A real estate agent can take a hefty chunk out of your home’s selling price. That’s one of the reasons that many home sellers are choosing to go the FSBO — for sale by owner — route. When you choose to sell your home without the help of a listing or selling agent, you get to keep more of the money paid for your house. On the other hand, you don’t have the benefit of an agent’s experience in marketing and showing your home. These simple tips can help you set up your home to sell at the price you want and within a reasonable amount of time.
Set Your Selling Price the Way the Agents Do
One of the biggest mistakes home sellers make is setting their asking price too high or too low. A real estate agent has the recent experience and context to make an educated guess at what your home will bring on the open market. Unless you’re actively involved in selling or marketing real estate, though, you’ll probably have to do some research to get to your best asking price. Start by looking for homes in your neighborhood that have sold recently, then narrow your search to those that are the most similar to your home in size, condition and amenities. Checking out those listings will give you a good general idea of the best asking price for your house.
Create a Web Page for Your House
There are a number of excellent websites where you can list your home without a real estate agent. Look for one that allows you to upload multiple photos, a home video and a virtual tour. Take the time to write a polished description of your property for sale.
Go Pro for Marketing
If you’re skipping the Realtor, it’s important that you engage professionals to help with the marketing tasks. Photos taken with your iPhone won’t show your home at its best. A professional photographer understands the best time of day to photograph your house, both exterior and interior. Find one who specializes in real estate marketing to get the best photos of your home. Other areas where you want a professional touch include your For Sale signs, custom home for sale brochures and flyers and a video or virtual tour. Depending on the asking price for your home, it might even be worth it to hire a professional stager or bring in a cleaning company to give everything a major scrubdown and decluttering.
Host an Open House
Open houses can be exhausting, but they’re the easiest way to show your house to the maximum number of people in a short period of time. Make sure that your house is properly prepared before bringing people through it, and take some cues from the way that agents run their own open houses. Have flyers with contact information available to hand out, and have forms available to take down contact information from interested buyers.
Be Available and Professional
Most important of all, make sure that you are available to show your home on a regular schedule, and respond to messages in email or voicemail in a timely manner. The easier you make it for someone to buy your house, the faster it will sell.