The Homeowner's Guide For Sale By Owner: Everything You Need to Know to Sell Your Home Yourself and Save Thousands »

Certified Mortgage Planner; Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

American homeowners saw the real estate landscape change in recent years. Most cities in America have “buyer’s markets,” meaning you may have to go that extra mile if you want to sell your home. This book details each benefit that going FSBO can bring you, and explains how you can accomplish this task while saving money. With the help of this new book and companion CD-ROM, selling your home without a realtor or broker will be fast and easy. In this comprehensive and easy-to-understand book, you will learn the entire “by owner process” from A-Z. You will learn how to set the sales price and how to save the 6 to 8 percent real estate commission, which can add up to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in savings.
 
You will learn how to prepare or “stage” your home, have a professional appraisal and home inspection, market, advertise, and show your home, list your home for sale on the Internet, list your home on the Realtor’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS), host an open house, and develop and market a fact sheet. 

In addition, you will learn about mortgage lenders, home inspectors, title companies, escrow agents, the pros and cons of using a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) service, the legal issues, the biggest mistakes FSBO sellers make and how to avoid them, contracts, legal forms, and check lists (all of which can be found on the companion CD-ROM), and when and how to use a real estate attorney.

This book also includes dozens of resources and information from real estate experts: mortgage planners, attorneys, escrow agents, and realtors were interviewed for this book. In addition, people who have accomplished selling their own homes were interviewed to give inside tips on how to reach this goal. Let this book be your guide through saving money and selling your house the FSBO way. 

Foreword 15

Introduction 17

Chapter 1 What You Should Know Before You Go FSBO 21

Understanding the Real Estate Market 21

Trends in the market 22

The 2008 market crash 25

The effects of the crash on the housing market 28

The status of today's market and what it means for you 33

Selling in a Buyer's Market versus a Seller's Market 37

Short sales and foreclosures 42

Chapter 2 Doing Your Research and Knowing Your Market 47

Different Types of Buyers 48

Factors that Affect a Real Estate Market 52

School systems 53

Proximity to transportation 53

Ideality of location 54

Safety 54

Conditions of bathroom and kitchen 55

Overall condition of the house 55

Proximity to amenities 55

Access to employment in the area 56

Targeting the Right Buyer 56

Perception 58

Chapter 3 Determining If FSBO is For You and Knowing What to Avoid 61

The FSBO Facts 61

The FSBO checklist 62

What to Avoid 65

Pricing too high and expecting too much 66

Believing everything you hear 67

Not checking qualifications 67

Getting too emotional 74

Cutting corners 75

Deals that sound too good to be true 76

Getting in over your head 76

Turning off potential buyers 77

Being unaware of your market 77

The pros and cons of FSBO 78

The pros 78

The cons 86

Chapter 4 Preparing Your House for Sale 97

De-Cluttering 99

The kitchen 99

The bathrooms 101

Closets and storage 101

The master bedroom 102

The laundry room 104

The home office 104

The dining room 105

The living room 106

The garage 107

Improvements and Repairs 108

Doors, windows, walls, and molding 109

Countertops, cabinets, and mirrors 110

Floors 111

Plumbing and plumbing fixtures 117

Electrical 119

Heat, air systems, and hot water tanks 120

Cleaning Your House 121

The kitchen and bathrooms 122

The rest of the house 125

Outside the house 127

Value-added improvements 129

Chapter 5 Determining Your Price 133

Getting an Appraisal 133

Getting a Comparative Market Analysis 137

What determines your house's value 143

Tips to Pricing 144

Knowing your neighborhood 145

Sizing up the competition 146

Chapter 6 Listing Your Home 149

What You Need to Make Things Run Smoothly 150

When to Put Your House on the Market 152

Where to List Your Home 153

The Internet 153

Services, Companies, and Professionals That Can Help 156

Realtor services 160

What to look out for 162

For sale by owner brokerages and MLS services 163

Mortgage lenders 171

Home inspectors 175

Home inspections and your contract 177

Appraisers 178

Title companies and escrow agencies 179

Real estate attorneys 181

Chapter 7 Staging Your Home 185

Room-to-Room Staging Tips 187

Creating Curb Appeal 199

The lawn 200

Shrubbery and flower beds 200

Sidewalks and driveways 201

Windows 201

Chapter 8 Marketing Your Home 203

Signs 203

Advertisements 206

Effective versus ineffective ads 209

Fliers 211

The Internet 215

Photographing Your Home 216

Word-of-Mouth Marketing 222

Handling Phone Calls 223

Chapter 9 Running an Open House 227

Marketing Your Open House and Creating Traffic 229

Handling Individual Showings 230

Safety first 230

Effectively Showing Your Home 231

Following Up 233

If Your Home Is Not Selling 233

Chapter 10 Handling Offers and Working with Buyers 235

Determining if a Buyer is Qualified 236

Managing Multiple Offers 237

Working With Buyers and Their Realtors 238

Earnest Money Deposits and Escrow Companies 239

Your Closing Timeline and Costs 241

Offering a Seller's Concession 243

Chapter 11 Handling Contracts and Other Documents 245

The Contract 245

Contingencies 250

The Importance of a Home Warranty 253

Understanding the Legalities 254

Seller's disclosures 254

Fair housing laws 256

Conclusion 259

Glossary 263

Bibliography 279

Author Biography 283

Index 285