Uncategorized April 19, 2023

20 Steps to Selling Your Home on Your Own

The real estate commission earned by a real estate professional on the sale of your property can be a considerable amount of money.  And we know that you’ll agree it’s tempting to try to save that commission by selling your property yourself.

Many people are very comfortable in the role of “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO).  You may find that you are one of those people.  Whether you choose to take the task of selling your own property alone or prefer to work with a real estate sales professional, these 20 steps are necessary for a successful transaction to work.

  1. Conduct your own mini-walk-thru inspection. Make notes of all the items that need repair or improvement.  You may even want to bring in a second person to come in and do the same.  Your checklist should include, but not limited to, the following:  Fresh, clean paint trough-out; clean windows and window coverings; well-manicured lawn and yard; plumbing and all appliances in working order; new or cleaned flooring; all sealants (windows, tub, shower, sink, etc.) in good condition; roof and gutters in good condition; etc.  Tip:  You may want to have a home inspector to perform a pre-inspection.  This will prepare you for anything that may come up when the buyer has their inspection.
  2. Stage/detail your home. (Or hire a stager)  Make all the necessary repairs and improvements prior to marketing your property to make it saleable.  Understand that once your home is on the market, every day is “Showtime”.
  3. Carefully research information regarding the prices (more than just an internet estimate) and terms of sales in today’s real estate market. Investigate recent sales prices, under contract prices and unsold property (the competition) prices of properties similar to yours and in your neighborhood.  You may want to visit those properties as well to get a better perspective for comparison reasons.  Once done, establish a realistic asking price for your home based on that information.  Remember, buyers, will be looking at that same information when determining an offer price.
  4. Meet with local lenders and determine financing alternatives for your prospective buyers, while determining what financial qualifications your target buyers need to qualify for the same.
  5. Determine which internet sites, social media and print media will best attract your property’s target market.
  6. Determine a marketing budget and placement calendar. Prepare a contingency for both if your home does not sell as quickly as anticipated.
  7. Prepare professional, attention-getting advertisements to attract the right buyers (not lookers) to your property. A direct mail campaign should also be part of that plan. Include professional photos, videos, drone shots, and well-written description which tells the story of your home.  Be sure to keep all advertising to adhere to Fair Housing guidelines to avoid any violations.
  8. Prepare a plan to reach out-of-town and upsizing or downsizing (based on your target market) buyers, who account for a major portion of today’s homebuyers.
  9. Purchase an eye-catching and weatherproof yard sign; install it in a conspicuous location in your front yard. If on a corner lot, install two signs.
  10. Purchase multiple directional open house signs to be positioned from major thoroughfares and neighborhoods to the property. They should be installed for every open house and taken down afterward.  You may need to ask the property owners of the located signs for permission and be sure you also talk to your town’s officials to sign what their sign permits process is.
  11. Prepare a “feature/benefit/disclosure” and photo fact sheet, outlining specific features and disclosed workings of your home and the corresponding benefits to prospective purchasers.
  12. Schedule and conduct an event-style open house (public and private) on weekends and weekdays. Be sure it is advertised in all mediums and begin its marketing at the beginning of the week of the open house.  Be sure it is “open house ready”.  Require every visitor to sign in.  (You want to know who’s been through your home and it helps for follow-up calls.) Be sure all valuables and medications are stowed in a safe and secure location.  Don’t forget to put out those open house directional signs first thing that morning..
  13. Always be available to meet prospective purchasers at your home and to answer questions regarding your home, the area, schools, shopping, transportation, etc. Just be aware that there are questions that are illegal to answer). Hopefully, you can get that time off at work.  Buyers and sellers are like two ships passing in the dark and therefore, if you are not available for that buyer at that time, they will move on to another home.
  14. Respond to telephone (whether calls or texts) and email requests in a timely manner. Learn what it takes to “qualify a buyer” both financially and emotionally.  Understand the difference between a real buyer and a “looker”.  Again, ask for names and numbers.
  15. Be prepared to negotiate with a buyer. BUYERS BUY FSBOs FOR A BARGAIN. Take your emotions out of the negotiations, as if you are a third party.  Remain calm and in control or you will be taken advantage of.
  16. Have an attorney on retainer (or at least on the ready), to prepare contracts and for representation. If you prefer not to use an attorney, then have all the necessary legal forms necessary, including, but limited to:  Deposit receipts; Offer & Acceptance or contract; Buyer’s cost sheet; the aforementioned Seller’s Disclosure and Lead Paint Form; etc.
  17. Determine the type of financing you are willing to consider, such as: FHA; VA; Conventional; Seller Financing; Conventional; Straight Loan; ARM; as just cash.
  18. Negotiate with the buyers all the final terms of the sale including: price; financing; inspection issues; contingency dates; title issues; Home Owner Association requirements; closing date; and other pertinent considerations.
  19. Plan a final walk-through with the buyers before the settlement process to complete any unresolved disputes. Have a witness present.
  20. While doing the above 19 steps, you will also need to go through many of the same steps when locating, purchasing, and so forth, your next home.

By hiring a Realtor who does this on a daily basis and more than likely, statistics have shown, will sell your home for 8-10% more than a for sale by owner, which puts more money in your pocket, to a qualified buyer, in a much quicker, stress-free environment, successfully.

