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Posts Tagged ‘for sale by owner’

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How To Sell Your Home In A Lousy Market

August 28th, 2009 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Home Selling

You must be crazy if you’re thinking about selling your home right now! At least that is sentiment of some homeowners who see potential job loss, plunging home values and an uncertain economy as reasons why people should stay put. However, life isn’t always so cut and dry for everyone including those homeowners who aren’t looking to sell in order to escape foreclosure.

If you’re desiring to sell your home, then there are some things you must keep in mind before putting your home on the market:

If youre planning to sell your home, will an abundance of nearby foreclosures affect your selling price? Yes, it could.

If you're planning to sell your home, will an abundance of nearby foreclosures affect your selling price? Yes, it could.

Research Thoroughly – The home you paid $159,000 for more then ten years ago could have sold for as high as $298,000 two years ago. Today, home values have plunged in many markets which means you could be trying to market a house worth a hundred grand less than its peak worth. Find out what comparable homes in your area are selling for by visiting sites like Trulia.com and Zillow.com which track the market. If you have a friend in the real estate business, ask for the most recent comp for your area.

Plan Accordingly – Now that you know what your home would likely fetch in this market, is that a price that you can live with? If not, consider not selling your home right now. Where buyers have been going through sticker shock for most of the last two decades, that same shock is being felt by sellers who realize that inflated home prices are now a thing of the past.

Think Wisely – One important factor to consider before putting your home up for sale: are you competing against foreclosures? If so, you’ll have a tough time selling your home at the price that you think it should fetch in this market. Visit RealtyTrac.com to see how many homes in your area are under foreclosure. If one or two, you may be okay. If there are many more than you’ll have a tough time competing against “fire sale” prices.

Choose Smartly – How will you market your home? Will you be using the services of a real estate (R/E) agent? If so, what will the R/E fee be? If choosing For Sale By Owner (FSBO) will you be able to market your home accordingly? Being that this is a buyer’s market, expect buyers to want to see your home at a moment’s notice – will you be available to show it?

Market Aggressively – In many housing markets, you have just one or two weeks to find a buyer before your home is considered stale – on the market too long. This means that you will need to aggressively market your home, using both internet and print methodologies to get the word our. If possible, price your home slightly below the prevailing market rate and make sure that no updates are needed. Expect buyers to want incentives to buy your home, perhaps a lower price or payment of their closing costs. Know your rock bottom price before you get started to see just how much room you have to negotiate.

End Quickly – One advantage of selling FSBO is that you can quickly gauge the market. If you can take a week off from work to market your home, you may be in a better frame of mind to negotiate a price that is acceptable to both parties. In addition, you won’t have to leave your home languishing on the market for months if it is quickly apparent that you won’t be able to sell. With a Real Estate firm handling your sale, you may have to keep it listed for up to six months.

Of course, if you have the flexibility as to whether your home must be sold now or not, then one important area of tension has been removed. You can always try your luck six months later especially if foreclosed inventory shrinks while demand increases.

Adv. – Are you considering buying a home this year? If so, you may be eligible for an $8000 federal tax credit if you are a first time home buyer. Make you move now while prices are low and before mortgage rates start to climb. Please visit PickMyMortgage.com to learn more about the lending process and to review our free, handy financing tools.


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Preparing Your Home FSBO

April 15th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Home Selling

FSBO

With the housing market the way it is, homeowners who are planning to sell understand that it is a buyer’s market in most areas of the country. Gone are the days when some homes could sell at a premium over the listed price.

The added pressures on homeowners to profit off of the sale of their homes has caused many to explore selling their most prized asset apart from the aid of a realtor. Figuring that their profits will be reduced due to a soft market, homeowners aren’t willing to fork over an additional 6% fee for the realtors fee.

Thus, the FSBO or For Sale By Owner option is kicking in for countless homeowners.

If you are considering FSBO, the following checklist from SayHomeSell can help you remember everything you need to do to prepare your home.

Specifically, you’ll need the following supplies on hand before you get going:

  • Yard Sign
  • Open House Signage
  • Brochures and Brochure Holders
  • Key Lock Boxes
  • In-House Literature Holder
  • Visitor Log Books
  • Real Estate Contracts
  • Selling Pamphlets

Of course, if you have no plans to work with a realtor, then skip the key lock box option.

To list your home, consider using the following:

  • Free Online Home Listing service
  • MLS Listing Service
  • FSBO Listing Network
  • Classified Ad Listings
  • Home Listing Catalogs

SayHomeSell also has comprehensive how-to listing information to help you through the process. By the way, don’t forget to order a home valuation report and get a copy of your home flood map — two critical tools you’ll need before you get started.

