Sell Your Home Without A Realtor

How To Price Your Home And Sell It Yourself

admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:48:59 +0000

Your home is a very large investment but oddly, many of us price our homes without adequate research when selling. Don’t just pick a number out of the air. Don’t go by what you “need for it”. Pricing your home right the first time is very important. If you price it too high, you will not attract buyers. If you price it too low, you will probably sell it for much too low a price. Here are some suggestions on how to price your home.

Be Unemotional

To price it properly, look at your home unemotionally. Buyers don’t care about memories. They don’t care about what you paid or about specialty items that were just for you. For example, if you installed a $5,000 gadget that slides your TV through the floor tio hide it, that may or may not appeal to them.

Buyer are interested in curb appeal (landscaping) bathroom and kitchen. Paint and carpets are so personal, they may or may not be willing to pay more for your choices.

Keep you emotions out of it and use the techniques below to find out what your home is worth in the cold light of day through buyers’ eyes.

Open Houses

We suggest you go to open houses in your area for homes like yours. Nothing is more accurate than an estimate you make after seeing the home. Take pictures, pick up listing sheets. Tour the home and see what it has to offer that is better than your home and worse than your home. Don’t see more than three in any day or you will be confused. As soon as you can, write out what you feel your home should be listed for compared to the open houses you saw. Keep a file so you can return to it and change your estimates as you learn more.

Realtor Opinion

Call three to five Realtors. Tell them you are thinking of listing and ask them to do a market analysis of your home. They will bring you “comps” or information on similar homes in your area. Take these reports and see how they compare to the estimates you are assembling from your open house tours.

On Line Research

There is lots of help for you on line. Visit www.zillow.com, for example. At no charge, they will tell you how much homes are worth and what neighboring homes have sold for. Also, your town or city has a site that probably list what homes have sold for by area as well, as part of the assessor’s office web site.

If you take these factors into account, add special features and improvements, deduct or add for condition, maintenance etc., you will be able to arrive at a good estimate of the market value of your home.

Some may say this sounds like a lot of work…and it is. But, how much time will you spend if it helps you get $10,000 more for your home? How much will you use this information when negotiating with potential buyers? Knowledge is power. Be sure to have as much as possible if you want to sell your home.

Technorati Tags: carl davidson, FSBO, how to sell your home, sell your home, selling without realtor

Welcome - You Can Sell Your Home!

admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:18:59 +0000

This site will help you sell your home without porfessional help from a realtor. We will cover allaspects from how to proce your home, how to make it look its best, how to find prospective buyers and how to get the sale written.

You can save thousands in commissions and that is especially important during the current slum in prices.

Take a look around and come back often as we will be adding content every day.

Now, you have expert adviuse without the Realtor fees, so relax, you can sell your home!

Technorati Tags: FSBO, how to sell your home, sell your own home, selling home by owner

Any tips on home staging?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:29 +0000

Something I've learned in getting my house ready to sell: people say they want to picture their things in your house, neutral colors make every one happy, etc. But there's something else going on, something that buyers will never ever admit, but it's true.

When people look at a house, they want to see the life that they think they want to live. People buy a house based upon the life that they idealize, not the one they actually live.

So your job is to give them that ideal. Make the rooms look big, make the kitchen look beautiful and uncluttered, make it smell nice, make it look nice. Make it look like they could move in and live a wonderful, TV-perfect world in your house.

My last house sold in a couple of days. I'm about to move again, so I'm crossing my fingers, decluttering, tidying up and making the house look like the kind of place that people dream about living in.

What if I owe much less on a home than it's worth, and it forecloses?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:28 +0000

If my homes forecloses, and I owe $54,000 but the property's value is $209,000 and it sells at auction for $209,000. What happens to the difference? Who keeps the money? Please give links to where you are getting your answers.
Okay, if the money is mine, how do I get that money?????????
This was an exagerated scenario, but the price of the home was more than what was owed. The home was on the market for a year before foreclosure.

The remainder is yours, but if the property is really worth $209,000, you should be selling it yourself, rather than forcing the bank to go through the cost and hassle of foreclosure, trashing your credit rating to boot.

By the time you pay for their costs of foreclosure (and ALL costs come out before you receive a cent), and factor in what the lowering of your credit rating will cost you in the next 5-10 years, you'd have been MUCH smarter to sell yourself.

are those rent to own homes worth getting for first time home buyers?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:27 +0000

We are looking to get a home. We have been living in a apartment for over a year and paying about 1k a month. I have heard about those ren t to own homes… I am not sure if they are worth it. I feel like we are losing money in rent.

be careful… real careful. With all the "owner finance" and "rent to own" scams out there. Many desperate homeowners who are facing foreclosure will pull this scam to bilk as much money out of someone as they can then not make the mortgage payments to the original lender and you wind up being evicted out on the street.

Think about this first….. how many "owners" own their house outright and would be willing to gamble on someone they know nothing of, who has bad credit when they can sell and put the cash in their pocket or use it to buy a better and bigger home.

When do you think the housing markets will come back down to normal? My home is worth much more…?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:26 +0000

than when I bought it in '99, but it was worth so much more just a few years ago. I'd like to sell, but it wouldnt sell for what I want, as I put much into it. Is it better to sell now or wait until the market stabilizes, whenever that will be?

wait unless you have to move. your house is first and foremost a dwelling, and only secondarily an investment. the thinking that the house is "the largest investment you'll ever own" is what created our current housing crisis. It's a place to live. It happens to appreciate in value over time, most of the time.

