Things to do before your show your house around

• Eighty six the clutter in hiding spots! Buyers love to look behind your doors, in closets and basements.

• Do away with dead plants and unwanted vegetation and weeds.

• Fix the cosmetic flaws.

• Re-grout tile walls and floors.

• Replace light fixtures, dated faucets and the knobs and handles on your kitchen cabinets.

• Pack anything that won't be used between now and moving day. Don’t store the boxes near the high traffic areas.

• Deep Clean Carpets and discard worn out carpet. Make the surface floors shine.

• Don't commence with any major renovations during the days when you have put up your house for sale. The chaos in your home may just turn out to be a big turn off for the potential buyers.

For more information and to view recent property listings, please visit www.byownermls.com

Tag your house as an FSBO

One needs to wise up to the fact that selling his house is not a task that would require toiling day and night with no fruits in the end. In fact many buyers now prefer FSBOs than real estate agents.

Having your house listed as an FSBO also helps avoiding the exorbitant sum of money that your agent will ask you for. It is always better to sell your house yourself as you know each and every part of your house and can put the right price tag on it. You also save yourself the risk of being scammed and fooled into selling your house for a lesser price than what it is worth.

When you look to sell your house on your own, you may need to put in a little money to have the defects fixed and get the repairs done but then the money it will cost you will be much less than what you would pay the agent. Also it helps keeping the original price of your house intact.

When you are exposed to so many people rather than only the buyers in the local area then you have more chances of getting the right deal for your house. People search for their dream houses on the internet and are willing to pay a fantastic amount for the right house. Your house might be The House someone is looking for.

While selling your house using FSBO, it is required of you that you put up attractive pictures and arrange virtual tours for the buyers to see on the internet. You need to apply a proper aesthetic sense when putting up the photographs of your house on the listings. If you put up the pictures of the exteriors of your house then make sure that the surroundings are clean and the curb appeal is 'appealing' enough for the buyer to come and have a look.

Contrary to what real estate agents will tell you, tagging your house as an FSBO saves a lot of time and money and keeps you away from the stress and tension that has been noticed in the sellers who wish to sell their house through an agent. Moreover it gives quicker results and your decision is not based on external factors when you sell your house on your own.

Clean up Before you Show Your House Around

Once you have done all the necessary things to market your house and have made appointments with prospective buyers, you need to make sure that your house is in a presentable condition. This apparently is one of the most important aspects of getting the best deal for your house.

Every house has little things that have literally been of no use for years. These things that have long been stacked up in your house need to be either thrown away or donated to someone who could put it to good use. You would not want the buyer to look at that stuff with dust settled over it for years. The required knick knacks should be stored in boxes and properly arranged in the closet.

Pack all your personal things like photograph albums and gifts. This way you can make the buyer can see him living in the house. Personal stuff distracts the buyer and hampers his perception of the house. You would want the house to be inviting to the buyer and should take care that none of the stuff that you are emotionally attached to gives him unwelcoming vibes.

Showing a kitchen that is well arranged rarely fails to entice the buyer. Alphabetized jars and neatly stacked dishes make the kitchen look beautiful. Buyers would open the cabinets to check out the space so it is required that the things in the cabinets are properly arranged. Things falling out of the cabinets when the buyer opens the door are a big let down. Similarly shelves need to be arranged or emptied according to your needs.

Similarly the bedrooms and other rooms should be rid of furniture and things that are not required. Spacious rooms give the buyer a better view of the area of the rooms. Other defects in the rooms should also be taken care of. Cracked floors or counter tiles should be fixed as fast as possible. Leakages and patch holes in walls is something that directly chops off some price off the original price of your house.

Repainting walls and replacing burned out bulbs may cost some money but will not lower the price of your house and there would be no complaints if the buyer decides to have the house inspected. Polishing and waxing the doors and furniture gives a good aesthetic value to the house. Dusting and getting rid of cobwebs is obviously a must before an appointment. You can wash the porch and clean up the windows to provide your house a good curb appeal.

Once everything is done, you would want to take a final tour of your house in order to check for any left out flaws. Step into the shoes of a buyer and check the exteriors of the house for garbage or any unwanted stuff. Then enter the house and look for flaws in the interiors of your house. Get all the defects fixed if any are encountered and you have a perfect house ready for sale.

Tips to make a good sale

Make your home presentable and attractive: This step involves bettering the exteriors and interiors of your house. You need to use your aesthetic sense and make your house look remarkably good. Getting rid of garbage and unwanted vegetation, cleaning up the dirt on the windows, repainting the walls, getting the leakages in the kitchen and bathroom fixed are a part of this step. Check for all the damages and flaws, have them repaired and then fix an appointment with the prospective buyers.

The price tag: You should do a little research for the market and FSBO trends in your area. This way you make sure that your house does not have too exorbitant a price tag attached to it. You can visit various real estate sites on the internet and check for the prices of houses in your area and price your house accordingly.

Hire a real estate lawyer: There are many legal aspects associated with selling your house. In order to get done with the legal documentation part of it is recommended that you hire a real estate lawyer. This may cost you a little dough but is definitely less than what you would be paying your agent.

