For Sale By Owner The "Unrepresented Seller"

I recently did a video blog regarding those who are trying out the route of "For Sale By Owners", more commonly referred to in the real estate world as the unrepresented seller.  In the video blog I addressed the most common reason that homeowners choose this route, which is "saving on the costs of commissions" you can see the full video blog here.  After a few additional questions from my readers I will addressing some of the other reasons that you may want to reconsider using a Realtor to get your home sold ! 

1. Pricing

• Most people would assume we are talking about overpricing, but there is the exception with the market picking up that you may UNDERPRICE your home.  Many homes are receiving multiple offers because buyers have begun making purchases before the interest rates begin to rise anymore than they already have !  

• Most homeowners will ask general questions to buyers to see how "serious" they are about purchasing a home but they might not know the questions they should be asking.  Even a well paid professional with good credit might not qualify for a home due to excessive debts, or a couple just starting out might be able to qualify although only one of them are working.  General questions like what they do for work, income, or credit score are often not enough to truly qualify a buyer.  

• Each website you post your home on will cost between $500-$1000 per ad, and this is only usually for a short period of time.  There are some major websites you will want to put your home the most obvious being MLS, Zillow, Trulia, Optimum Homes you will need to reach possible buyers.  Free advertising sites like Craigs List will often bring you many leads, but the majority will not be qualified buyers - remember quality of quantity is very important.   

• Showings can become tricky because of those sites that did not allow you to be the contact person because of the ad space already being purchased by other real estate agents.  My advice is although you are doing this to save the commissions many agents will bring you qualified buyers while working in a Buyers Agent capacity.  You should be prepared to speak with these agents and know the questions to qualify them as a Buyers Agent so you don't lose out on the potential buyer.  

• Knowing the procedures often involves Town & Village Laws & Building Codes, knowing what you will need to legalize and what you will not need to legalize is a very big part of selling your home.  Not only does it affect what you can legally advertise, expect the bank to allow you to include in the appraisal, and what will need to be included in the contracts are major key parts of selling your home.

• Bank appraisals are the most important part of selling your home, this is when you have to prove to the bank that your home is selling for a fair market value.  You will need to pull comparable homes from the area within the criteria that they will allow.  If your home is overpriced and you are able to obtain a buyer, the bank will alert them to overpaying when they receive an appraisal that does not allow them to mortgage the home for the price agreed upon.  Almost always there will need to be an agreement on a price change when this happens because buyers will have the right to not continue with the purchase.