I believe that the housing prices have returned to "normal" — if your house appreciated between 3-5% annually from the day you bought it to today, then it's at its fair value. More than that (i.e. the 10-15% increases we saw) is unsustainable and prone to "crash"

Can I rent my house while it is on the market until it sells and how would I go about the rental contract?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:25 +0000

My husband and I are buying a new house that is more suitable for our needs and our growing family. We want to put our current house on the market but would like to move into the new home before the new baby comes in June. Well were afraid that the current house won't sell before then due to the market and the town that the house is in right now isn't the most desireable due to flooding, but our home is on high ground and doesn't flood. We know that at this time we would not be able to afford 2 mortgages until this home is sold. So we would like to rent out the current home to cover the 1st mortgage and only have to worry about the mortgage on the new home. What do you think about this idea and also is there anything that I would need to specifically state in the contract with the renters if it was a month to month lease about the sale of this home? Also if this home is on the market and we need to hold open houses and the realtor needs to show the home would we need to include that?
NO we are not going to buy the other house until we get this figured out. We do have the funds for 2 mortgages but it would be tight and we do have the money for the down on the new house. More than likely we are going to make the offer on the new home contingent on the sale and closing of the current home, for all of you bashing me thinking I have no clue what I'm doing, I just wanted your advise on if we had issues in selling the current home. Also where we live we own 10 acres with the current home and where we live that is very attractive to buyers.

You can rent it out while its on the market, just keep in mind that to show the house you have to give notice (at least 24 hours in my state). There also may be some stipulations you have to put in the rental agreement, i.e. house has to be relatively clean, must move out within 30 days of sale, some things like that. Now if they dont move after the sale has been completed that can be a violation of the sale contract, and the buyer may be able to walk away (I've heard of this happening a few times); Id talk to a lawyer just to be safe.

How long to wait before firing a real estate agent?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:24 +0000

I listed a home 3 weeks ago. The agent has said his best sales tool is his website. It took him 1 week to get it on his site (only because I called him) and 3 weeks later he has still not corrected the mistakes on it. His "Hotsheet" which is supposed to have all his listings does not have my home on it. He placed an ad in the paper but it wasn't distributed in the same part of town as the house. I have held Open Houses and not seen him around. I need to sell this house NOW and he hasn't even shown the house to a prospective buyer! How long do I wait to fire him? What can I do to get his butt into gear?
I just wanted to add that the advertisement that was placed in the news paper went to the NW part of Phoenix and the home is in the SW part… the NW part of town is where majority of the retirees live.
Also, the open house was with his knowledge, in fact… it was in the ad he placed!
I think that due to the fact in Phoenix the real estate agents didn't have to do anything 1 year ago to sell a house… they don't know how to lift a finger and actually do some work to make their sales happen. I think they have gotten lazy… but thats just my opinion.

(With all due respect to ALL the messages)
OK…there are many contradicting advices that you've been given. Some say that you are stuck until the listing contract expires others tell you that you can cancel it any time. You might be asking, which one is it?

This is what I can tell you, a contract has 2 or more agreeing parties, meaning they have a meeting of their minds for one objective. The same way if both parties decide to cancel the contract it can be done as well. With that said, I suggest you first go talk to the employing broker (usually the owner of the company the agents works for) and let him/her know the shitty (excuse my French) this agent has done and if they dont want to be mentioned to the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission AND the Department of Real Estate in your state than they better shape up that agent to actually do some work. If you rather not work with him anymore tell them nicely that you want the contract cancelled and release you from the listing with them because of the work ethic of that agent.

I seriously suggest you do not get all upset and demand things because they can make your life miserable. The contract CAN be cancelled but they can give you hell before and you seriously do not need that, you just want an agent that will work for your best interest not his/hers.

So, all in all YOU CAN FIRE an agent if he is not performing, all you have to do is have them release the listing and cancel the contract. Of course that if you end up selling the home to someone that this agent has brought the attention to the house and could have possibly sold it to them than the agent is entitled to the commission.

One last thing which I want to make it very clear, DO NOT take this message as legal or contractual advice. I am very aware of the law and because of this I cannot give you legal advice that is what lawyers are for. BUT all I told you above is my opinion and it could be very beneficial to you if you enforce it.

Good luck and next time dont wait so long to fire an agent that is not performing. Your home is the best investment you will ever make in your life so you should safeguard it like such.

Why would you sell your home For Sale By Owner?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:22 +0000

BESIDES the savings on commissions. Why else would you sell by yourself?

For those of you that have been successful….. How long did it take and how much money did it cost you for advertising and supplies? For those that weren't successful…. How long before you hired a Realtor and how much money did you lose trying to sell on your own?

People tell me that they are unwilling to pay a REALTOR a 6%-8% commission for doing something that they can do as well as a REALTOR. As a REALTOR I not only respect their point of view but also the commitment of time, energy and money that it takes to sell a house. With that said, let me share some statistics. 80% of people that try to sell their home by owner eventually hire a REALTOR. Homes sold by REALTORS net more to the seller than homes sold by owner. ( YES EVEN AFTER PAYING COMMISSION ). REALTORS prequalify potential buyers so that when someone enters your home they are ready, willing and able to buy. Because REALTORS are in the business of selling houses they know how to prepare, stage, price and advertise houses to get the maximum net in the shortest time.

Will you lose the first time home-buyers advantage if you sell your first home early?

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:43:21 +0000

I have some friends that just purchased their first home and got a great rate because of a first time home buyers' discount. But they decide they don't like the place and want to sell. Won't they lose their huge first time home buyer's discount savings when they sell? It seems like that's a pretty significant thing to lose, especially when you were only able to take advantage of the low special rates for less than a year. Is there anything they can do?

No, they didn't get any special discount because they are first time homebuyers–even if they think they did.

Just FYI, mortgage companies consider anyone who hasn't own a home in over three years the same as a first time homebuyer.

Rick Lanicek
www.primelendingonline.com