Tips for selling your home

According to the National Association of Realtors, about 12% of home sellers decided to sell their homes without the help of a real estate agent. Since these figures do not include those sellers that put their homes on home listing databases, the percent is actually a bit closer to 21%.

Despite the large percentage of home owners that are deciding to sell their homes on their own, however, many choosing to sell their own homes are struggling a bit in our current economy. Just a few years ago, For Sale By Owner homes were practically selling overnight. Today’s sellers, however, have to work a little hard to get their homes to sell. If you are trying to sell your home in today’s market, these five simple tips are sure to help.

Tip #1: Determine the Right Price

If the price you are asking is far more than the value of the home, you certainly will never find a buyer. Therefore, it is important to do your homework and determine the proper price for your home. During this step of the process, you might want to consult with a real estate agent in order to learn the prices of homes in your area that are similar to yours.

Tip #2: Place Your Home on MLS

In the past, selling your home without a real estate agent was as easy as putting a sign in your yard and an ad in the newspaper. In today’s market, you are going to have to cast your net a little further. By placing your home in a Multiple Listing Service, you will be able to reach more potential buyers and increase your chances of selling your home.

Tip #3: Stage the House Before Showing It

When you sell your home, you need to see it through the eyes of the buyer. It can be difficult to separate yourself from your home, so you may want to get the help of a friend who isn’t afraid to be honest with you about what needs to be changed in your home. Make sure your home is clutter-free and smells fresh. Complete all required repairs and make sure every room is designed in the way that is intended.

Tip #4: Choose Renovations Wisely

While making some renovations to your home can really give its value a boost, going overboard can cost you more than you get back in return. Bathrooms and kitchens are good places to make renovations. Landscaping can also go a long way toward increasing the home’s value and can be done fairly cheaply when you do it yourself. In addition, it will increase the curb appeal of your home, which will help draw in potential buyers.

Tip #5: Do Your Research

Before you get involved in selling your home yourself, make certain you are fully aware of what you are getting involved with. Selling your home on your own can be a time consuming process. Also, be prepared to hire a real estate lawyer once you have a serious buyer. This way, you can be certain you are following the proper legal procedures.


For more information, please visit www.byownermls.com.

Home Inspection and Insurance

When you are looking to purchase a home, you will need to get done with a lot of paperwork. While your lender and other applicable parties are getting the paperwork together in preparation for your closing, there are several things you might want to get taken care of. First up, you would want to get your home inspected and get your homeowner's insurance policy in place. But, what exactly is a home inspection and what types of insurance do you have to select from?

Understanding Home Inspections

When you hire someone to complete a home inspection, that person is responsible for determining the mechanical and structural condition of your home. This includes looking at many aspects of your home, including the condition of all of the following:

Air Condition
Electrical Wiring
Heating
Plumbing
Roof

By completing a thorough inspection, you can learn about any items that may need to be repaired before the sale is finalized. Therefore, it is best to have the home inspection completed after you have agreed on a selling price with the seller but before you have actually signed a contract or put down a deposit. Although home inspections typically cost anywhere from $250 to $500, it is money well spent because it can help you avoid purchasing a home that is nothing but a money pit.

Choosing the Best Homeowner's Insurance

When it comes to your homeowner's insurance, you can choose between two basic types of coverage. The first, which is referred to as a replacement cost policy will replace any damaged items for the amount it would cost you to replace the item today. The other type of policy, which is called a cash value policy, will pay you the amount of money the damaged item would be valued at today. If you had a replacement cost policy, on the other hand, you would receive a payment for the amount it would cost you to purchase a new television.

If you are purchasing an older home and your belongings are also older, you might want to consider obtaining a replacement cost policy. Just keep in mind that this type of policy is more expensive than the cash value policy. Therefore, you should evaluate the value of your home and its belongings carefully before deciding on the type of policy you wish to have.

It is important for you to have your home inspection completed and your home owner's insurance in place before you come to the closing. This way, you can feel confident you are getting the best deal possible and your lending institution will be comfortable with moving forward with the transaction.

MLS with Byownermls.com

In the real estate world the competition is tough and keeps getting tougher with every passing day. One needs to rise up to the fact that real estate agents are not the only way to go about it. There are various websites on the internet where you can make deals with buyers looking to buy a real estate property. These are called MLS (multiple listing services) where houses and other properties for sale are displayed. Buyers can choose from them and find the desired properties.

The houses that are placed on these listings are For Sale By Owner houses that don’t have an agent attached to them. This way the owners of the For Sale by Owner properties save themselves the money they would have to pay the agents as commission. It requires a little money to place your real estate property on the MLS listing but it is far less than what you would pay your agent.

Byownermls.com helps you find apartments and houses in every part of the country. There are virtual tours that have been put up by buyers on the sites. One can take a tour of the house and decide if they want the property. There have been many families who found their dream homes through MLS. Apartments of all kinds are available, single, duplex, triplex, etc.

Once you find your apartment or house you can then contact the owner and fix an appointment with them. You can then deal directly with the owners and there is no indirect negotiation involved hence the buyers and owners can deal directly with each other and decide on a final price.

Byownermls.com helps you find many real estate properties in almost every part of the country. It gives you a wide range to choose from. For more details on real estate properties, visit http://www.byownermls.com/

Impress your guest

How do you get the prospective buyer to fall in love with your house? This is one question that is always in the minds of the sellers once they have fixed an appointment with buyers.

