Selling Your House Yourself This report has been provided courtesy of Metro Housing Solutions, LLC., and is for informational purposes only. We are not licensed agents and make no representations as such.
You may consider selling your house yourself as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO). If you want to sell your house successfully as a FSBO you now have a lot of work to do and you absolutely MUST be clear and objective about your property and what it needs because a savvy buyer will challenge you on everything they can find. And if you are not prepared, negotiations can deteriorate rapidly resulting in the loss of a deal. The truth is, however, that most potential buyers in this area will be intimidated by the FSBO process and do not have the time to do the research themselves. They do not want to go through the complexities and unknowns involved in buying a property without a professional guiding them, putting them in touch with attorneys, title companies and inspectors all of which cost time and money. But if you have the TIME, the PATIENCE and the ATTENTION TO DETAIL, the FSBO process may be a good experience for you. Here is a partial list of steps you may want to consider: 1. Figure out a Fair Market Value (FMV) for your property. Keep in mind the online websites use computerized analysis software
and are rarely accurate, resulting in you over or under pricing your house. 2. Be prepared for phone calls or drop by visits 7 days a week unannounced from interested parties without you knowing if they are qualified buyers or not. 3. Be prepared to show all those people through your home as quickly as possible since putting a potential home buyer off will cause them to lose interest and move on. 4. You will need to list your home on online FSBO websites where depending on the online source fees may be charged without any assistance in the selling process and/or qualification of a potential buyer. 5. If a realtor calls you, you can be sure they are calling to solicit your business so they can exclusively list your property. 6. If you want realtors to show your house to their potential buyers, you will need to offer them a commission for their work as a buyer s agent. They absolutely will NOT show your property without agreed compensation. 7. You need to make sure that your property shows at its best during the entire process for any possible showings you may have. Unfortunately, this is going to inconvenience you and your family s everyday life. And for many people, this is just
one reason why they would rather sell to us and be done, saving them time and money and enabling them to move on with their lives. 8. You may also need to freshly paint the interior, exterior or both in addition to other repairs such as replacing windows, replacing an older roof, landscaping and clean-up, plumbing and electrical issues, heating and air conditioning repairs, cleaning and more. If you do not repair them now, you can count on lowering your price as buyers will not pay your asking price for your property when there are repairs that need to be made. They will expect a discount. 9. Compare your home to others like it in your neighborhood. Have you upgraded the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, landscaping, etc.? The condition of the property will impact the price you can get for the home. 10. Are there any possible liens or unpaid credit items, that might show up on your title? Check now, before a potential buyer discovers them. This may delay or prevent the selling process if any are discovered. This will add an inconvenience to both
you and the buyer not allowing either parties to move on with their lives and the sale of your house as planned. 11. It is a good idea to pay for a detailed appraisal so you have an objective opinion of your home s value as it compares to other homes nearby. A very likely possibility to keep in mind is that your buyer s appraisal may come in lower as their lender will use third party appraisers. 12. If you get an offer, be sure to have the appropriate sales forms and disclosure forms so the buyer cannot come back to you for any reason or, worse yet, sue you in the future for unknowns or problems not disclosed with the property or the title. It is possible for you to sell your house yourself some people do it successfully. It is usually not fast and is filled with expense, uncertainty and pitfalls. 10432 Balls Ford Rd., Ste 300 Manassas, VA 20109 703-881-7717 www.metrohousingsolutions.com