Posts Tagged selling fsbo
Day 2 Of Getting Ready to Sell FSBO
Posted by Deane in Sale Of Author's House on April 2, 2010
It’s always something! The sign post I recommend in Truth About FSBO is no longer available. So I decided to have a real estate sign installer put up the sign post – it is the exact sign the realtors use. It only is costing $50 to have them install the post, attack my sign, and take it down after the sale. I checked with 3 services and the price ranged from $40 to $110 for this service. (Time 20 minutes)
Besides ordering the sign post installation, I also did the following:
- I set up my FSBO.com account for my flat fee MLS listing and started the listing. I wrote my 1st draft of my 60 word MLS description. When you only have 60 words, every word counts. I’ll share mine with you when I’m certain I’m happy with it. (Time: 20 minute)
- I also wrote my voice mail script that I will record as soon as my listing is active. (Time: 10 minutes)
- I ordered my home warranty from Sensible Home Warranty. They emailed me a brochure I will print out and show to potential buyers.(Time: 15 minutes)
- I assembled a large blue 3 ring binder with all my home instruction manuals and warranties – each appliance gets a page protector. I’m including information on the following – furnace, heat pump, hot water heater, kitchen
appliances, garage door and opener, whole house water filter, ceiling fans,outdoor lighting, sump pump, fence, gutter covers, smoke and CO2 detectors, etc. It looks very impressive – it makes me look very organized! Which I’m actually not, but don’t tell anyone, OK? (Time: 1 hour)
So far I’ve spent about two hours getting ready. And already I’m light years ahead of what most sellers, FSBO or otherwise, are doing to sell their home. And I haven’t had to do any thinking – I just refer to my own copy of The Truth About FSBO. You don’t really think I could remember all this stuff, do you? 
I’ve Got Some Big FSBO News Of My Own!
Posted by Deane in Sale Of Author's House on March 31, 2010
My husband and I decided, after living through the snowiest winter Baltimore has ever had, to follow a dream we’ve had for years. We are going to sell our home here in Maryland, my home of the past 17 years, and move to southern 
Arizona. We had previously looked at buying a house there 4 years ago, but the market there was sizzling hot then, the worst time to buy. Now the market there has tanked. Which makes it a perfect time to buy there.
The first thing I want you to know is yes, I will be selling FSBO just like I teach you. I already have my Truth About FSBO system out (I printed it out and put in a binder) and am following it checking off things as I do them. Frankly, even I having sold many of my own houses would be at a loss without the step-by-step approach. I can’t remember all this stuff!
Before I even picked up a paintbrush I got an appraisal. Yup, “Miss FSBO” paid for an appraisal. Hey, this is no place to screw up. If you don’t price your house right you won’t sell it, at least not easily and not for a long time.
I’m going to be chronicling the sale of my house on TruthAboutFSBO.com/blog. You might think I’m taking a big chance, “What if she can’t sell her own house?!?” . Well, stay tuned. I’m so confident that I’ll sell it fast for a good price that I’m laying myself on the line here. You can watch me sell my house as it happens. It either will be a big success or a flop, in which case I’ll really embarrass myself. I don’t HAVE to do this, but I want to show you selling FSBO successfully really can be done.
The last month we’ve been getting the house in tip top shape. We had our hardwood floors refinished. That was the only thing we paid to have done. We stripped wallpaper and painted. My husband removed a bathroom vanity, fixtures, sink, and mirrors and replaced them with all new. It looks fantastic – like a different room – for around $800. We did a quick painting once over on all the woodwork in the house to freshen it up. I also painted our shutters and front porch railing the same color that it is/was. I couldn’t believe how much it had faded. Now it really pops! I washed the windows in side and out. What a difference that makes – everything now sparkles.
Outside, I trimmed bushes and trees. We had a lot of damage from the 5 feet of snow we had. I’ve reseeded some bare spots in the lawn, cleaned the decks and sidewalk, but mostly I’ve laid mulch. So far 56 bags and counting. But, man , is it ever worth it. I can’t think of anything you can do to your yard that gives you more bang for your buck than laying mulch. We’ll have our driveway resealed in a few weeks, unfortunately we can’t get anyone to do it until after we’ve listed it. We’re not waiting on this.
