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Before you consider selling your house yourself, ask yourself if you are going to have the time needed to sell your house - even if you just cover the basics.
The Basics
- Complete an extensive research of local market conditions, including:
- the listing and selling price of all houses in your area for the last six months,
- the listing price of houses currently on the market, and
- the listing prices of houses that were on the market but did not sell.
- New Construction Listings as most offer assistance with buyer closing costs and home warranties
Tips: Begin your research on the Internet. Follow-up by visiting the county tax records office to determine the selling prices of houses.
- Put together a marketing plan.
- How will you market your house to real estate agents? Most buyers use a real estate agent, so marketing to real estate agents is essential. At a minimum, you'll want to send a letter and sales flyer to all real estate agents within a 30 mile radius.
- How much money can you afford to devote to advertising? Call the local newspapers to determine how much it will cost for advertisements. You'll want to run daily and Sunday ads in the newspapers.
- Who will create your sales flyers? Buyers expect fact sheets to take with them when they drive-by or tour a house for sale.
- Where will you place signage? In addition to your front yard, is there areas leading in to your neighborhood where signage would be appropriate?
- How will potential buyers find information about your house on the Internet? You'll want potential buyers who begin their house shopping on the Internet to find your house. Be sure to build a website to help sell your house.
- Who will take inquiry calls and schedule appointments? You'll want someone to be available to answer inquiry calls and schedule appointments. Be sure to schedule showings as quickly as possible - even the same day.
- Confirm that the potential buyer has pre-qualified for a mortgage loan.
- If the buyer is buying with cash, confirm that they have the necessary resources.
- If the purchase is contingent on the buyer selling their own house, confirm that the buyer's house is on the market. (You may also want to determine how long the buyer's house has been on the market.)
- Negotiations, Contracts and Closings
- Are you prepared to negotiate the contract?
- Do you know what the legal responsibilities of the seller are in your area?
- Who will write the contract? Will you need to hire an attorney? If so, what will be the attorney's fees?
- Do you have access to all of the necessary Real Estate Forms?
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Setting the Sales Price
If you decide to sell your home, the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) will show the listing price of similar houses in the area as well as the prices at which the houses actually sold. Additionally, the analysis will give us information about houses currently on the market and about houses that were on the market but never sold.
Next, I'll ask you about your goals in selling the house. Everyone who sells a house has different goals that need to be factored in when calculating the selling price.
- Is your goal to get the maximum sales price for your house?
- If so, are you willing to have your house on the market for many months?
- Is your goal to sell your house quickly?
- If so, are you willing to sacrifice some of your potential profits to sell more quickly?
- Would you like to establish a balance between selling your house quickly and selling at the top end of market value?
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Market conditions will play a role in setting the sales price of your house. I'll factor in how quickly houses are selling in your area, how much inventory is currently on the market, what you competition is with other homes in the area, and finally whether its a buyers or sellers market.
I'll then recommend a price at which to list your house to meet your goals in the local market. |
