Home     Log in    XML, RSS Subscribe Feed (RSS)     XML, RSS Comments Feed

Posts Tagged ‘FSBO’

« Older Entries

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.


Tags: , , , , , ,

FSBO In A Down Market

October 7th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Home Buying, Home Selling, Weekly Tips

FSBO – or For Sale By Owner – is a method of home selling that has been embraced by a growing number of homeowners over the past decade. Thanks to internet access many people are finding it Home For Saleeasy to list their homes themselves, thereby bypassing a real estate agent and saving thousands of dollars on commissions.

However, with the market very slow right now, is FSBO still a good idea? It can be, but you may need to rethink your strategy in today’s business and housing climate, one of the most challenging times to buy and sell property in recent memory.

Where there are challenges there are also some good opportunities, ways for you to sell your home without taking a beating. But, before you make a move, you’ll want to find out what you’re up against, to create a strategy that will work for you. Let’s explore some ways you can sell your home yourself and not take a beating in the process.

Assess Your Local Market — Whatever you do, dismiss the national news when it comes to selling your home. In fact, most state and regional news pundits will have their opinions about the market, but their ideas may not correspond will your local reality. Specifically, your neighborhood could be something buyers want, especially if it is convenient to everything. On the other hand, people who live in neighborhoods on the far side of town could find that their micro market has dried up, thanks to be poor location and a host of other factors.

Keep A Tab On The Trends — What have homes sold for over the past few months? How long did these homes stay on the market? Are prices trending upwards, downwards, or are they flat? You can find out this information by obtaining real estate market comparables (comps) for your area, something a real estate agent friend can provide for you. Just keep in mind that these reports offer only a decent barometer of the market, but they may be a little behind current trends. Make certain that the information you get is the most recent, but also take the time to drive around your neighborhood to see whose home is for sale and what prices are being asked.

Make A Plan – If you must sell your home within a certain period of time, how long will you keep it FSBO before hiring a real estate agent? If you get no bites within two weeks time, consider finding an aggressive agent and offering her full commission to sell your home. If you aren’t in a rush, tweak your campaign by making certain that your home is easily found online (e.g., through FSBO sites, Craigslist, and multiple listing sites). Also, is your personal lack of availability to show your home causing you to miss prospective buyers? Consider setting aside each day to show your home and give out your cell phone number so that people can reach you wherever you are.

Price It Right – Is your home priced right? Have you taken into consideration the recent shifts in the market? Some markets have seen prices drop by twenty percent or more in just a few months time, while other markets appear to be on the rebound. Be prepared to offer whatever sweeteners you need to entice buyers, perhaps pricing your home three percent lower than the going price, to split your real estate commission fee savings with your buyer. Offer to pay closing costs or kick in appliances for some other feature that the buyer wants, but maybe you didn’t make part of your original offer.

Cut Your Losses Or Cut The Sale – If you must sell now, consider taking a loss on your home if you cannot get a buyer that will pay the price that you want. Make certain that you can pay off the mortgage with the funds received and talk with a tax accountant to find out how you can make this loss work to your advantage taxwise.

These aren’t the best of the times when it comes to the housing market, but they aren’t the worst times either. Stay cool, be ready to make adjustments immediately, and keep your head on your shoulders when it comes time to consider offers. If you aren’t getting the price that you need and you don’t have to move, then wait the market out – things will certainly improve a year or two down the road.

Adv. — If you’re in the market for a home, don’t fret about obtaining a mortgage. People with very good or excellent credit can still qualify for a mortgage and that qualification should be made before you shop for a home. Clearly, this is a buyer’s market which you can work to your advantage. Visit SayLending.com to find out more information about home financing and the steps you can take to find the best home loan for your needs.


Tags: , , , ,

Save Even More With FSBO

June 26th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Home Buying, Home Selling

For Sale By Owner

FSBO or For Sale By Owner remains a popular marketing alternative for people who are buying or selling a home. Sellers like them because they can cut out the realtor’s commission, thereby saving them thousands of dollars while buyer’s like them because they usually can find a home at a good price.

However, just because a home is listed FSBO doesn’t make it a good deal. In fact, there are some things both the seller and buyer can do to help close a deal quickly and at a price acceptable to both parties. Read on and we’ll examine how a seller and a buyer can make FSBO work for them:

If You Are The Seller

Secure Your Home’s Market Value — Prior to putting your home on the market, you’ll need to get it professionally appraised. Hire an appraiser who can help you determine a price for your home, the same price that a realtor would recommend your home be listed for.