My son just bought his first house a few weeks ago, so the timing was perfect. I gave him some furniture and miscellaneous stuff that he needed and I decided wasn’t worth moving. We keep our belongings to a minimum so our decluttering was a minimal effort. However, we will be having a big yard sale before we move of things that won’t make sense to move. I’ll be able to sell my lawn mower – no grass in the desert. Whoopee!
So the house is rehabbed, decluttered, and largely cleaned other than normal weekly cleaning.
Starting tomorrow I’ll be keeping an online diary of everything I do to sell my own house, so stayed tune and you can either watch me succeed or watch me flash and burn!
Selling FSBO? Don’t Sabotage the Sale of Your House
You’ve gotten your house completed fixed up and ready to sell. You’ve started your FSBO marketing campaign. Now you have to make sure that YOU don’t sabotage the sale of your house because you aren’t ready to sell your own house.
HAVE THE RIGHT MINDSET
Your mindset is the key to accomplishing anything, including selling your own house. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you believe you can, or you can’t, you are right.”
Stop listening to bad news and naysayers. People will say you’re crazy. Don’t argue with them and don’t let them bring you down.
Absolutely refuse to listen to people’s “house selling horror stories”.
Once you have gotten your house ready to sell, there is a point where many people say to themselves, “Ugh. Now I have to sell my house and I hate selling! I don’t know how to sell anything!”
You must come across as sincere, professional, competent, and serious about selling your house. A buyer without an agent will be looking to you for guidance.
If you are dealing with buyers with an agent, you don’t want the agent to take control. If you are already totally comfortable with selling your house, that’s fantastic. If not, you’ll have to act as if you are. Here are some pointers.
DRESS THE PART
You, just like your house, have to make a good first impression. You need to instill in your buyers that you are confident and professional, someone with integrity that they would want to deal with. So you need to look the part.
Whenever you are showing your house your attire should be “dressy casual”. Don’t answer the door looking like you just got back from the gym!
THINK THE PART
I personally dislike what I consider “hard selling” and you may, too. So, I don’t think of myself as a sales person. I think of myself as a trusted advisor. So should you!
I remind myself that I am there to answer questions potential buyers may have. If a question comes up that I don’t know the answer to, that’s OK. I know I can find the answer. And relax and know “if not them, then someone else”.
ACT THE PART
When showing your house, greet people at the door, shake hands, and tell them you are happy to meet them. Build rapport
Show them around. Let them look and take in what they see. No need to be talking every second. Don’t hover. Be in the kitchen if they have any questions. This is where people usually feel most comfortable and will open up to talk.
Remember that you must come across as sincere, professional, competent, and serious about selling your house. If you are dealing with buyers without an agent, they will be looking to you for guidance. If you are dealing with buyers with an agent, you don’t want their agent to think he can take control because you’re selling for sale by owner.
TALK THE PART
Do more listening than talking. Put the attention on the buyer, not on you. Here are some easy sales tips you can use when talking with buyers.
- Assume that they are going to buy the house. Tell them, “Your family will love having cookouts on the deck this summer.” Help the buyers “see” themselves in your house.
- Listen for the “question behind the question”. If someone asks, “Is there a high school nearby?” Ask, “Oh, do you have teenagers?” Don’t assume they want the answer to that question to be “yes”. They might say, “No, but our last house was by a high school. What a nightmare!” Knowing this will temper how you will answer that question.
Now you’ve got the right mindset and know how to present yourself, as well as your house, in the best possible light to potential buyers. So you can proceed to sell your own house with poise and confidence.
Selling FSBO Strong in Wisconsin
According to Raynor James of FSBOAmerica.org, “One of the best FSBO markets in the United States is Wiscon
sin. Going FSBO in Wisconsin is nearly as popular as using a realtor. The FSBO market is strong throughout Wisconsin, but particularly mention has to be made of Madison. The FSBO Madison market is so popular, it is hard to imagine a real estate agent surviving.”
