Home Seller Guide

If you have done your homework, you can make an informed decision about whether you want to sell your home yourself, or use an agent. There are pros and cons on both sides of that equation.

This website is designed to help you understand the questions to ask yourself before you make that decision, and then to assist you either way. Whether you list with an agent, or list your home yourself - the information will help you move your house more quickly and get the highest price possible.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Selling - Pros & Cons

Although using ComeBuyThisHouse.com services can make many aspects of selling your home much easier, selling by yourself requires an additional commitment of time and energy. Still, over 900,000 homes are sold every year without the involvement of a real estate broker - as much as 20 percent of home sales annually are accomplished on a "For Sale By Owner" basis (also known as FSBO, or "fizz-bo"). These bold buyers and sellers save an average of $9,000 per transaction in commission costs. With knowledge, common sense and patience, you can sell your own home, and ComeBuyThisHouse.com can help.

Is FSBO the method for you? If you've never done it before, it certainly can be challenging, but if you are willing to do the work necessary to market your house and work with potential buyers, there are some advantages.

For example, by selling by owner, you can:

• Save Money on Commission Fees

  Typically, a Agent or broker who lists and sells your home is paid a commission between 5% to 7% of the selling price. That means that if your house sells for $200,000, you would end up paying him/her between $10,000 and $14,000. The commission makes up by far the biggest chunk of the expenses associated with selling your house. If you sell it without the help of an agent, you save that money.

• Protect the Equity in Your Home

  An agent's commission, though based on the selling price, is paid out of the equity you have in your home. Therefore, if that commission costs you $10,000 and you only have $40,000 in equity in the home, the commission will take away 25% of your equity. If you choose to sell by owner, you protect your equity.

• Maintain Control of the Sale

  If you choose to sell by owner, you will make all the decisions about when your house is available to be shown, about the correct price for the house, about the escrow company you use. All the advertising decisions - where and when your ads will run, what aspects of your home they emphasize - will also be yours. If you are the type who relishes being in control of all the details, you will probably prefer selling your home yourself.

Challenges

Of course, selling on your own is not the answer for all sellers. It takes more energy and commitment on your part than if you were to list with an agent.

You will need to be able to show your house at the buyer's convenience if you are serious about selling. You will need to pay for advertising so that potential buyers know your house is available, and do some research to know how to price your house. You will need to find and hire a good real estate attorney to tell you what things by law have to be disclosed to the buyer prior to a sale, look over any contracts, and ensure you do not inadvertently discriminate against potential buyers. You will have to negotiate directly with buyers, and with buyers' agents. You will need to find an escrow company to administer the closing.

In short, selling on your own is not simple. But, neither is selling through a Agent who won't work hard for you. The by owner option can be worth your hard work, if you are committed to saving money, equity and have the time to dedicate to selling without an agent.

If you decide to sell your home yourself withou an agent, we believe the informatioin you find on ComeBuyThisHouse.com will help you succeed.

Finding An Agent Who Will Actually Work For YOU.

Not all agents are the same. Finding an agent in your area who will work hard for you is difficult at best. You need someone who will communicate well with you from the beginning so that your expectations can be met. You want to be careful to find that RIGHT agent before you sign a listing agreement, because most of them are for 90 or more days, and if you discover two weeks into the selling process your agent is not meeting your expectations, it's not easy to break the listing agreement and find another agent!

20 Questions You Should Ask An Agent Before You List With Her/Him

We have prepared a FREE report that helps you ask questions of an agent so you get the answers you need to make the best decision possible. The report tells you what the right answer SHOULD be to help you know if the agent will meet your expectations.

Some of those important questions are listed below...

• Is My House Ready To Be Shown To Potential Buyers?
• What Price Should I Ask?
• What Inspections Do I Have To Get And When?
• How Do I Know If A Buyer Is Qualified?
• What Is A FICO Score?
• What is Due Diligence?
• Dress Your House For Success.
• Hire Thousands Of Agents To Sell Your Home.
• Use A Marketing Plan That Won’t Drive You Crazy Or Kill Your Budget.
• How To Manage Offers.
• Not Knowing The Laws Of Your State Doesn't Make You Exempt From Them

Click here for answers to these important questions,
and a FREE viewing of our video "Price Your House For Success".

• “Dress Your House For Success” video
  How to stage your house to appeal to more buyers.
   
• “Price Your House For Success” video
  Here are many factors that affect the price a buyer is willing to pay.
   
• “Selling By Owner” video
  A discussion about disclosure, inspections and marketing.
  

Click here to see our FREE resource library