Get your home inspected: A buyer may bring with him home inspectors. The buyer has the right to get your house inspected from a third party. The home inspectors check for all the damages and flaws in the house and require you to either have them repaired or slash the cost on your house accordingly. So its good to have your home inspected before fixing an appointment with the buyers. This way you can have non functional things fixed and repaired and are not in for surprises.

Closing day: Closing day comes after 30–40 days after the deal has been finalized and the sales contracts have been signed. On the closing day, the buyer checks for all the concerned repairs that were decided upon earlier. They make sure that no more damages have affected the house. If he is not satisfied then the downpayment stays in escrow until the repairs are made. Hence you should make sure that all the damages are taken care of before the closing day arrives.

FSBO: The Advantage

FSBOs are substantially swapping places with real estate agents in the present times. While it is true that real estate agents have a better knowledge of the market trends, it is also true that FSBO is proving to be a more effective way of selling homes.

The fact lies, that your home is YOUR home and no one else can know every single detail better than you. Hence you are the most apt person to market your home. It is a known fact that to sell a product effectively one should have a thorough knowledge of the product. Hence if you have lived in your home for several years, you form the ideal person to market the home to potential buyers as you know all about it.

Direct talks with buyers helps communicating to the point and no misconceptions can seep in. It helps you understand the buyer better and vice versa. There are lot many a things that real estate agents don’t communicate to the buyer. While dealing with the buyer without a link, you get the freedom to decide on the time line and other such matters. A direct negotiation with the buyer can help save a lot of money as well.

You understand the sincerity of the buyers who come to see your house. Real estate agents often show many houses to a buyer in order to allow him to give them a basis for comparison.

You can pick the most appropriate buyer out of all those who have come to buy your house and decide the terms of sale. You also save time that you would, otherwise, consume in having long talks with your broker.

More than 30% percent of the houses are sold by the owners themselves and it helps chopping off the hefty commissions (5 to 7 percent) being paid to the broker.

There may be some reasons that do not encourage direct selling but more often than not it comes down to money and when selling your house on your own you save a nice chunk of cash. All you need to do is put in a little time in it and give a good presentation of your house to anybody who comes to see it.

Home Marketing on the Internet

Ever since the recession has hit the economy, selling houses has been difficult. However some nabob buyers still are looking for houses. A good home marketing technique helps selling the house easily.

Mostly people search for houses on the internet so it becomes a must to attach a photo of the house with the listing. The photo too should be such that it immediately entices the seeker. One needs to provide a full picture of the house. Angled photos and close ups are a good way to go about it. Things that are not aesthetically sound and appear unwanted in the photograph should be cropped out, such as vehicles from the driveway, vegetation at the front door that blocks a person’s way inside etc.

Taking photographs of rooms and putting it up on the internet also gives the buyer a good idea of the house and one should make sure that the rooms are in a good condition to be photographed. If there is a stand out feature of the room then there can be an exclusive photograph of that particular element. If the room has very nice flooring, then one can put of the floor image on the internet. Dilapidated furniture should not be included when clicking images. The rooms should be organized and properly cleaned before a photograph is taken.

Virtual tours are appreciated by the buyers to the fullest. A virtual tour helps the buyer to get a good view of the house from the outside and the inside. Virtual tours provide a very good picture of the house to the buyer hence it is important that virtual tours are proper and fully organized. Including sounds and small one liners in the tours may leave a very good mark in the buyer’s mind.

Signage has its own advantages too. Signage helps providing the contact details to the buyer. putting up a board down the road directing the passerby to your house with your phone number or the agents phone number helps attracting many potential buyers.

There are other ways of print marketing too other than internet. Newspapers and magazines both local and national can help selling the house pretty soon. However internet is one of the strongest mediums for home marketing and one can have his house listed at Byownermls.com and make a good sale. Byownermls.com provides all kinds of home listings for houses in every part of America.

ByOwnerMLS.com - For Sale By Owner Real Estate Trends for April 2009

For Sale By Owner Real Estate Trends

Most Popular*

Top Cities 1. Brooklyn, NY 2. Anchorage, AK 3. Virigina Beach, VA 4. Chicago, IL 5. Seattle, WA 6. Chesapeake, VA 7. Lexington, KY 8. Greensboro, NC 9. Staten Island, NY 10. Austin, TX Top States 1. Pennsylvania 2. Florida 3. Illinois 4. Washington 5. Alabama 6. Georgia 7. Connecticut 8. Arizona 9. Texas 10. California Most Viewed Properties 1. Single Family - $150,000 - Arnold, MD 2. Duplex/Triplex - $329,900- Philadelphia, PA 3. Single Family - $149,950 - Seattle, WA 4. Log Cabin - $45,000- McVeytown, PA 5. Log Cabin - $185,900 - Mount Airy, NC 6. Duplex/Triplex - $28,000 - Denton, TX 7. Duplex/Triplex - $399,000 - Miami, FL 8. Condo/Townhome - $149,000 - Calabasas, CA 9. Log Cabin< - $200,000 - Sandy Lake, PA 10. Condo/Townhome - $369,000 - Wildwood, NJ *Based on property views on ByOwnerMLS.com in April 2009.

About the Author:

Greg Sullivan is the President of www.ByOwnerMLS.com, a For Sale By Owner MLS service, the leading real estate search engine of homes for sale by owner (FSBO). For more information, please visit www.byownermls.com.