If anyone has experience with selling “for sale by owner phenomenon” in Wisconsin, I would love to hear your opinion on why it is thriving so well there!
P.S. FSBOAmerica.org is currently offering 1 month’s free listing on their site. You might want to take advantage of it.
Is Using an Agent to Sell Your House “Just Because” a Good Enough Reason?
Posted by Deane in Strategies on September 8, 2009
Have you ever thought, really thought, about why we all do certain things? Too many times the reason is “because that’s the way it’s always been done”.
Here is a good example. In the Netherlands, a country where the bicycle is a serious form of transportation, kids learn to ride bikes WITHOUT training wheels when they are 2 or 3! But we wait until kids are 7 or 8 AND use training wheels. Read the post below, complete with amazing photos of little kids on really little bikes, and find out how they do it. And why we don’t.
I’m sure you’ve connected the dots and figured out what this has to do with selling your house. Most people will call an agent to list their house “because that’s the way it’s always been done.” Whether it is the best, most effective way to sell their house or not.
Since you are reading my blog, you probably already selling FSBO, so you aren’t one of those people!
Even I Was Stunned at These Realtor Tactics
Posted by Deane in Strategies on September 4, 2009
You may be figured out that I’m a bit cynical about the real estate industry. After all, my mission is to empower you to sell your own house, if that is what they choose to do. But what I just heard stunned even me.
This week I saw a local real estate company offering FSBO classes. “Wow! Aren’t they becoming enlightened?”, I thought. Wrong. After doing some research, I found that there is a realtor/guru who teaches other agents how to hold “FSBO classes”. The intention of these classes are to daze, confuse, and bewilder attendees so they drop their idea of selling FSBO and list their house on the spot! The agents also offer a free book, something with the word “guerrilla” in it, designed to do the same.
Here is a direct quote from the website, “The more tools you give them (homesellers), the more they wish someone else would do the work!!”
So please beware of gift-bearing real estate agents, OK?
How to Take Great Outside Photos of Your Home When Selling FSBO
Posted by Deane in Preparation on August 25, 2009
When you have decided to sell your own house, it will be up to YOU to take professional-quality photos of your house! The photographs that you post with your listing will be extremely important. One bad photo can prompt a potential buyer to skip over to the next listing. You will want each picture to be intriguing, showing off your house in a great light and prompting the potential buyers to click away at all photos and then read the details of your posting. This guideline will tell you how to take excellent photos of the outside of your house in order to maximize the amount of traffic that stays looking at your listing. Click below to read the rest of this article.
How to take great photos of your house
FSBO Statistics – I Hope This Isn’t You
I read today that, according to the National Association of Realtors, only 25% of homeowners selling “for sale by owner” hold even one open house. And even more shocking is that only 21% of them advertise their house in any way on the internet!
I’d like to ask these people, “What exactly ARE you doing to try to sell your own house?” Not much, apparently. I guess their FSBO marketing plan consists of putting up a for sale sign.
The sad thing is that there is SO much more they could easily do. The other unfortunate thing is people like this give FSBO selling a bad name. These people get lumped into the mix, bringing down the average on any “for sale by owner” statistics you find, such as DOM days on market) or average sale price. They make the rest of us look bad and give further ammunition for real estate agents to point out how selling FSBO doesn’t work.
So, please, please, please, don’t be another sad FSBO statistic!
When Selling Your House, Your Best Leads May be In Your Own Backyard
I read this startling statistic from two places in the last week, “One out of three FSBO sellers sell their house to someone they already know!” Wow – this is huge!
So if you are selling your house for sale by owner make sure to put the proper energy into your grass roots, neighborhood marketing. Even if you are certain you want to list with an agent, it wouldn’t hurt to do this first for a week or two and see if you could sell your house yourself and save the commission.
So here is what I consider an effective grass roots marketing campaign that is virtually free, besides.
Word of Mouth Marketing
The easiest free advertising is to tell everyone you know. Always mention and honor that you will give a $500 referral fee to whoever brings you a buyer (someone who actually buys your house).
Use Social Media Marketing
If you belong to any of the social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc., mention your house.
