For Sale By Owner

If you’re thinking of selling your property yourself, it makes sense to consider factors including effort and knowledge required, as well as potential gains.

Home For Sale By Owner

What is your Real Estate opportunity?

With today’s market being such a strong sellers market, you may be thinking “Why don’t I go ahead and sell my property myself?” It makes sense when you consider average residential commission is 5-6% of the sale price, or 20-24k on a $400,000 property. Why leave money on the table? Below we cover a general sense of items to consider. Nearly everything listed has vast resources to address in a general sense, however the answers can vary wildly from one real estate market to the next even within the same city. For this reason, if you are not 100% comfortable answering these concerns, engaging a professional will likely benefit you monetarily as well as save time and aggravation.

What is your goal Real Estate goal?

Are you moving to another city for work? Maybe you have outgrown your home or your house has outgrown you, maybe you’re looking for a lifestyle change in a different community, there are countless reasons to move, however some reasons don’t require a move. Are you trying to capitalize on today’s high property values and fleeting low interest rates? Maybe you have a major repair you don’t feel you can afford like a new roof or an a.c. unit? These goals may be accomplished with creative financing techniques such as a cash-out refinance which will lock you in at today’s rate, can get rid of PMI/MIP, and give you access to equity you have in your home. (In-depth article coming soon) Cash-out refinance is a great alternative to running up credit cards for house repairs, remodels, or your next trip to Las Vegas, as the interest rate is a fraction of that of a credit card plus it is possible to write off interest you are paying, on your income taxes. This would be a great conversation to have with your trusted Mortgage Loan Originator.

How do you advertise your house sale?

Where are you going to post? Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, ForSaleByOwner, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, the list goes on and on, do you know what is most effective for your area? Are you providing your own pictures, are they the quality expected in your price range or should you hire a professional photographer? Should you have aerial photos? How about a virtual walkthrough?

How do you price your house?

If you price too highly, even if you get an offer it can and often does fall apart at appraisal. Appraisals far and wide generally use completed sales within a certain distance and time frame which varies from market to market but generally within a mile radius and 6-12 months respectively. The house down the street sold for $500,000, is it alike enough to be used as a comparable property? How do you adjust for having a pool, having one less room, having a shingle roof or metal roof? Very general information on how these are viewed by an appraiser and buyer are available online, but things can vary drastically, from market to market. Zillow has a great article to look at, however Zillow’s “Zestimate” serves as  a great example of pricing models without local expert knowledge, sometimes missing the target by +/-20%.

How do you show your house?

You’ve listed, you’ve received some calls, now what? Have you asked everyone to have a pre-approval? Will a pre-qualification letter suffice? What is the difference? What is your availability, do you want to be home for each showing or will you be providing a lockbox? Realtors have access to what are called Supra boxes which are Bluetooth activated lockboxes which provides and tracks Realtor access, God forbid you return home and something is missing, you know what licensed Realtor accessed your property and with whom you may address the situation. Unapproved access and theft are not happy things to think about but it is possible and definitely something to consider.

How do you accept offers?

Now that there have been some showings, you receive some offers. You have a full price offer which requires financing and you have a lower offer for cash. Do you understand all the jargon used in the offers? Will your house throw any flags for their lender? Having an old roof, nonworking HVAC, polybutylene plumbing, the list goes on, may bring a financed offer to a screeching halt which may result in lost time and likely negotiations of repairs the seller needs to make for the process to move forward.

How do you move forward from here?

You can take a personal poll talking with people in the Real Estate, nearly every professional has multiple stories regarding contracts and negotiations that cost their client money, time, contract fell through completely. Those professionals will also have stories they saved their client money, time, and/or saved a dying contract. Considering the hundreds or thousands of Realtors likely in your local market, there are innumerable experiences that make a good Realtor and Mortgage Originator worth their weight in gold. That said, if you are confident in everything mentioned above and believe you will be able to handle efficiently without negotiating from emotions, FSBO is certainly doable. I myself am a licensed Realtor as well as a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator, feel free to reach out with any concerns. I continue to build connections throughout the region so that if I don’t have a perfect answer for your exact market, I can put you through to a professional who does.

Article by Kyle Murnane, Realtor and Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator

Questions? Feel free to reach contact me! I continue to build connections throughout the region, so if I don’t have the perfect answer for your exact market, I can put you in touch with a professional who does. I’m ready for your call!