There isn't any question that selling your own home can help you save thousands of dollars. For that reason, it's not surprising that lots of people are attempting selling their own home without having a realtor. This makes sense...Home values have decreased so much in last few years that people selling their home simply cannot reduce their price anymore than they curently have and still be able to pay their agent the typical 6% fee.
The straightforward option would appear to be to eliminate the middle man...the agent. In doing so you save yourself thousands that you would have to pay out in real estate fees and can therefore reduce the asking price of your house to ensure it actually sells.
Having said that, if you are selling your own home then you will need to start behaving like a realtor. There's a reason why real estate agents make their commission...because selling a house is work! Real estate agents, at least good ones, work their rear end off to generate a sale. Therefore, if you're selling your own home then you have to do the same thing.
Here are a few tips on selling your own home:
1. Among the first things you have to do is learn several home selling techniques. Remember, knowledge is power. If you have friends or colleagues that are successful real estate agents then talk to them. Ask them what strategies have worked for them and what has not. Furthermore, get familiar with real estate advertising. Make it a daily habit of reading through real estate ads. Get a feel of the way the ads are worded. Search for the keywords and phrases that captured your attention.
2. Be realistic. Do not overprice your home. Do some research by looking at the other houses being sold in your area. What are those houses currently priced at? Just how do those homes compare to your own home? In today's market, the home that sells will be the best home at the best price. Furthermore, make sure to research what houses have already sold in your town. What did those houses sell for and how do those houses compare to yours?
3. Be prepared to hold open houses each weekend. Real estate agents work Saturdays and Sundays and you are now your own realtor so get accustomed to working weekends.
4. Keep it clean! You may even want to hire a maid. Since you will have to show your home on a moments notice it will need to be clean all the time. The last thing you want to do in today's market is turn someone away or put them off until another day. Have your house in "showable" condition everyday.
5. Use the internet. Today many people look for homes online so make sure you are using websites like Craigslist, Realtor.com, YouTube and many others to help you in selling your own home.
6. Get placed in your local MLS. One of the biggest down sides of selling your own home is that licensed real estate agents are the only people that can place your house on your local MLS. This is still the primary way houses are sold in the united states. Approximately 90% of all homes sold are a direct result from an MLS listing. For that reason, if you are selling your own home you will want to utilize a flat fee MLS service in which you pay a one-time flat price to have your home placed in your local MLS. These flat fee services differ in price and in what they offer so be sure to do your research as not all flat fee MLS services are the same. Some just list your house while others provide lockboxes, "for sale" signs, contract forms, and may even do virual tours and open houses.
As you can see selling your own home is not easy. It is work...this is exactly why real estate agents earn a commission. Furthermore, while selling your own home will save you thousands, some of that money will be needed for advertising costs, cleaning and maintenance, and of course listing you home with a flat fee service. In the end though, if you are willing to put in the time you can still save yourself thousands which may let you lower your asking price which will get you more traffic and inevitably increase your chances of selling your own home.
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