Finally, locate an attorney who specializes in real estate transactions and who can represent you at closing. A knowledgeable attorney can help you through the paperwork process, saving you thousands of dollars in realtor fees.


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Online Home Selling — An Option For You!

March 12th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Home Selling

House for sale

The housing market is just beginning to start its annual heat up, just as winter’s cold releases its icy grip on much of the nation. Spring is the season when homes come on the market and when buyers hit open houses and scour newspapers or magazines to review local inventory.

Increasingly, both buyers and sellers are turning to the internet when it comes to the buying and selling of homes.

Yes, over the past few years the internet has revolutionized the way people do any kind of research including how they find, purchase, and finance their homes.

With or Without a Realtor

Although it isn’t my place to tell you whether to use a real estate agent or not when buying or selling a home, many people are circumventing the process by doing the following:

Creating their own web pages to showcase their homes. By utilizing free web pages through their web host, sellers are uploading pictures, writing copy, sharing information about their homes for all of the world to see.

Listing their homes on existing sites. Some homeowners avoid personal web pages or supplement them by listing their homes on for sale by owner (FSBO) sites. Established sites already have a strong track record and are regularly visited by home buyers.

Listing their homes on specialty sites. Craigslist is one site where people can feature their homes and reach a wide audience. In most markets there is no fee charged and scores of new listings are added regularly. Even realtors have gotten into the mix and are showcasing client homes there.

Of course, using any online service involves risk and you may not be able to sell your home. Then again, you could save thousands of dollars on realtor commissions, a big appeal for homeowners who want to reach the masses on their own.

Resources

About the Home Location

Home Affordability Tips

Home Buying Checklist


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Home Buying 7-Step Plan, Step 3

March 3rd, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 1 Comment | Filed in Home Buying, Home Relocation

Negotiating the Offer

You’re ready to start shopping for a home, understanding that mortgage rates are low and the housing market has cooled. As a buyer, this could be a great time for you to snag a deal, especially if you have done your homework.

The Market: Hot or Not?

If you listen to the news, you may be under the impression that the housing market is in bad shape. True, overall sales have eased on a national level, but there are some markets which are very weak while there are also some that are quite strong.

In the northeast USA, home sales are down and housing prices are flat or dropping. In my area, Raleigh, NC, the market isn’t as hot as it was one year ago, but it is still favors the seller — lots of people want to move to Wake County. Therefore, if you are planning to negotiate the price of a home, you need to understand what the local market conditions are before you proceed.

Buyer v. Seller

Concerning real estate, it is truly a buyer v. seller market. The seller wants top dollar for her home and you, as a buyer, want to find a home that you can afford and is a decent buy.

In a strong selling market, you’ll likely be up against other buyers who can bid against you, driving the price of a home up and beyond the seller’s asking price. In a weak selling market, you may be the only buyer or at least the only one qualified to buy. You may not be able to shave ten or twenty percent off of the price of the home, but you could possibly save several thousands of dollars.

Making An Offer

When you are ready to present an offer, your real estate agent will provide you with the standard documents that list the terms of the contract. The agent should review the contract with you and understand what your purchase price is, the terms of the sale (e.g., is the refrigerator included or not?), your earnest money, financing, down payment, etc.

Before You Make Your Offer

Before making an offer, you’ll want to be clear what you are buying. You’re getting the house and the property, but does that include all fixtures, window treatments, appliances, etc. What if some work still needs to be done on the home? Who will pay for these repairs? Your contract should have a provision outlining what must be done before you close on the house.

Presentation and Counter Offer

If the seller accepts your offer, then you are done and the contract will be signed by both parties. If rejected, you’ll likely get a counter-offer which you can either accept or reject. Until you come to an agreement on the price, then the deal hasn’t been finalized.

Keep in mind that if a deal isn’t quickly reached, the seller has the right to entertain other offers. It is in your best interest to move quickly and craft a deal acceptable to both parties. Once the contract has been signed, then a binding contract is in place.

If you back out of the contract, you could lose your earnest money and even be subject to litigation. Conversely, if the seller backs out after the contract has been signed then the earnest money must be returned to you. Moreover, you can sue the seller for financial damages.

Work With An Agent

A qualified and experienced real estate agent can help you through the home buying process. The seller pays your realtor’s fees, but you get the wisdom and experience of an agent who can help your home close smoothly.

Happy house hunting!


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