1650 E. River Road
Exactly How to Sell Your Own Home Yourself (FSBO — For Sale By Owner)! No Kidding! Part 1
I’m going to give you the playbook. Take it and save thousands.
Now before we even get into this explanation and plan, I know 99% of people will not do this. Or if they do, it will only be a half-baked attempt, and then they will most likely hire a half-baked real estate agent and no sale will occur. That seller will say, “See, I should have never even listed with “XYZ Realty” or “Agent ABC.” They did nothing that I couldn’t or didn’t do myself. So, here is the advice you won’t listen to anyway. If you want to sell your home but you’re not going to take this approach seriously and don’t do it just as I describe, then DON’T TRY TO SELL YOURSELF. It is only going to cost you money and time and hurt your potential home sale. Just hire a top-producing real estate agent who gets results and nothing but. DO NOT hire the co-worker or relative who just got his license last month and is “trying real estate.” That will lead to even more frustration and expense. Believe me, I talk with those sellers and it’s the same story repeatedly, with both the FSBO who isn’t totally hardcore serious and the real estate agent who has no clue. It is useless. Honestly, it’s a waste.
OK HERE WE GO (I hope you have your seatbelt on)!
Let’s start from the beginning — the very beginning. Your home has to look good, and I’m not talking about just running the vacuum and doing some dusting. Here’s the deal. If it has been more then 3 years since the interior has been painted, REPAINT your entire home. Only use neutral colors and colors that work well together (creams, tans, beiges, whites, etc.). Please do not paint your home bright blue and orange saying: “I did what you said and painted it bright blue. I think it looks great, but no sale occurred. Michael, you’re an idiot for making me do that.” NO. What I am telling you to do is only use neutral colors, period. I don’t care if you don’t like them or think they are “not vibrant enough for your home.” One more thing: if you are not a skillful painter, you need to hire a professional. No halfway decent job is going to cut it here. Enough said about paint, but it is extremely important. Again, you must be serious about selling or you’re just wasting your time. It’s really up to you. I can almost guarantee a well-done neutral paint job will get you all your money back in the sale and make your home sell much faster.
Second thing, DEPERSONALIZE YOUR HOME! Every time I tour a FSBO’s house or show one and see pictures of all the kids and long-lost family, I know these sellers have no clue. Nothing will kill the mood of buyers faster than looking at the people who, for whatever reason, are saying, “This house isn’t for us anymore. You take it!” I mean this can and, without a doubt, will kill all emotional momentum leading up to an offer. When a buyer opens a door, they should not see personal pictures and the sellers’ personal touches on the home they are seriously considering buying. KILLING THE MOOD KILLS YOUR POTENTIAL SALE! So, take down ALL family pictures and personal gifts and accomplishments. No buyer wants to see them, and it often makes them feel downright uncomfortable.
Third, STAGE YOUR HOME!!! Move all the junk you have acquired over the years and place it in storage. Get rid of all unattractive items of furniture and any that you do not really need. Too much furniture will only make your home look smaller. After that, hire a professional home stager. I realize that someone who doesn’t want to hire a real estate agent definitely will not want to hire a home stager, BUT YOU REALLY HAVE TO. This is something a top-producing real estate agent can assist with, but the only way to get your home to have that “WOW” and “POP” is to get a great home stager. I have seen homebuilders pay interior designers hundreds of thousands (YES, $100,000 +) to stage one model home! Do you think they would spend that type of money if it didn’t make them millions back! Lets beat this point into the ground. Just about every homebuilder’s model has at least $50,000 worth of staging in it, and many times $100,000 + worth of non-included builder options that “can be built into that model for extra cost.” Buyers who are aware of this will still buy a floor plan knowing that model will not compare with what they are having built. They buy because they have been sold on the possibility of what that floor plan can become, not what it is! It’s the same with your home. No two people have the same exact tastes or abilities, but if you make your home a showplace, then you will reap the rewards in a quick home sale. You will get those interested to open up their pocket books to buy, just like the homebuilding industry does. It’s no secret, but I HAVE NEVER SEEN A FSBO WHO HAS ENLISTED A PROFESSIONAL HOMESTAGER! The FSBO sellers seem to be more worried about saving a dime. When buyers come to the house, they see a cluttered out-of-date, personalized home that they can’t see themselves buying. OPPORTUNITY WASTED! SALE LOST!!! Remember, FSBO is a sales job. I don’t know of any sales industry that does not have a showroom or a demonstration of their product. Your “product” is your home. Treat it as such, and make it your “showroom.” Nothing less will get the job done without costing you thousands to your bottom line! Guaranteed!!!
Next up… Man, I bet you thought we would be getting to proper pricing and marketing by now, huh? Not so. I have to explain the correct process. Anything else will make you cut a critical point that will risk your sale. OK, next up: you need a pre-home inspection. WHAT! I’M NOT PAYING FOR THAT. THE BUYER WILL PAY FOR THAT ANYWAY. WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I WASTE MY HARD-EARNED MONEY ON A “PRE-HOME INSPECTION?” I guess you don’t have to, unless you actually WANT to sell your own home. Here’s reason #1. If the home has issues — all homes do, so don’t be surprised — you need to address them BEFORE the potential buyer does and asks concessions to continue with the sale. Addressing issues before they become issues is what you have to do to protect your home sale. The inspection period is where 90% of home sales fall apart.
Reason #2: if you don’t sell homes for a living, you have absolutely NO CLUE WHAT CONSTITUTES A LEGIT ISSUE WITH YOUR HOME WITHOUT YOUR OWN HOME INSPECTION!! A buyer could ask a home inspector to rip your house apart so that they can renegotiate for concessions and price reductions, which the home inspector will do because the buyer is the one writing his paycheck. To go through with the sale puts you between a rock and a hard place. You can either grant the concessions and close your sale or cancel the contract and hope to find a new buyer who will pay the same amount and NOT ask for the same concessions at inspection time. Well, without your own home inspection to counter the concerns of the buyer, you’re a sitting duck for any buyer who understands anything about the real estate process.
That does it for Part 1. I will be doing Part 2 next, which is the part every FSBO thinks they know — Pricing and Marketing. If you’re truly trying to sell your home, correct preparation is key. The best marketing in the world is useless unless the product matches the marketed expectation. If this sounds like just too much of a headache, do yourself the biggest favor ever, and hire a top-producing Realtor. I know that suggestion just makes your mind race with images of thousands of dollars being thrown out the window. But I have personally seen people so hung up on saving the Realtor’s fees, that they continue trying to sell their own home with all the wrong strategies until they become so upset and miserable about not making the sale, it starts to seriously affect their home, life, and family. I’m dead serious. People really get so hung up about all the commissions that they can see themselves saving and using for their own needs that they do a horrible job trying to sell their own home and cannot understand why they are not making a sale. I also see this same behavior in rookie real estate agents and even some experienced agents who do not possess enough skill or ability to make homes stand out above the competition and sell. Marketing and sales is an acquired skill. No one home sale can make you an expert. I have sold and closed literally hundreds of homes and am still learning new skills and marketing ideas to sell them faster and for more money. BOTTOM LINE: DON’T BEAT YOURSELF OR YOUR FAMILY LIFE UP! IF YOU ARE NOT UP FOR THE ENTIRE JOB OF SELLING YOUR OWN HOME, IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT.