Thinking of Selling Your Home by Yourself? Here’s What You MUST Know How to Do

Those sellers thinking about selling their homes WITHOUT REPRESENTATION (often called FSBO or For Sale by Owner) need to know how to do the same things that I do when listing a home for sale if they want to be successful, no matter what the market.

Just because our market is now favoring sellers does not mean it’s a breeze to sell your home for the best price, terms and conditions. You don’t want to try to sell to someone who is not qualified, and you want to get the right price for your home and not leave money on the table, NOR have your home sit, unnoticed, for months.

Here are the 5 TOP THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DO:

DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE LISTING PRICE

 You must know how to position your home in the market vs. the competition, and recent sales of comparable homes. That’s means understanding absorption rate, sales price/list price ratios, DOM, $/SF, and more.

MARKET YOUR HOME

How are people going to find out about your home? Do you know where to find the right buyers for your property? Do you know what things to say, and what not to say? Are you good with a camera and a video camera?

QUALIFY BUYERS

 Do you know how to determine if a buyer is qualified to purchase your home? Do you know what questions to ask? Will you request a pre-approval letter before showing your home? How will you know that someone can afford the property, especially if they are not a cash buyer?

DETERMINE A QUALIFIED OFFER

 It’s not just price you should worry about, but other conditions a buyer may include that will result in a qualified offer vs. one that makes no sense, is not reasonable, or puts you at a disadvantage.

CONFORM TO THE STATUTORY AND REQUIRED FORMS AND DISCLOSURES

 Do you know what you are required to disclose in California, and what forms are required for selling residential property of 1 to 4 dwelling units? Failure to do the correct paperwork or to disclose material facts (what’s that?) can get you into hot water legally. Be aware there are Federal, State and other required disclosures that must be given to buyers.