Create Curb Appeal

Before you put your home up for sale, you need to make it appear as desirable as possible without spending a large amount of money. "Curb appeal" is what you are going for, which means you want to make a good first impression as soon as a potential buyer pulls up to the house. This is achieved by simple touches like a neatly trimmed lawn or a nice garden.

A little splash of color in a flowerbed does wonders for a home's curb appeal, as does an empty driveway. In other words, if you normally park your car in the driveway, you may want to clear some space in the garage for its intended purpose.

Buyers won't base their decision solely on the front of your home, so you need to make similar improvements inside. Although some passers-by might be inclined to keep driving if the lawn is a wreck, the inside of the house is where they'll spend most of their time, so that is obviously important. Presenting potential buyers with a clean home seems like a no-brainer, but some FSBO sellers underestimate this marketing tactic. On the other end of the spectrum, there are sellers that go overboard with cleaning. They end up making the house look sterile and empty, like a model home. Always keep the personal things out, such as family photographs, when showing a house. It will make it easier for buyers to picture themselves living there.

If there are any major problems with your home, such as a crack in the foundation, don't think you can sell your home without the buyer noticing. You need to either have it repaired or disclose the problem to the buyer and reduce your asking price. If your house has minor problems, such as an unfinished bathroom or a leaky kitchen faucet, now is the time to take care of those loose ends. Surprisingly, a well-kept bathroom sways more buyers than a large master bedroom. Clutter should be cleared out of your home, as well, so you should consider a yard sale or a storage unit rental. As a finishing touch, a fresh coat of paint on focal walls will really impress.

Prepare For Your Next Home

If you are planning on selling the home you currently reside in, you need to make arrangements for your next home before you sell this one. Always get a future mortgage loan pre-approved before you put your home on the market. After all, your house could sell immediately, leaving you a bit rushed to finalize your next purchase. With a pre-approved mortgage, you will be able to time the transition better.

In addition to preparing for your next mortgage agreement, you may want to start looking at potential homes before marketing your current one. Even if your house takes months to sell, you need to have an idea of what you want. Consider what you like or don't like about your current house and neighborhood. Based on that criteria, house-hunting will become a little easier.

Determine Your Asking Price

Before you decide how much you want for your house, you should know how much you need. If you are still making payments on your home, then you need to ask your lender what your payoff price is. Selling your home for anything less will leave you in debt, as you will be homeless with a mortgage payment — not a good position to be in. Depending on the agreement you signed and the amount of time you've lived in your current home, there may be a penalty fee for selling your home and paying off your mortgage early.

In addition to your payoff price, you need to consider closing and marketing costs. Since you won't be dealing with a real estate agent, you won't need to consider his/her commission. However, without the knowledge of a real estate agent, making estimates on your closing costs can be difficult. You may need to do a little research on current market trends and/or talk to your mortgage lender, who may know more about it. As for marketing cost, this won't be substantial. A "For Sale" sign and an online posting is hardly expensive, but we will discuss that with more detail below.

After you have estimated what it will cost to sell your home and pay off your mortgage, you need to determine how much of a profit you want to gain. Obviously, you want the most possible, but you want to stay within a reasonable realm. Otherwise, your house won't sell. Generally, a house will sell above its tax appraisal value, so make sure you know what your tax appraisal states. If you merely want to make enough to pay off your current mortgage and put a down payment on your next home, then that figure should be easy enough to compute. Remember, the more competitive your asking price, the faster it will sell. If you think your asking price is too high or too low, see what other homes in your neighborhood are going for and that will help you gauge your price.

Market Your Home

Since you have now given your home the curb appeal it needs to win over buyers and you have an asking price, it is time to put your house on the market. Studies show that the most effective form of advertisement you can use costs under $10 - it is a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn. Surprisingly, there are buyers driving around neighborhoods regularly, looking for such signs. Also, any investors that randomly drive by and see the sign will be interested, particularly if the house has curb appeal. As we stated before, buyers know that FSBO houses are priced more reasonably than houses represented by agents.

In addition to your magic sign, you may want to advertise via the local newspaper. While this will garner a lot of attention and is fairly inexpensive, the Internet is even more effective and can be utilized for no charge. Craigslist.com, a large online classifieds ad, is free and extremely popular. It will reach a broader audience than a newspaper and you will also be able to upload photographs of your home (something you can't do in the newspaper). There are other real estate listings online, some that focus specifically on FSBO homes, but many of them ask for outrageous and unnecessary fees. At the most, all you will need is a yard sign, a Craigslist ad and, if you really want to cover all bases, an ad in the local paper.

Show Your Home

Here is the best advice for showing your home that you will ever receive: make your house available as much as possible. If people have to work around your busy schedule, they may grow impatient and give up on looking at the house. If you have another responsible adult in the house, make sure that either you or he/she can be at the house at any given (albeit reasonable) time. Doing so will garner more offers and sell your home quicker.

Another thing to consider when showing your house is how much you tell them upon their first visit. They don't need to know the history of every corner, rather just where the guest bathroom is, master bedroom is, etc. Let them walk around and get their own impression of the place - too much yapping at first may turn off a buyer. While they may have questions for you, you shouldn't dominate the conversation. Also, if you have rowdy children or animals, keep them out of the way. Consider them, although you love them considerably, part of the "clutter" we told you to clear out.

Negotiation and Closing

If you have an interested buyer, he/she will most likely want to visit your house a few more times before an official bid is made. Also, be prepared for the buyer to hire a home inspector, which is well within his/her right. As for negotiating the asking price, you are a free agent and where you go with it is up to you. If you are absolutely resolved not to budge on your price, there may not be any negotiating room, which is why you may want to set the price just higher than what you really desire. However, if you have set a very reasonable asking price, which is typical of a FSBO home, then the buyer may agree outright and not haggle a bit.

Upon agreement of an asking price, your buyer will contact a mortgage lender and sign an commitment. If he/she has already been pre-approved, this process will go much quicker. Typically, a representative of the mortgage company will also inspect your home to make sure it is worth the asking price. After those details are finalized, a closing date will be set for approximately 30 to 45 days later. In the meantime, you need to contact your mortgage lender, tell them you are going to pay off your home loan and give them the closing date. Also, you will need to move your belongings out of the home.

On closing day, you will meet with the buyer and, depending on what state you live in, an attorney or title company representative. All paperwork will then be signed and witnessed, including the title deed. Also, all closing costs must be paid and you will give the buyer the keys to your home. Approximately one to two days after closing, you will be paid in full for your home, leaving you free to pay off your mortgage loan.