There are a few things to take into consideration before you decide how to make the buyer fall for your house. Once you have put up your house on one of the For sale by owner listings, then it is evident that the prospective buyers who approach you already liked your house else they wouldn’t have called you for an appointment. So your work is already half done. Now all you need to take care of are the little flaws in your house that might upset the buyer.

The curb appeal of your house matters the most when the buyer is driving towards your house. The surroundings should be cleaned up and made rid of all the unwanted rubbish. The façade of your house should be pleasing to the eye. You need to clean up the surroundings and do away with unwanted vegetation around your house. If you have a lawn, make sure that you mow it and groom it to perfection. A good lawn always gives out positive vibes and makes a person feel close to nature. It is a big turn on for the buyers.

Once you have cleaned the exteriors, it is time to fix the defects and correct the flaws in your house. There are minor and at times major flaws in your house that you need to fix before the buyer comes. When you put up pictures on the For sale by owner listings, you would have made sure that your rooms are in perfect condition at the time of clicking photographs. And that is what the buyer has fallen for. If he comes to your house and finds those rooms to be a mess he would be thoroughly disappointed. In stead if he finds those rooms to be in an even better condition, he would perhaps buy your house at once.

Now comes the time to fix the flaws. Cracks in walls leads to leakages which further leads to running away buyers. Make sure that the ceilings and walls of the basement and bathrooms are taken care of. In fact you may also consider repainting your entire house. Fix the broken shingles and tiles. You can repair the stucco water stains using a mild bleaching agent. Re-grout tile walls and floors and Replace light fixtures, dated faucets and the knobs and handles on your kitchen cabinets.

Then comes the psychological part of making a sale. Don’t leave things that you are emotionally attached to lying around in the house. This way the buyer can not see himself living in the house. It is unwelcoming to the buyer. Pack things that are personal to you and make sure that the kitchen is well organized and the things are properly arranged in closets and cupboards.

The above tips will perhaps help you make a good sale. For more tips visit www.byownermls.com

Sellers Checklist - Your Home's Exterior

• The exterior of your house is the most important aspect when it comes to buyer appeal. Touch up trim paint on window frames, doors, fascia, etc.
• If your lawn isn’t all that green, use fertilizer and water to help better its color. Mow and edge the lawn properly on a regular basis until the home is sold.
• Overgrown shrubbery, unwanted plant growth and obnoxious weeds should be extirpated in order to show as much of the exterior as possible.
• A low-cost investment in seasonal flowers or ground cover will add a personal touch.
• Replace missing shutters, gutters, and downspouts and eliminate any debris.
• Inspect the roof for required repairs and fix any visible broken shingles or tiles.
• Cracks in the driveway and sidewalks should be repaired at once with ready-mix cement. There are easy-to-use cleaning agents at your home repair store to remove excessive stains.
• Stucco water stains can be repaired using a mild bleaching agent.
• Fences should be mended and painted.
• If the street sweeper does not show up regularly, make sure the area in front of your curb and driveway are clear of debris. Wash it down with a hose.
• Wash all windows inside and outside.
• All of these suggestions may also apply to your back yard or child's play area.

How to yield a great price for your house

Is yours the perfect home for sale by owner? Sounds a little awkward? For selling your home, you need to know certain information about For Sale By Owner properties to get the correct price for your property. In this fast moving world, sellers need to be really smart and updated with requirements of the buyer.

Identify the Expectations of the Buyer

As a good seller, you need to understand and identify the demands and requirements of buyers. You need to research on the internet to know the current market wave in the real estate business. In order to make your house a hit amongst the buyers you need to know the kind of properties are in fashion and modify your house accordingly. Gathering information about the type of property, prices and other taxation details is always a great help

First Impression

In order to get desirable and effective deals, a seller needs to put the photographs and pictures of his property online, on the FSBO listing services. By doing so a seller can give a brief idea about how his house looks and a buyer can also get a rough idea about the various aspects of a property like area and other details. This also helps in correct price estimation of the property.

Maintain Your Home

To make buyers to convert their desire into a purchase, a property owner should mainly focus on improving the looks of his real estate properties. Proper and good maintenance involves little tasks like mowing of garden, placements of furniture, painting, removal of unnecessary garbage and unwanted vegetation and cleanliness of the surroundings.

By following above stated points, you as a seller and property owner can yield a great price for your house

For Sale By Owner Real Estate Trends for May 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 May 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.

Tips for foreclosures

If a lender puts you on notice

Homeowners have many options once a lender has filed a foreclosure notice. Foreclosure specialist’s advice:

Don't ignore mail from your lender; stay in touch even after a foreclosure notice has been filed. Most lenders would rather work out options than foreclose on a home.

Beware of foreclosure companies calling themselves "mortgage consultants" or "foreclosure services" promising to save your credit or pay the closing costs. Beware of deals that take over ownership of your home. If you turn to a foreclosure rescue firm, be aware such companies do not need a state license to operate in Florida unless the business is selling or buying properties.

Never transfer your property deed or title to a rescue firm. Never sign a contract under pressure and without legal advice. Do not pay your mortgage payments to someone other than your lender.