Today’s blog post is about selling your home yourself. It’s more commonly known as For Sale By Owner (FSBO). As stated in the previous blog posts, how you want to sell your home depends a lot on what you want out the sale. What is your ultimate goal in selling your home? Is it getting the maximum selling price for your home? Is it being able to sell it in the timeline that you want? Or, is it that you want to be in absolute control of the sale?
Depending on what the outcome is that you desire out of the sale, For Sale By Owner (FSBO) might be the way you want to sell it. Also, be sure to read our post on 10 things to do today to sell your home FAST!
Below are the steps you will go thru, for the most part and in not a given order, when selling your home:
- Deciding to sell: Of course, this is the first domino. You have to decide that you want to sell your home first whatever the reason for your sale might be.
- Making home ready for sale: Make the home presentable for people to come and see the home.
- Pricing the home: The home has to be priced for what you want it to be. While you’re entitled to price it whatever you want, how long your home stays on the market will reflect if you’ve priced the home properly. You can get a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) done by a REALTOR®.
- Staging: Stage the home such that it appeals to the most buyers. If you already live there, it will be easier to just stage it with the furniture and other things you already have.
- Marketing: Let the buyers know that the home is for sale. You can consider all sorts of marketing from online (Craigslist.com, Zillow.com, ForSaleByOwner.com etc) to offline (For Sale By Owner sign in the yard, open house, newspaper ad etc). Be sure to also read the blog post on Your First Showings!
- Receiving offers: Once you receive an offer, you can accept it, counter it with more desirable terms, or reject it.
- Negotiating: With no REALTOR® help at hand, you are will have to negotiate the price and the terms on your own.
- Accepting offer: Don’t’ just get hung up on the purchase price. Sometimes, the terms of the contract are more important than the stated purchase price. Unless it’s a cash deal, ensure the buyer is qualified and will definitely close.
- Inspection: During the option or inspection period, the buyer will have the home inspected by a licensed inspector. The buyer might terminate the contract during this period if desired.
- Appraisal: If the buyer is using bank financing, the house should appraise for the agreed purchase price for the bank to lend to the buyer.
- Closing: If all goes well thus far, you will have the pleasure of signing a huge stack of paperwork at the title company. Whatever amendments the paperwork have to have will have to be done prior to the closing date. Once both the buyer and seller have signed the closing paperwork, the loan is funded by the bank if the buyer is using financing. If it’s a cash deal, the buyer has to bring all cash to closing.
- Moving out: Unless the possession of the home is agreed upon at a later date, you should’ve already packed and got ready to move out of your current home sweet home.
Quoting myself from the previous post, “When not selling through an agent, you are really on your own to do the work that an agent would have done including guiding you, advising you, protecting your interest and negotiating for you.” So, are you ready to sell your home yourself? If so, give us a call at 972.666.7072 so we can buy it. If not, stay tuned for our next blog post on outsourcing majority of the work to your REALTOR®.