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Homes For Sale By Owner Program Step One – Plan To Sell As you get ready to place your home on the market, there are usually some simple improvements that can help you get the most for your home and sell it quickly. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you begin the process of selling your home: Are you ready to sell? The home-selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. It is necessary to look at a home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired or tossed out. Ask yourself: If you were buying this home, what would you want to see changed? The goal is to show a home which looks good, maximizes space and attracts as many buyers - and as much demand - as possible. When should you sell? The marketplace tends to be more active beginning in spring and through the summer months because parents want to enroll children in classes at the beginning of the school year (usually August). The summer is also typically when most homes are likely to be available. Generally speaking, markets tend to have some balance between buyers and sellers year-round. In any given community, for example, there may be fewer buyers in late December, but there are also likely to be fewer homes available for purchase. So, home prices tend to rise or fall because of general demand patterns rather than the time of the year. Owners are encouraged to sell when the property is truly ready for sale. How do you improve your home’s value? The general rule in real estate is that buyers seek the least expensive home in the best neighborhood they can afford. In terms of improvements, this means you want a home that fits in the neighborhood but is not over-improved. For example, if most homes in your neighborhood have three bedrooms, two baths and 2,500 square feet of finished space, a property with five bedrooms, four baths and far more space would likely be priced much higher and likely be more difficult to sell. Improvements should be made so that the property shows well, is consistent with the neighborhood and does not involve capital investments, the cost of which cannot be recovered from the sale. Furthermore, improvements should reflect community preferences. Cosmetic improvements such as paint, wallpaper and landscaping, help a home "show" better and often are good investments. Mechanical repairs will ensure that all systems and appliances are in good working condition and will help to get a top price. Your home is probably the biggest investment you will make. If you chose the FSBO route, Reliance Title Services (For Sale By Owner) can assist. It is crucial that you protect this investment with Title Insurance. Reliance Title Services can provide you with an insurance policy to protect you, the owner, against any losses (through defects in title) to the real estate you own which occurred before you became the owner. "Defects in Title" can refer to situations involving Fraud, Improper Deeds, Wills, Liens and Human Error etc. Click on the Reliance Title Services Logo to see more about the services that Reliance Title provides.
Ideal Financial Services can provide you with all the necessary real estate forms that you may need while selling your home at “no charge” or you may download them by clicking on the following links: Step Two– Setting The Price Setting the right price before you list your home is critical in getting the most for your home and selling it quickly. Having a professional with experience in your neighborhood prepare a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) gives you the facts and insight to set the right price. What is your home worth? Several factors are important in considering the value of your home: The value of your home relates to local sale prices. The same home, located elsewhere, would likely have a different value. Sale prices are a product of supply and demand. If you live in a community with an expanding job base, a growing population and a limited housing supply, it is likely that prices will rise. Alternatively, it is important to be realistic. If the local community is losing jobs and people are moving out, then you will likely have a "buyer's market". Owner needs can impact sale values. If owner Jones "must" sell quickly, he will have less leverage in the marketplace. Buyers may think that Jones is willing to trade a quick closing for a lower price -- and they may be right. If Jones has no incentive to sell quickly, he may have more marketplace strength. Sale prices are not based on what owners "need." When an owner says, "I must sell for $350,000 because I need $75,000 in cash to buy my next home," buyers will quickly ask if $350,000 is a reasonable price for the property. If similar homes in the same community are selling for $300,000, the seller will not be successful. Sale prices are NOT the whole deal. Which would you rather have: A sale price of $300,000, or a sale price of $305,000 which includes a "seller contribution" of $5,000 to offset the buyer's closing costs, pay a $2,000 allowance for roof repairs, fund two mortgage points, re-paint the entire house and leave the washer and dryer? Step Three – Market and Network Selling can entail a variety of marketing strategies. Once listed, it is likely that the home will be quickly entered into the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and placed on REALTOR.com. Realtors routinely market by mail with new-listing announcements and regular newsletters. Open houses, broker access to the home via the use of a lock box and networking with both local and out-of-town brokers are also common. Why show your home online? Online real estate information includes not only home listings, but numerous additional features and benefits. For instance, Realtor.com’s Homestore offers neighborhood information, school data, recent home sale prices, video tours, model forms, real estate news and consumer information. Equally important, the Internet offers new communication media. E-mail and instant messaging give Realtors and consumers more opportunities to keep in touch. As the Internet evolves, more technologies and techniques will be introduced to make transactions easier and more efficient. How do you hold an open house? There are no universal marketing standards for real estate because marketplaces are localized. For