Change Your Phone Messages
Change any cute or unusual messages on any of your phones temporarily. No kids, weird music, or jokes. You need to sound professional so people will want to deal with you. Change your voice mail greetings on your land line and cell phones to mention “If you are calling about my house for sale….” and leave a glowing description of your house.
Do an Email Blast
You can send an email blast to your friends and family with an attachment of your great looking flyer and ask them to pass it along. Offer the $500 referral fee here, too.
Add your marketing phone number, email, and website to your email signature, along with a quick blurb about your house being for sale so you don’t forget to tell anybody.
Property Information Flyers
Design an attractive property flyer and have flyers in your brochure box. Pass this same flyer out to your neighbors, offering a $500 referral fee. They may just make the effort to tell people they know for $500.
Have an Open House
Consider having a “pre-sale” open house. Invite your people you know, especially your neighbors, before you put your house on the open market. Neighbors love to visit these. Even if they are just being nosey, they may know someone perfect for your house. You can hire a neighborhood kid to pass out flyers for you. Increase your attendance by having refreshments. You can make it an early going away party for yourself!
Put Up Bandit Signs
Besides the professional sign at your house, you can also put up bandit signs at highly visible spots in your area. This type of sign is very effective. They aren’t supposed to be beautiful, but they sure attract a lot of attention.
There are three sources for these – if you are in a hurry, you can buy white coroplast signs from hardware stores for about $10 each. Personally, I wouldn’t spend this much money on them. I get them online for about $1 each. It’s OK to use the inexpensive H-wires for these. Get a jumbo width permanent marker. Plan on 10 minutes to write each sign. I use a sites online where you can order eye-catching bandit signs that look hand written but aren’t. This saves you the trouble of printing up extra signs. If you live in an area where there are enforced anti-bandit sign laws, skip this idea.
Put Up Some Handmade Posters
Buy some neon colored, 8 ½ x 11 paper and make a poster. These are the “lost dog” type of signs. They need to have big, readable lettering, no pictures. Put these on light poles and telephone poles, and at bus stops, with duct tape, push pins, or packing tape.
Go around your local area with some pushpins and tape in hand and put your flyers up on bulletin boards in grocery stores, coffees shops, where you work – anywhere you can post.
Advertise in Local Newsletters
Does your workplace, church, club or membership organization have a newsletter or other printed communication? Advertise there for sure. People love to deal with those who are part of their community.
Whether selling FSBO or using an agent, why not do a grass roots marketing campaign before listing on MLS? You can market aggressively for a week or two and see what happens. You might just be one of the lucky one-in-three that can sell their house this way. What have you got to lose?
My Next Door Neighbor Finally Sold Her House
Posted by Deane in Strategies on July 28, 2009
Selling your house with an agent is no guarantee of a fast sale, any more than selling fsbo is. My next door neighbor listed her house in November of 2007 and my new neighbors just moved in, almost two years later. Watching her try to sell her house was getting an education in “what not to do” if you want to sell your house. Since the entire family is deeply embedded in the real estate industry, I kept my mouth shut and watched her do everything wrong.
You might have a house or two like this in your neighborhood. Pay attention and notice why you think the house won’t sell. Make sure you don’t repeat any of the same mistakes!
Here is how not to sell your house:
• She used her sister, a part-time “dabbler”, as her agent.
• She let her two small, adorable dogs bark non-stop when potential buyers were there.
• There were times agents let themselves in and found “doggie deposits” on the white living room carpet. Horrors!
• She listed it the week before Thanksgiving in a bad market.
• Her sister/agent did no proactive marketing, held no open houses, put up a sign you could barely read, and seriously overpriced the house.
• The listing pictures were taken in the fall and stayed up all year long. They made the house look dark and gloomy. There was one shot of the back yard totally covered with dead leaves!
• Her bushes had overgrown so you could barely see the front of the house, screaming “project”.
• Her kitchen appliances didn’t match, another immediate, obvious project for the buyers.
I could go on, but you get the idea!
I hope she never reads this. If you ever meet her, please don’t tell her, OK? Let that be our little secret.
