**I just decided to put my blog up so it is "live" although I still have several posts I want to write that are in the draft stage, so some of the live posts may refer to a link (ex. see more here) and the link doesn't go anywhere yet. Sorry About that, I'm working on it!
Hello, my name is Jenny and I am going to tell you as much as I can about selling your house FSBO (For Sale By Owner). I won't bore you with my resume except to say I do have some background in real estate (but have never had a real estate license) and I recently sold my own home FSBO.
Some of the posts will not be new to you. Hopefully this is not the first time you have heard that you should clean and declutter and that your home needs curb appeal. I will write posts about that stuff and they will be my own original posts but they probably won't hold a ton of original material, so I will try to classify these as "Basic" and note that in the title. Feel free to skip over them if you already feel like you've read too much on those types of topics.
I hope to add more interesting and detailed information that you have not read before or may not be familiar with, like how I handled security issues, setting appointments, dealing with aggressive real estate agents, where to advertise, and how not to spend more on advertising then you would save not using a real estate agent.
Just to warn you, selling your home on your own can be hard work. While some people can stick a homemade sign in the front yard and have competing offers within a week, not everyone lives in a market that is so easy. I'm going to try to break it down into simple, easy to understand categories but it can be time consuming.
Lastly, a disclaimer: IANAL (I am not a lawyer). It is up to you to do your own research on what is and is not legal and/or allowable in your HOA, city, state, etc. While I won't purposely tell you to do something illegal, something as simple as placing a sign in your yard could be a problem in certain areas.
Let's get started!
Friday, May 15, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Pricing Your Home
One of the most important steps is pricing your house properly. To do this you need to
look at houses in your area and around your house and try to put yourself in the
buyers shoes. You need to set aside your own love (or hate) for your own house and try to be objective. Using myself as an example, when I looked at homes around my home, all the houses that were $270k and
above were clearly better than mine. Absolutely everything $270k and up
had more square footage than I did. The same logic applied to houses
priced $230k or below, my home was clearly better than those. Even
though a few had my square footage, if they did they had pretty much
everything else worse - like they had the square footage but it wasn't
finished or was VERY outdated. That left me in the $240k-$260k range
for my house. Then I got even more critical and had to admit that even
though my house was very nicely finished, big yard, finished basement,
etc. I was among the smallest square footage in that $240k-$260k range. I also couldn't get too close in price to those $270k houses that were all bigger and some just as nice as mine because I figured if my house was in the $260k range, most buyers that could afford it would also be looking at those $270k houses and would probably buy one of those instead of buying my house, and might even be able to write a low offer on one of those other houses and get it for something in the $260k range. For that reason, I priced my house at $249,900. This just sort of was the "sweet spot" for houses of similar size and finishing to my own.
When pricing your house, also pay attention to houses that have been on the market for a while and their prices. Often owners price their homes too high and as a result those houses sit. Keep in mind that people can price their house for as much as they want, so something that has been sitting on the market for a while might be overpriced, and using it to decide how to price your house can result in your house being overpriced as well. To get an idea of how long is "too long" for a house to have been sitting on the market, research how long is average for your area. For example, if the average "days on market" for your area is 100 days and a house has been sitting for 200+ days, there is either something wrong with it or it is overpriced.
A word of warning about Comparative Analysis reports (comps) and recommendations from real estate agents. Often agents will inflate these and price your house too high in order to win the listing. I personally did not use any realtor reports to price my home. I also knew I had no intention of using an agent and I didn't feel like it was fair to ask an agent to do any reports for me. I have heard both good and bad experiences with using comps prepared by a real estate agent, and neither the good or bad stories vastly outnumber the other so I don't really have a firm opinion about their accuracy. If you do use a comp report though, please also do your own research. Many county websites offer sales information, and there are also quite a few websites on the internet that will show recent listings and sales in your area.
When pricing your house, also pay attention to houses that have been on the market for a while and their prices. Often owners price their homes too high and as a result those houses sit. Keep in mind that people can price their house for as much as they want, so something that has been sitting on the market for a while might be overpriced, and using it to decide how to price your house can result in your house being overpriced as well. To get an idea of how long is "too long" for a house to have been sitting on the market, research how long is average for your area. For example, if the average "days on market" for your area is 100 days and a house has been sitting for 200+ days, there is either something wrong with it or it is overpriced.
A word of warning about Comparative Analysis reports (comps) and recommendations from real estate agents. Often agents will inflate these and price your house too high in order to win the listing. I personally did not use any realtor reports to price my home. I also knew I had no intention of using an agent and I didn't feel like it was fair to ask an agent to do any reports for me. I have heard both good and bad experiences with using comps prepared by a real estate agent, and neither the good or bad stories vastly outnumber the other so I don't really have a firm opinion about their accuracy. If you do use a comp report though, please also do your own research. Many county websites offer sales information, and there are also quite a few websites on the internet that will show recent listings and sales in your area.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Security - Part 1, Photographs
One of the questions I get a lot that I didn't seem to find much about when I did my own research was how I handled safety and security while advertising and showing my home.
