For Sale by Owner: What Deadlines To Expect During the Sale of Your Home and Why They’re Important

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Selling your home is a major undertaking, which is why most people hire a realtor to handle everything from the largest tasks to the smallest details. 

However, every realtor’s expertise comes at a price, sometimes up to six percent of the home’s selling price. This is the main reason that more and more people are opting to sell “by owner” rather than by realtor. But where do you even begin in the process of achieving a successful For Sale by Owner (FSBO) transaction? 

First, it’s important to identify and understand the deadlines that you face as you work to sell your home independently. Selling “by owner” does not exempt you from the legal procedures, disclosures, and other legalities required in all real estate transactions.  Read more

Guerilla Marketing for Selling For Sale By Owner

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Selling a home as a “for sale by owner” can be a difficult task. You can’t hope to compete with real estate agents who have MLS listing services and lead generation tools at their disposal when it comes to placing ads and getting your listing in front of the masses. But unlike real estate agents, you are free to advertise in other ways. Guerilla marketing is how small businesses and sole proprietors have drummed up business for years, and there is no reason not to use these techniques for your own purposes.

Flyers Everywhere

Creating a flyer for your home for sale is a fairly simple process if you have a computer. A flyer only needs the basic information about your home for sale and your contact information. You can often post flyers around your neighborhood in grocery stores, restaurants, retail establishments, and post offices. If you are part of a homeowners association, there may be some additional places to post your flyer. Read more

Top Five Apps for Selling a Home For Sale by Owner

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When it comes to selling your home without an agent, one of the most difficult aspects is being able to get your listing out there in a way that entices buyers. Selling your home quickly means making sure that buyers can find your listing, and that your listing is appealing to buyers in a number of ways. There are a lot of tools at your disposal to help you during this process, including the five apps listed below.

Redfin

Redfin is a real estate listing site that allows you to continuously update your listing to make it more appealing to buyers. You can include all of the relevant information about your home on the listing, as well as upload photos and post an asking price. Redfin updates listings in the app every 15 minutes, so you’ll always know that potential buyers are seeing the latest information about your home for sale. Read more

For Sale By Owner: What You Need to Know Before You Start

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Selling your home on your own without an agent might be more work than you first think. There are a lot of things to consider when you are selling your home yourself. It is important that you recognize what you don’t know about selling your house so that you can get the most out of the experience. Many people who start out with “for sale by owner” turn to an agent after the first 30 to 45 days.

You’ll Have to Work Hard

It’s hard work to sell a house. And because you’re not doing it as your source of income like agents, you’ll have to squeeze in the effort around your work and social schedules when you can. You’ll have to put in quite a bit of time writing and placing ads online and in newspapers, in addition to putting out “for sale” signs and passing out flyers. You’ll also have to hold open houses and put your home out there so that more people see it for sale. Read more

From Offer to Closing: What Sellers Can Expect

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Many people are now selling their homes as for sale by owner, yet often sellers are not sure what to expect once they get an offer on their home. Getting an offer is just the first step in the lengthy closing process. In fact, from offer to closing day is typically at least 30 to 45 days. Knowing what to expect during this process will help you be better prepared.

Purchase Agreement

After you accept and sign an offer on your home, the next step is the purchase agreement. The purchase agreement outlines things like who gets to keep the appliances, what if anything has to be repaired before closing, the buyer’s inspection, how much the buyer will put down in earnest money, and the closing date. This important document is the basis for the closing on the home. Read more

What to Expect at Closing with For Sale By Owner

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The closing day on selling your home is a big day for both you and the buyer. Closing, also called the settlement, is when you completely transfer the property to the buyer. All the documents and money that need to change hands between you, the buyer, the buyer’s lender, your lender, and anyone else involved in the sale of your house are exchanged between the parties.

Before Closing

It is important that you have all conditions of the contract fulfilled before closing. If there are any repairs that you promised to make before the property changed hands, you must have these completed before closing. You may be able to take care of some repairs after closing if you and the buyer have a separate contract outlining this.

You will also need to contact your lender and let them know you are selling the property. Your lender will be a party to the closing, and they will need to have a representative present. When you are paid for your property by the seller through their lender, you will then have to pay your lender so the title will be clear for transfer.

If you involved any outside companies for title searches, inspections, or other services throughout the purchase process, you will need to make sure they are also aware of the closing date. They will need to be paid for their services and sign off on the sale before it will be able to be finalized. Read more

For Sale By Owner: What You Need to Know About Inspections

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FSBOWhether you sell your house yourself or through a realtor, chances are you will have to deal with home inspections as part of the process. Buyers universally demand professional home inspections before signing a contract. There are a few things you should know about these inspections and how they affect the purchase of your home.

Why an Inspection?

Buyers want a professional inspection of the home for their own protection, and it works to your advantage as well. Professional inspections are not required by law, but they do help protect both the buyer and seller. Buyers want to know that there are no hidden defects in the property before settling on a price and purchase.

For sellers, this means you are protected against future demands. As a seller, you have a responsibility to disclose any defects of which you are aware. But if both you and an inspector do not notice a problem that is found after the purchase, you can easily prove that the defect did not exist or you couldn’t have known about it. This removes any liability from you, and protects you from lawsuits. Read more

Advantages and Disadvantages of For Sale By Owner

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Many people are now choosing to sell their home as for sale by owner rather than going through a real estate broker. There are several advantages and disadvantages to selling your home in this way. Overall, it really just depends on how much effort and cost you are willing to put forward to get your home out there on the market.

Advantages

There are several advantages to listing your home as for sale by owner. First, real estate brokers may not be working in your best interests. Economists have found that most real estate agents are more concerned with getting a fast commission than a large commission. These agents don’t get a huge boost in commission for every thousand dollars of the offer. It is more important to them to flip a house quickly than to sell it for the best possible price. As a free agent, you only have your own interests in mind. This can often result in getting a better offer for your home. Read more