Get Ready For Show — Assess the interior and exterior of your home and spruce it up as needed. Remove excess furniture, touch up the walls with paint, clear the clutter off of the kitchen counter, plant new flowers, and trim shrubbery. You may need to tackle additional improvement projects when the home inspection report is completed; anticipate what needs to be done before the home sells now to avoid rushing around later.

Start Marketing — Selling FSBO means a big time commitment, something that should be considered before doing it yourself. List your home in Craigslist and find a good FSBO site to feature your home. You’ll need a For Sale and information holder to place in front of your house, with plenty of pamphlets or sheets listing your home’s many features. Price your home at our below its appraised amount, but no lower than 5% lower or you cancel out the reason for not using a realtor in the first place.

If You Are The Buyer

Ask For A Copy Of The Appraisal — Dealing directly with the owner puts you at a good advantage, allowing you to ask the seller questions directly. Secure a copy of the seller’s appraisal and do your own market analysis on the neighborhood to confirm that the house is being sold for its appraised price.

Make An Offer — Most FSBO homes are placed on the market for the same price a realtor would list the home for. This means that the seller has some latitude when it comes to price. You probably can’t shave a full 5-6% off of the price of the home, otherwise the seller basically loses the money they would have paid in commission to you. On the other hand, if the home has been on the market for several months, offering 3% below the appraised value of the home can be a fair middle ground for both parties.

Get An Inspection — An independent inspection (that you pay for) from a trained home inspector can be the most valuable investment you make. Once you have the completed report in hand, ask the homeowner to handle whatever items should be addressed. The homeowner could counter and slash his price and ask your to handle repairs or simply refuse to address major problems. Estimate the cost of these repairs and subtract them from your final offer.

Toward Completing A Satisfactory Transaction

Once an agreed upon price has been reached and repairs made, then you’re ready to set a closing date. As a seller, your organization skills have paid off; as a buyer, your diligence has been rewarded resulting in a home at an attractive price.


Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Getting Your Home Ready To Sell

June 10th, 2008 by Matthew C. Keegan | 2 Comments | Filed in Home Improvement, Home Selling

Homeowners who are preparing to put their houses on the market are understandably nervous these days. Will a buyer be found? Will they be approved for a mortgage?

This sort of uncertainty has some owners thinking about spending extra money to make repairs in a bid to improve the marketability of their homes. While major repairs should be handled before the home is offered for sale, most sellers can make minor repairs and still sell their homes.

Before you sell, you need to assess how your home looks to potential buyers. A skilled real estate agent can suggest what repairs you should make before marketing your home; those tips are likely to include the following:

home paintingClean up your landscaping — your front lawn could make or break a sale; if your home doesn’t have curb appeal, then buyers may not be able to “look past” the front door. Trim bushes, put grass seed down to fill in patches, plant flowers, and lay down mulch. Trim trees which are obviously diseased too.

Refreshen your front door — does the entranceway to your home “wow” your visitors? If not, consider applying a new coat of stain to the front door, fix broken glass, clean the light fixture, lay down a new welcome mat, apply a fresh cost of paint around the frame of the door.

Interior walls — short of painting your home’s interior, touching up walls by removing smudges and repairing cracks could be all that is needed. If wallpaper has obviously aged and looks dated, remove same and repaint the walls with a soft color.

Too much furniture — remove extra furniture as too much furniture can make a room look smaller than it should. If a chair or sofa is worn, put a new slip cover over same or remove that piece.

Carpeting, flooring — ripped carpeting should be fixed. If old, replace it or if there are wood floors underneath, have the floors refinished — you’ll save money over buying a new carpet.

Bathrooms — replace that old toilet seat with a new one, fix dripping faucets, caulk the shower/tub, clean the tile, replace the shower curtain and rug.

Kitchen — keep all appliances even if they are old as long as they work. Your next buyer will probably replace these items anyway. Re-stain or repaint cabinetry and fix counters that are cracked, worn, or otherwise needing a makeover. Remove excess small appliances when showing the home to create a more spacious appearance.

Closets, nooks, and crannies — sticking everything in closets or other out of the way places is a no-no. Organize these areas to “show” exactly how they are to be used; avoid filling up your attic, basement, garage, and shed with stuff you really don’t need and won’t ever use again.

HVAC — an old furnace, air conditioning unit, or hot water heater could be a sale stopper. Replace these appliances before putting the home on the market.

Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars readying your home for sale, you could spend just a few hundred to a couple of thousands of dollars and have a home that will sell quickly. The key, of course, is to do the minimum repairs in advance of marketing your home, to help you maximize your profit and move on with your life.

Resources

Doors and Windows

Garden Maintenance

Home Projects

Upstairs/Master Bathroom


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

« Older Entries