For any questions about any of your real estate needs reach out to Jeffrey Halpern, Broker-Associate, and the Halpern Real Estate Group of Howard Hanna | Rand Realty at 201.317.7527 or jeffrey.halpern@randrealty.com.  For 3 FREE valuations of you home plus a buyer heat map click here.  

 

Uncategorized February 8, 2017

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

In the past several months I have been involved with several bidding wars on homes, representing both buyers or the seller. Most of the are in the price range of $250-400,000.  Is it a good sign – yes? Is it the sign of the times – maybe (at least for the immediate future).

The good news to report is that many (not all) sellers are pricing their homes to sell (or under-pricing their homes to produce bidding wars) and all the owner-occupant buyers on the fence are coming off the fence, as well as investors and flippers. The competition is fierce.   They see value in the right priced home as well as finally taking advantage a favorable interest rates, fence-sitters become fence (and house) buyers, whereas, the investors are paying cash.  Conversely, inventory is low, driving prices up a tick and multiple offers on the little inventory there is, ticking them even higher.

Getting back to bidding wars, both sellers and buyers need to know what to do if you as a seller is lucky enough to have your house as the subject and the buyer is unlucky enough to be involved in trying to attain the home.

Seller. Without a doubt it is exciting to have your home as the subject of a bidding war. It is obvious that your home was fully marketed to enough of its target market through various Multiple Listing Sites (more than one), a slew of web sites, blogging, social and business networking, mailers, newspapers, etc., as well as pricing either at market value or just below it (yes, just below as it brings about many bids and sell for what market value is).

Because a seller has the upper hand in a bidding war, the seller can control the outcome of the final price and conditions. Seller should beware of the highest bidder. The highest bidder is not always the best of the bids and a seller must use their head and not their pocket to decide which offer to accept.

Multiple offers can come in at anytime during the selling process and actually by law, can be presented to a seller up to the moment they close with a buyer. However, in most cases, multiple bids come in when a property is first listed. When they do occur, the seller with their Realtor (and hopefully one who has had experience with them), should review each offer carefully. Do not get caught up in the hoopla as it is a business decision you must make to take the right offer.

Specifically speaking, with your Realtor, review the conditions of the contract: price; mortgage amount vs. all cash; down payment; closing date; items included in the sale; home inspection time limit; and additional contractual conditions, which may include a house to sell contingency, or the like.

From there go back to the bidders with a counter-offer, or ask them to enhance their offer. Try to avoid asking them to come to their highest and best as in my experience, there really is no such thing. It is better just to come back with a counter. If the offers are at full price, revert back to enhancement or you can actually, come back with a price that is higher than the asking price (just be wary of what it is as it may just turn all your bidders away).

The respondents will either not budge from their price, come up to a price, or just walk away to avoid the hoopla. Some may ask for the other offering prices, and although the Realtor Code of Ethics (if you are using a Realtor), with written approval by the seller, requires that the existence of other offers are present be disclosed, it does not require that the other offering prices are. As a moral and ethical standpoint, I believe that the prices be kept quiet. At that point the counter-offers are presented to the seller.

Once that has been done, revisit the contracts for a second time. If they are close, take the second highest offer – not the highest. In many cases, when the highest bidder wins they will either back out because they believe they may have paid too much, what is known as buyer’s remorse, or they will do what they can to make up the difference of what they wanted to pay, through the home inspection issues. And then there is the issue of the home appraising for that highest price (of which we are finding to be a stopping point for a good number transactions today).

Whereas, by choosing the second highest, the buyer is more apt to stay with the purchase and not ask as much after the home inspection. Giving the seller more control on the buyers requests. It must also be noted to the buyer that they already had an equity increase in the home they went into contract before they even close, as someone was willing to pay more, resulting in a higher value than their purchase price.   Plus, the appraisal process becomes more affable.

When the seller has made their choice, I advise that they keep the other offers as back-ups just in case the negotiations fall through.

Buyers. The buyer is most stressed, especially if this is “The House”. Some buyers have to buy 3-4 homes before they actually get a home  However, it is a lot simpler. Make your initial offer, look at the seller’s counter-offer, and come back to them with yours. Then do not let the hype take over and make your final price one that is not over your head.   be sure to get the assistance of a Realtor who will give you comparables of like homes in the area and in many instances, keeping you grounded.  This will give you the information for an intelligent decision. You can ask your Realtor for assistance of a purchase price but keep it in a range instead of a definitive price. (Remember, although they know the market, they are not buying the home, therefore, the value is in the buyers head more than the Realtor).

I suggest you add a letter of praise to the sellers and desire to purchase their home, to be included with your offer. There have been some buyers that have used video to let the seller know they love the home.  The video may hurt more than help as the seller may not like what they see in the video.  (It sounds wrong but people still do discriminate) If you win the bid, good for you. If you do not, leave your offer as a back-up and keep looking. It may have not been meant for you anyway or the other offer may fall through and therefore, you still have a chance.

Overall, multiple bidding can be stressful for both sides and getting the assistance from a Realtor will keep your emotions in check while giving you a representative that will work hard for you and your real estate goals