consider the selling prices of other, similar houses in your area when looking at yours, so you have to do the same. You can either do these things yourself, or you can hire an appraiser to handle it all for you. Use your research or the numbers given by the appraiser to come up with a bottom-line selling price for your home. Set the price a little higher (though not too much!), leaving some room for negotiations. Also consider the costs of inspections, lawyers, repairs, and closing on the deal.
The last step in the preparations process is getting your home physically ready for selling. It's wise to put more effort in to repairing your home than into "improving" your home. In other words, you should probably put a fresh coat of paint on the walls before installing a new pool. You should invest in the landscape as well. You know what they say about first impressions. Having a well a well-manicured lawn will go a long way toward making that impression good.
Finding a buyer
Potential buyers aren't going to just walk up to you and ask about your home. You have to go out and find them. There are several things you can do to help find the right buyer.
- Multiple Listings Service (MLS) - The job of an MLS is to broadcast your home listing to a wide audience through various websites and catalogs.
- Newspapers – The classifieds section of local papers is a great place to advertise your home. This will probably cost you about $25 a month, per paper.
- The internet – The Internet is rapidly becoming one of the most used tools for finding for-sale homes. You can list your home on real estate websites as well as other exchange sites like http://www.craigslist.org/.
- Signage – Invest in a "For Sale by Owner" sign for your yard. Not only does this denote that your home is on the market, but it lets people know that they will be dealing directly with you, the owner.
- Open house – Hosting an open house is great because it allows you to display your home to many people at once. Make sure you advertise any open houses that you decide to host.
Be available to show your house. You may want to take some time off of work to do this. Be prepared to answer any questions that potential buyers may have, and give them time and space to look around the home on their own.
Finalizing the sale
Before you finalize the sale of your home, there are bound to be offers, counter-offers, inspections, mortgage talk, etc. Once all that is settled, it will be time to sign the final paperwork. While selling your home independently is a great way to save some cash, this isn't the area you want to skimp in. Hire a lawyer to put together the sale documents and to oversee the closing procedures. The lawyer's job is to make sure that everything is in legal order and that you and the buyer are protected.
TIP: For more details on finalizing the sale, check out our Real Estate guide entitled "Closing Procedures".
Photo by: Janoon (Freedigitalphotos.net)