I need advice from those that may have sold their house by owner before?
Posted in Questions & Answers on April 18th, 2010 by admin – 3 Comments Tags: advice, before, from, House, need, owner, sold, their, those
Please advise whether you think it was a good idea or not. Also, if you could conclude if you think it was a good experience or bad and anything you’d do differently if you had it to do over again? Thanks
April 18th, 2010 4:47 am
We have sold three ways:
1. Ourselves
(Needed to do more than advertise in the newspaper. Needed more contacts.)
2. Self-employed agent
(Didn’t do enough to draw people in to show house.)
3. Through a large company such as Century 21
(Large companies are by far the best way to go. They have all kinds of contacts that others do not have. Plus they have the big bucks (money) for advertising correctly.)
April 18th, 2010 5:14 am
Its the best idea in the world to sell your own house.. WHY GIVE SO MUCH OF YOUR MONEY TO A PERSON TO SHOW YOUR HOUSE WHEN THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT.? I have sold many houses by owner– sometimes never even putting up a sign- Just word of mouth. The first thing to do to sell by owner is to clean the house until everything about it is so squeaky clean that it sparkles. Get rid of all clutter–toys–bags of clothing and anything un -attractive. Take your pets to a friends or parents house while you are trying to sell–Most people will not buy a house if the smell of dogs or cats is in it. If you have too much furniture in your house –get rid of it -even if you have to put it in storage- A house with too much furniture looks so much smaller and turns buyers away. You want to have clean -polished floors and mirrors– as I said everything has to look like you just walked into a new motel room . This is an upscale motel room.!!! Take down all pictures of family –as this makes them think it is still your house – Open all the window curtains/blinds and turn all the lights on to make house very bright. Bake a lemon smelling cake or cookies to put out on the table before you show to clients. This makes it seem like a home.
Next you want to go into the yards and clean the yards of all over grown shrubs–junk or anything unsightly. Make sure the lawn is always mowed and plant flowers in pots along side the front door . You may want to just buy many pots of flowers to put near the steps and door so if they die you can change them out.You know your house better than anyone else because you have lived there.
Be very honest about questions they ask you –never try to cover up a flaw–you could get sued later– Most people will buy a house if you have been honest enough to tell them if there is something wrong with it–Just tell them you know that this is there – but want them to know you are/ are not – going to repair it. You may offer to come off the price a bit for something they have to repair. Usually buyers will negotiate a problem when you offer to show them –and reduce the price some what if you don’t agree to repair or replace it. Have this already worked into your price –so you have some negotiating room. Put fresh flowers in the house– go light on the different spray scents–since they may thing you are trying to cover up a bad smell. The best word of advice here is CLEAN- CLEAN–AND WHEN YOU THINK YOU CAN’T CLEAN ANYMORE–CLEAN AND KEEP IT THAT WAY UNTIL IT IS SOLD. Get a trusted lawyer and go to closing–
April 18th, 2010 5:40 am
It’s the best way to go,i did it twice,Realtors get paid way to much for doing nothing at all.