Let's start with the photographs you use for advertising your home. You absolutely should be staging your home for the photographs and much of that staging would include clearing away most electronics and valuables, not just because you don't want to advertise them, but also because to an honest buyer they just look like clutter. There is no reason at all that a cell phone, digital camera, tablet, laptop, or any other small electronic should be visible in any of your photos. The only large electronics that might show would be TVs and game consoles.
TVs and game consoles should be removed from bedrooms before they are photographed, not just because of security but also because they are ugly and distracting to the honest buyer. I would also remove them from kitchens or any other area where you wouldn't need to find a TV. The only place they should be visible would be a family room or basement rec room. In those rooms they should definitely not be the focus of the photograph. The only cases that I can think of that the TV would be clearly photographed is if either it must come with the house, or if the house has a built in entertainment system. Even in the case of a built in entertainment system, clear away all games, controllers, etc. and if possible, push the console back a bit in the shelf so that you can't clearly well what it is.
I have no problem with photographs of kids' rooms and bathrooms. I know many people are worried that they are "advertising" that they have a kid but honestly, we all have signs out in the world that we have kids. Everything from stickers on our cars to swingsets advertise their existence. I would however remove anything super specific, like their first name on their bedroom wall or their "Springfield City Under 10 Pink Butterflies" soccer trophies.
Let's start with the photographs you use for advertising your home. You absolutely should be staging your home for the photographs and much of that staging would include clearing away most electronics and valuables, not just because you don't want to advertise them, but also because to an honest buyer they just look like clutter. There is no reason at all that a cell phone, digital camera, tablet, laptop, or any other small electronic should be visible in any of your photos. The only large electronics that might show would be TVs and game consoles.
TVs and game consoles should be removed from bedrooms before they are photographed, not just because of security but also because they are ugly and distracting to the honest buyer. I would also remove them from kitchens or any other area where you wouldn't need to find a TV. The only place they should be visible would be a family room or basement rec room. In those rooms they should definitely not be the focus of the photograph. The only cases that I can think of that the TV would be clearly photographed is if either it must come with the house, or if the house has a built in entertainment system. Even in the case of a built in entertainment system, clear away all games, controllers, etc. and if possible, push the console back a bit in the shelf so that you can't clearly well what it is.
I have no problem with photographs of kids' rooms and bathrooms. I know many people are worried that they are "advertising" that they have a kid but honestly, we all have signs out in the world that we have kids. Everything from stickers on our cars to swingsets advertise their existence. I would however remove anything super specific, like their first name on their bedroom wall or their "Springfield City Under 10 Pink Butterflies" soccer trophies.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Security - Part 2, Phone Calls and Setting Appointments
Ok, here's where security gets a little trickier. I even told several little white lies in this stage and I highly recommend that you do too.
First of all, I got a fake phone number specifically for showing the house. I'll tell you more about that here. It was nice because people can't search for it on the internet and find other random info about me, it was specific to the house.
Remember, most honest buyers are very nervous about calling you. They don't know that you aren't a scammer or a risk to their safety so they are often just as guarded and wary as you are. Start out with small talk specific to the house and what they are looking for. Ask questions like:
"How did you hear about my home?"
"Do you have a real estate agent?"
"When do you want to move?"
Things like that so the buyer gets the feeling that you are not after their personal info but rather honestly trying to sell a house. This is where it comes in handy that you have set up a website with a lot of pictures, details, and info about the house. Ask them if they have seen the site. This is often where right away you can gauge their interest level. Most potential buyers love the anonymity of shopping the web first and will have poured over all info available about your home. They will start asking you extremely specific questions about the house that are not covered in your info. I got questions like how tall the garage door is (for a camper), if I would consider leaving the fridge, if the gas fireplace had a blower, etc. These are the signs that you are talking to someone who is legitimately interested in your home.
If they have not seen the site at all I gave them the info to look at it. At this point you really could be speaking to anyone and you kind of have to trust your gut. A few times I asked them to look at the site and then call me back if they are still interested to schedule an appointment. A truly interested buyer will not be put off by this as long as you are polite and kind about it.
This is also a sort of built-in security feature. Most thieves probably would not go to the trouble of checking out all your house details and calling you back again. Also, if someone gives you a bad feeling, you can always say something like, "I have another call, can I take down your name and number real quick and call you back?" Most people (even the honest ones) won't give you their name and number at this point but the honest ones will spend some time looking at your house online and will call you back if they are still interested.
Because you have set up such a detailed website, I would not show your home to anyone unless they have looked over the website and have spoken to you on the phone about the home. Not only does it separate out legitimately interested buyers from anyone looking to do harm, it also significantly narrows down how many showings you will actually have to do. I can tell you that every time I actually showed my house it was to someone with whom I had already had at least one personable phone conversation and someone who already knew a lot about the house before ever setting foot inside.
