7 Steps to Successfully Sell ‘For Sale By Owner’
7 Steps To Successfully Sell ‘For Sale By Owner’
Yes, some people who sell their homes fail. They put their homes on Kijiji or Craigslist and think magically it will sell. When it doesn’t, especially in the first week or month, they give up. Does this sound like you? The very first house we sold ‘By Owner’ we put the For Sale sign in the yard and the first car that drove by we were hoping for a sale. Unfortunately, the car kept driving on. We were expecting immediate results. Keep your expectations reasonable.
Understanding that success in selling your home is a process that needs commitment, within a system, is important. If you don’t want to pay the commissions for someone else to sell your home, you will need to put in the work yourself. It’s that simple. People are afraid of spending a bit of money to sell their own homes in the fact that they aren’t sure what they are doing is going to work. We always ask the other question. What if it does? Are you doing all you can do to sell your home?
Here are 7 steps to successfully sell your home For Sale By Owner.
1. Do your research and find comparable properties to price your home right
Pricing your home correctly is essential. Too high and people will not be interested. Too low and you lose equity. It is easy to find comparable homes when researching similar homes that have sold in your area. A great place to start is: evaluebc.bcassessment.ca. You can find what homes have sold for in your area in the last three years. You can also get a home appraisal to get an accurate picture of the value of your home. The worst thing to do is to come up with a number without doing any kind of research.
2. Have a list of improvements on your home that helps promote it
Without sounding like you are bragging about all the good things about your home, make a list and hand it to people who are interested. Things like when the roof was done, hot water tank replaced, age of furnace and if the home has A/C. Try to think of all the things you love about your home and then let other people know. If there is something that hinders your home, fix it or expect to negotiate on it. Don’t try to hide it and pretend everything is great when it’s not.
3. Take great pictures or hire someone
Take the best pictures possible and showcase your home properly. To do this you will need to take about 20-30 photos. This is often overlooked. There are so many advertisements of homes with bad pictures that do not tell the true story of the home. It’s always better to give the person looking at your home the best idea of what your home has to offer. Don’t waste their time or yours in trying to get someone through the doors. You both will be disappointed.
4. Clean your house like it has never been cleaned before
Clean every part of your home for best results. Clean things you wouldn’t typically clean like the top of your hot water tank, the tops of your baseboards, fridge, windows and most importantly the kitchens and bathrooms. A clean home, even outdated, can sell better than a newer home that is dirty. People always have a more positive outlook when they enter a home that is super clean and cared for. If a home is dirty, people automatically think there is something wrong with the home or want a discount on the selling price.
5. Market, Promote and Advertise your home so people know you are selling
This can be done on a site like thepropertytrader.ca, Kijiji or Craigslist. There are many good free sites out there that you can use. There are also some good packages that are affordable to use that can really help you achieve the best possible result in the shortest period of time. Spending a bit of money to gain results in this area is essential to having your home viewed properly. It’s also a good idea to put a ‘By Owner’ For Sale sign in your yard.
6. Be ready for the sale when someone is interested in buying
Make sure if someone is interested in buying your home that you are ready for the sale. This means having a way for the potential buyers to give you an offer. This can be done with an Offer to Purchase form, by phone, by email or in person. Whichever way works for you, just make it clear to people who are interested. Don’t lose a sale or an offer because you are not prepared. Have all the legal documents ready and available. Confident home sellers, who take the lead in selling their homes, have the best results.
7. Fix any problems that may hurt the sale of your home
Don’t lose focus on the ultimate goal of selling your home. If something needs to be fixed or changed, to make it easier to sell, then do it. Things like an old hot water tank, painting some rooms or new flooring. Any time you can fix up things around the home to make it show better, do them. If you are wanting to save money selling your home yourself, why not spend some time and money to make your home better.
Overall, the consistencies of successful For Sale by Owners is that they understand the process. They know it will be hard work and time consuming. They understand that their homes may take some time to sell and they do not rely solely on someone else or a service to sell their homes. Do you have the drive to sell your home yourself?