If you plan to sell your house and want to save money doing so, you may consider cutting out the real estate agent and selling the home yourself. To sell on your own, you will need to make some careful decisions about the process, including how to make the transaction legally binding.
The following tips can help you with the process of doing just that.
10 Simple Steps to a Sale
1. First, time your sale properly.
To sell a home, you need to know when buyers are buying. Generally, the spring and summer months are the ideal time to put your home on the market for the fastest sale.
2. Get the home up to date and fixed up.
In order to sell well, you do want the property to look great, and that often takes some time and planning to put into place. Consider the benefits of paying for staging of your home by hiring a home stager.
3. Consider the weather when listing your home.
You want your home to look great, and that often means selling in the spring and summer rather than in two feet of snow in the winter months.
4. Curb appeal is the first impression your potential buyers will have.
Be sure that the house looks great from the approach on the street. Walk up to it yourself from two blocks away, and take note of anything you see that looks strange or unsightly. Make changes now before your buyers show up.
5. Put together a marketing plan that works for you.
This means listing your house on for sale by owner websites, creating flyers and advertising in local real estate advertisements and in the newspaper.
6. Talk to a real estate attorney about the legal process of selling a home.
Your attorney will offer guidance and tips, or may offer a flat rate for handling the paperwork for you. Since this can be essential to ensuring the process is a success, do put it in place.
7. Host an open house.
This allows you to bring people in to see the property. Avoid being pushy and rather allow the potential buyer to walk through the home while you answer questions. This reduces the strain on the buyer and makes them more likely to form an attachment to the house.
8. Create a video to show off the house in.
Place it on the web in various for sale by owner websites or on a website you create specifically to sell the property. This will lure in potential buyers.
9. Freshen up your negotiation skills.
You will need them to be sure that the property sells for the most that it possibly can sell for.
10. Accept an offer and read the contract with your attorney before agreeing to it.
This is critical, as it will protect your best interests in the property.
A Note on Dedication and Commitment
Selling your property on your own is a big commitment. Do take the time to talk to a real estate agent to find out what the cost of handling the transaction will actually be. You may find that this is a more affordable process in the long-term, depending on your circumstances. Consider the process and be patient with it.
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