Next week I have an appointment with a couple who are considering selling their house without a realtor. For Sale by Owner (FSBO) is big business; many potential sellers take the plunge without doing the necessary research and find themselves wasting their time and money. If you’re thinking about selling your home yourself, it’s important you make an informed decision to do so; these are my thoughts:
Your home is likely the single largest investment you’ll ever make. If you’re thinking about selling it, you’ll need to educate yourself about the selling process and all that’s involved.
• Pricing
• Marketing
• Disclosure
• Inspection
• Contract Negotiation
These are a few of the many important issues you need to learn if you want to maximize your proceeds.
Without a solid plan and a clear understanding of current market conditions, selling your home on your own could result in a lot of effort with a great deal of disappointment.
Pricing
Pricing is the single most important factor when selling a home. If a property is priced too high, potential buyers will walk-away, thus wasting your valuable time and the money spent marketing the home.
Although pricing tools like Zillow’s “zestimate” are available through the internet, these tools should only be used as a starting point and not dictate the final price point. It’s a good idea to either ask a real estate professional to do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) or call a professional appraiser. Because we have the ability to see your home both inside and out, careful consideration is given to location, curb appeal, upgrades, special features, and property condition. Often there are unstated factors that occur during contract negotiations--factors including seller concessions that aren’t revealed in the analysis supplied by online companies. These factors are relevant and can skew the information.
Marketing
A successful marketing plan includes more than putting an ad in the local newspaper. Today’s digital era requires more than one vehicle to deliver the message to home buyers that your house is on the market. Although print media is important, having an online presence is imperative to getting the message out to the largest number of buyers. One vehicle is not enough and neither is one website. Professional websites as well as social networking sites can assist buyers in spreading the word. Also, marketing a property is NOT cheap and takes considerable time and money. Plan on spending hundreds of dollars and plenty of hours updating ads and online sites, refreshing pictures and content to keep potential buyers interested.
Disclosure—Inspections & Contract Negotiation
Failure to understand disclosures and inspections as well as the inability to execute contract negotiations can cost a seller big money. Did you know that New York State requires sellers to complete the Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS) prior to a potential buyer writing a contract offer? Did you also know this careless mistake can cost the home seller a $500 penalty at closing?
Inspections and contract negotiations many times go hand in hand. Not only must sellers negotiate a purchase price that is acceptable to both parties, they often have to revisit those negotiations if a structural inspection reveals a problem with the house estimated to cost $1,500 or more. When this happens, the buyer has the legal right to walk away from the deal. That being said, if you want to keep the deal together, avoid putting your house back on the market, disclose the structural problem and continue making mortgage payments. I’d say honing your negotiating skills might be a good idea.
Selling your home on your own isn’t necessarily a bad decision, it just needs to be an informed one.