For setting appointments I generally did not have a problem with people. Just to be on the safe side I told a few white lies when it came to my schedule. I work part-time but always have evenings and weekends off. I never told anyone when I wouldn't be home but if they requested a time that I wasn't going to be home, I usually told them I had another appointment to show the house at that time. While I didn't come out and say it, I sort of presented our situation like I was a stay-at-home mom and my husband telecommuted, both of which are partially true. I just wanted a dishonest person to not be able to predict when/if my husband and I would be home. A few other little white lies I told when I wasn't going to be home where things like saying we were having family over for dinner or a relative's birthday, my husband is working at home and has a conference call and can't be interrupted at that time, and I'm meeting a mortgage lender at my house at that time. I figure an honest buyer only cares when I will be able to show the house, not what I'm actually doing when I'm unavailable, right?
First of all, I got a fake phone number specifically for showing the house. I'll tell you more about that here. It was nice because people can't search for it on the internet and find other random info about me, it was specific to the house.
Remember, most honest buyers are very nervous about calling you. They don't know that you aren't a scammer or a risk to their safety so they are often just as guarded and wary as you are. Start out with small talk specific to the house and what they are looking for. Ask questions like:
"How did you hear about my home?"
"Do you have a real estate agent?"
"When do you want to move?"
Things like that so the buyer gets the feeling that you are not after their personal info but rather honestly trying to sell a house. This is where it comes in handy that you have set up a website with a lot of pictures, details, and info about the house. Ask them if they have seen the site. This is often where right away you can gauge their interest level. Most potential buyers love the anonymity of shopping the web first and will have poured over all info available about your home. They will start asking you extremely specific questions about the house that are not covered in your info. I got questions like how tall the garage door is (for a camper), if I would consider leaving the fridge, if the gas fireplace had a blower, etc. These are the signs that you are talking to someone who is legitimately interested in your home.
If they have not seen the site at all I gave them the info to look at it. At this point you really could be speaking to anyone and you kind of have to trust your gut. A few times I asked them to look at the site and then call me back if they are still interested to schedule an appointment. A truly interested buyer will not be put off by this as long as you are polite and kind about it.
This is also a sort of built-in security feature. Most thieves probably would not go to the trouble of checking out all your house details and calling you back again. Also, if someone gives you a bad feeling, you can always say something like, "I have another call, can I take down your name and number real quick and call you back?" Most people (even the honest ones) won't give you their name and number at this point but the honest ones will spend some time looking at your house online and will call you back if they are still interested.
Because you have set up such a detailed website, I would not show your home to anyone unless they have looked over the website and have spoken to you on the phone about the home. Not only does it separate out legitimately interested buyers from anyone looking to do harm, it also significantly narrows down how many showings you will actually have to do. I can tell you that every time I actually showed my house it was to someone with whom I had already had at least one personable phone conversation and someone who already knew a lot about the house before ever setting foot inside.
For setting appointments I generally did not have a problem with people. Just to be on the safe side I told a few white lies when it came to my schedule. I work part-time but always have evenings and weekends off. I never told anyone when I wouldn't be home but if they requested a time that I wasn't going to be home, I usually told them I had another appointment to show the house at that time. While I didn't come out and say it, I sort of presented our situation like I was a stay-at-home mom and my husband telecommuted, both of which are partially true. I just wanted a dishonest person to not be able to predict when/if my husband and I would be home. A few other little white lies I told when I wasn't going to be home where things like saying we were having family over for dinner or a relative's birthday, my husband is working at home and has a conference call and can't be interrupted at that time, and I'm meeting a mortgage lender at my house at that time. I figure an honest buyer only cares when I will be able to show the house, not what I'm actually doing when I'm unavailable, right?
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Advertising - Craigslist
Craigslist - to use it or not????
Really, this depends on your market. In the area where I live (Utah), Craigslist is not commonly used but rather most people use ksl classifieds instead. If you are not sure, ask a few of your friends, relatives, coworkers, etc. who have recently purchased a home and ask them if they used Craigslist.If you do use Craigslist, make sure to use a link to your website that we discussed building here. Other than that I would keep the amount of information that I put on Craigslist to a minimum. I'd upload 2-4 photos and put the most basic and relevant info (price, square footage, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, and neighborhood or city) and a link to your website/blog. Most scammers won't go to the trouble of going to your website and most truly interested buyers will.
Be prepared, Craigslist will get you a lot of phone calls or emails from people who either have no clue about purchasing a home ("Hello, what payment for this home are you requiring and what is the deposit?") or people who want to buy for pennies on the dollar, rent to own, etc. You also will be contacted by real estate agents as well as possibly other tradesmen (painters, landscapers, roofers, etc.) looking for work. The best advice I can give you is if these people leave you emails or send you texts you don't even have to respond (I never responded to the real estate agents and tradesmen) but if you do, be brief and polite, something like "We are selling this home without an agent, we are not interested in renting it or any other non-traditional arrangements, thank you." If they call you, still, be brief but polite, you never know if they might turn out legit.
How to best use Craigslist to advertise your home
Keep in mind that Craigslist ads are in a "most current" format and move fairly quickly, so if you are in a market where Craigslist is used, you may want to post 2-4 ads per day, spread out during the day, especially on Thursday-Sunday. Delete old ads to avoid violating their posting limits. This is another reason for keeping the ads short and sweet with just a few photos and a link to your website/blog. Recreating large, extravagant ads with lots of details and photos several times a day is just too time consuming, you should have put all that effort into your website/blog so you can post Craigslist ads really quickly.
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