instance, open houses may be common in some communities but rarely used in others. In the case of an open house, a Realtor typically advertises that the home will be open for a given period (12-2 p.m. on Sunday). During the open period, the Realtor hosts the home while the owners leave for a few hours. At the open house, the Realtor will provide literature, maintain a visitor log and answer questions. By interacting with visitors, the Realtor will seek feedback regarding the home and opportunities to follow up with prospective purchasers. Step Four – Selling Your Home There is no question that selling a home is an important event. A home sale represents transition, movement and change. Big money is involved. Households move from the known and comfortable to the unknown and a period of adjustment. There may be job changes, new schools, distance from old friends and the possibility of new ones. No less important, a home sale by itself can be complex. There will be people looking at your house, documents to sign and issues to be negotiated. Because a home sale involves an array of both personal and business concerns, it is important to get it done right. You need to carefully prepare your home, understand the market and see what alternatives are realistically available. The old motto "be prepared" is a good guide in such circumstances. What is an acceptable offer? A number of factors determine whether a buyer's offer is acceptable. They include:
What is a counter-offer? When a home is made available for sale the owner is essentially making an offer to buyers: For a given number of dollars and other terms you can acquire this home. Buyers, in turn, can respond with several options:
A counter-offer is nothing more than a new offer. And just as the buyer had three options in response to the owner's original price and terms, the seller can now choose one of three reactions: accept the offer, decline the offer or make a fresh counter-offer. Offers and counter-offers reflect the back-and-forth activity of the marketplace. It is an efficient and practical process -- but also one that may contain tricky clauses and hidden costs. The Realtor who lists your home can explain the local bargaining process in detail and assist in the actual negotiations. Step Five – Close It might seem as though once a sale agreement has been signed, the selling process is complete. Not only is it not over yet, but some of the most complex aspects of a real estate transaction now begins. A sale agreement sets not only a purchase price for the home, but also a series of terms and conditions. For instance: Contracts routinely depend on the ability of a buyer to obtain financing, which is why most sellers prefer buyers with pre-approval letters from lenders. A growing percentage of transactions involve a home inspection or a physical review of the home by a trained and independent observer. Lenders will establish numerous conditions before granting a loan. They will want a title search done, title insurance to protect against previous title errors, termite inspections, surveys and an appraisal to assure that the home has sufficient value to secure the loan. Reliance Title Services is a Title Insurance Company providing excellent and efficient service for all Residential and Commercial Real Estate Transactions throughout the 72 counties of the State of Wisconsin. With over 75 years of experience in the field of Real Estate and Title Insurance, our highly qualified team offers knowledge, integrity, and an unsurpassed level of professionalism. At Reliance Title Services we are committed to providing exceptional and quality customer service. We guarantee 24-hour turnaround time for all local orders and our closers will work around your schedule at your convenience. Among our top priorities is to ensure that all files are handled with accuracy and precision. As part of our policy, our company strives to simplify the closing process by providing our customers with detailed information and by maintaining constant communication with all parties involved in the transaction. We offer superior personalized service to all our customers including our Realtors and Lenders. We truly are "The Title Professionals." Click on the Reliance Title Logo to see all of the services that Reliance Title provides.
Step Six – Moving Even the smallest home contains a lot of furniture, clothes, kitchen equipment, pictures and other items. For a short move, it may be worthwhile to transport small goods by yourself, but larger items will likely require a professional mover. Ideally, it is best to get rid of excess furniture and other goods by having a sale before you move. This will reduce the volume of goods to be moved and thus lower moving costs. Unwanted furniture which cannot be sold can often be donated to charitable groups, many of which will come to your home to pick up donations. All other unwanted items should be taken to a landfill. You should provide the U.S. Postal Service with a forwarding address, and utility companies should be advised when to end service. Check with utility companies to see if there is deposit money which should be returned to you. How do you plan a move? The time to plan your move begins once you have decided to sell your home. Some of the activities required to sell the home can actually help with the moving process. For example, cleaning out closets, basements and attics mean there will be less to do once you move into your new. Your planning will be guided by a number of things:
Who should you use? There are a number of factors to consider. Money is one issue: You will want to spend as little as possible, but choosing only on the basis of cost can be a mistake. Movers must have the right equipment, training and experience to do a good job. A mover, no matter how large or small, should be able to provide recent references for home sellers with a similar volume of goods to transport. Get mover estimates in writing. Be aware that it is possible to get discounts through membership organizations and, sometimes, on the basis of your profession: Clergy members, for example, sometime qualify for a discount. Always confirm mover credentials. Movers should be licensed and bonded as required in your state and employees should have workman's comp insurance. |
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