It’s time for another WFMW Backwards Day. Instead of giving great advice, you ask for it.
We are hoping to put our house on the market after Christmas and we are considering selling it ourselves. Have any of you successfully done this? Was it worth it? What do’s/don’ts can you share? We are in a small suburb that is booming, so the housing market is not as slow as other parts of the country. We also have a good amount of equity so we can offer a good price to get out quickly (we already have our eye on another house).
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!!
Head on over to Rocks In My Dryer & help someone out!
Yes! I did my last house. I hired a real estate person to only do the title search arrangements and the closing. A lawyer can also do this or even a paralegal that does lots of this work [not just ANY paralegal–check to see what they do!!] I paid 1% for this. I made what I need to get out of the house AND had profit–which I would not have otherwise. I put out a sign and had a number to my voicemail that had a standard recording of “Thank you for calling about 123 Super Street–this lovely 3 bedroom, blah, blah, blah.” That saved me answering the phone. I ran an ad and had one Sunday open house. Mind you I was in a good location–a great rental-type home in a area going all McMansions. Lots of would-be renters and an investor bought it.
I haven’t sold my own, but I’ve learned a few tips for helping your house sell quickly.
1) Leave the lights on! Nothing is worse than a dark house!
2) Fresh paint.
3) Leave a light shining on the back of your house. Excellent use for a yard floodlight if you have one. (Feng shui trick)
4) Leave the front porch light on.
5) Keep the house warm. I actually jack the temp up higher than I normally keep it in the winter so it gives a cozy, comfy feeling immediately on entering.
6) Box up most everything in your cupboards. You want to create a feeling of spaciousness even if it isn’t very spacious. Then get the boxes out of your house! Those piles? Throw them in boxes! It’s worth the cost of a storage unit.
7) I even boxed up most of my books so my bookshelves were aesthetically pleasing.
8) Clean the outside of your house. Curb appeal is very important so buyers don’t just drive by.
9) My sister, who sells her own houses, has an open house every Saturday and she sits outside rather than being underfoot in the house. Then people don’t have to call for an appointment, and she doesn’t have to keep a spotless house every day! With 10 homeschooled kids, that would be impossible!
10) Clean, clean, clean!
LeeAnn’s tips are really good. I would add: take your personal things down. Especially photographs. Have nothing on your refrigerator. You want people to come to your house and think about how their things and their family would fit there. While they might admire your photographs and kid’s drawings, you actually want them to be admiring your house!
Also, I think renting a storage unit is a great idea. A pain, but a great idea. Think about how store displays look at places like the Container Store or the Pottery Barn–they only put one or two items on each shelf. They show closets with very little inside. It looks nice! It looks organized! It looks spacious! You seldom stop to think that it’s not very realistic.
Make sure all your lightbulbs work and that lightbulbs in the same fixture match. Possibly spring for more expensive lightbulbs that give better quality light. Turn all those lights on!
Bake bread or cookies. It gives your house a wonderful, real smell. Everybody likes the smell of bread; air fresheners could make it smell like you’re trying to cover something up.
Leave the house when people look at it. Stay out of their way. It’s tempting to lead a tour, but people want the time and space to look for themselves. They need the opportunity to be able to criticize this or that without hurting your feelings. They also need to be able to say how great something is without fearing they’ve hurt their bargaining position with you.
If you have a pet, lock him up or have him stay with someone else. Your friendly dog may be frightening to someone who doesn’t love dogs.
One house I went to posted little notes on things to highlight positives. I liked that because I was free to browse without them, but I still got to hear the positive info I would have otherwise missed. For example: Have you installed new energy efficient windows or toilets? Is your furnace or a/c or water heater relatively new? How about your kitchen appliances? Do they have any special features that aren’t obvious?
DH and I have always bought our homes FSBO. We tried to use an agent with our first home and it was a disaster. If you have an uncomplicated sale (no weird situations with financing, etc.) then FSBO is a great way to go that allows you to keep the agent’s part and discount it enough to make it move quickly!
You can get a contract form from the local real estate offices or they are even online. Keep contracts simple– if you get into a lot of contingencies, have a lawyer do the contract for you. It will cost a bit more, but could save you in the end.
I hope you have as wonderful of an experience as we have had now– 3 times! 🙂
I have done FSBO.
great tips from the other commenters
one more… buy the “take one” cylinder to attach to your for sale sign.. keep it filled with flyers of your house info.
I made mine by using a realtor’s flyer as a template… be sure to have a picture of your house and just measure all your rooms etc…
be sure to fill out a disclosure form… I believe that is a law in most if not all states.
http://www.in.gov/icpr/webfile/formsdiv/46234.pdf
that one is for Indiana, but it gives you the basic idea,,, you just have to get or google the one for your state.
you can do this!
Amy,
Just thought you should know that is what I do now, Real Estate. I work as an assistant and would be happy to talk to you or give you any advice you need to get that going. Email me and I can let you know the pros and cons of FSBO.
Shellie
I would try to find a way to get listed on an MLS. I’ve heard that places like fsbo.com can get you listed for a flat fee. And I think you get greater exposure when you’re on an MLS.
When we were house shopping, one thing that I LOVED on the flyer was a floorplan sketch.
Shows on HGTV like Designed to Sell, and Sell this House have some good ideas about what to do with the house itself. I followed a lot of their suggestions when we sold our house – they must have worked because it was only on the market 16 days.