Posts Tagged selling your own house
How To Handle TWO Offers On A FSBO House
Posted by Deane in Administration, Sale Of Author's House on April 26, 2010
Yesterday we had our open house as planned, but I had a few brain cells anxiously awaiting to receive the offer we had been promised. It was a really awful day, cold, raining, but we still had a decent turn out – 11 parties. One family attended with their agent, let’s call them the Anderson’s and their agent Anne.
After the open house, I checked my email, and there was the offer from the Johnson’s who saw the house on Friday. Their real estate agent, let’s call him John, kindly summarized the terms for me on his cover page. The fantastic news is that it is a full price offer. The bad news is the contingency. They want to sell their house first. Ugh. 
Last evening, I got a call from Anne. Her clients, the Anderson’s, want to see the house one more time then make an offer. She says they have been looking at houses for two years (!) and that finally found “the one”. My house. 
So you may be wondering how to handle this? I, of course, leveled with Anne, because I like to be as honest as possible in all my dealings and it is in my best interest to do so. I told her we already had a full price offer with a contingency. I could have hidden this but didn’t for several reasons. Now the Anderson’s know they have competition and they will have to do better than full price with contingency. I was interested if they would still want to proceed knowing this, and they do. Good sign. They will be here tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Meanwhile, their in-laws stopped by today to give their approval. (They LOVED it.) I’ve told Anne I need the offer in by Tuesday evening so I could respond in a timely manner to John and the Johnson’s.
Then I sent John the following email:
“Hi John, My husband and I have reviewed the offer from the Johnson’s. Of course, full price is wonderful – it doesn’t get any better than that! It looks from their financials and job stability that they should not have any trouble obtaining financing, a huge plus. However, we have great concerns about the contingency of the sale of their house. Obviously, this takes us off the market for the next six weeks, six prime weeks in the height of the best selling season, with no guarantee of a sale. We will need to think long and hard about this and would like until Wednesday to respond further. We are expecting another offer tomorrow which we want to review before making our next move, too. Thank you for your consideration, and I’ll be in touch sometime on Wednesday.”
This morning I looked up the Johnson’s current house (the one they need to sell before they can buy ours) on Realtor.com and couldn’t find it. Uh-oh. It turns out they haven’t even got their house on the market yet. This further weakens their case. If they were under contract or had a lot of interest on their house, their offer would have sounded a lot better. But it could take a L-O-N-G time (as in Long and Foster) for them to sell their house.
So not much to do at this point until the second offer comes in. I will keep you posted!
P.S. ALL NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED JUST BECAUSE.
Reminder: Tax Credit Deadline April 30, 2010
The following is an excerpt from an article on Zillow.com about the tax credit deadline. If you are selling your own house, don’t forget to have information available for your prospective buyers on why this is a great time for them to buy your house!
“In what has been urged as a must-have by real estate professionals and builders, the $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers (previously due to expire Nov. 30), has been extended through April 30, 2010, according to the Associated Press. Not only has it been extended, but it has also been expanded to include more buyers.
Details on Tax Credit Extension:
- $8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers extended for buyers who sign a contract by April 30, 2010 (and who close by the end of June).
- $6500 tax credit offered to homebuyers who have lived in their current residence at least five years and who want to “trade up” (buy a new primary residence).
- Couples earning as much as $225,000 a year and individuals earning up to $125,000 would qualify (up from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples).
- Tax credit not applicable for those buying homes worth more than $800,000.
- Those who sell their new home or stop using it as their main residence within three years would have to repay the credit.”
To read the whole article, visit Zillow.com.
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.
Mistakes Not to Make When Selling Your Own House
Posted by Deane in Preparation, Uncategorized on October 29, 2009
Home and Garden TV has identified common mistakes to avoid if you want to sell your own home quickly and for the most profit.
- Waiting until spring to sell.
- Not understanding the real estate contract.
- Going it alone without researching first.
- Ignoring lowball offers.
- Wasting time on an unqualified buyer.
- Skimping on marketing.
- Sabotaging the showing.
- Not having your house in top showing condition.
- Over-improving.
- Overpricing.
And if you are an owner of “The Truth About FSBO”, you already know all this !
Thank you to “The State”, South Carolina’s Homepage” for bringing my attention to this article from HGTV.
Keeping Your Cool When Selling Your Own House
Posted by Deane in Miscellaneous on October 28, 2009
I understand that keeping your cool when selling your house isn’t easy.
Here are some ideas to help you from getting stressed out when selling your house.
1. Don’t worry if you don’t do all the ideas in “The Truth About FSBO”. I’ve given you lots of information and lots of ideas. Actually, I have NEVER had to use all the FSBO marketing ideas to sell a house. I pick and choose from the list of ideas that have worked for me. So don’t kick yourself or make yourself crazy trying to do it all. Do what makes sense to you with the time and resources you have available.
2. Don’t worry if you don’t do everything “perfectly”. There is no such thing, anyway. Do your best, and rely on help when you need it – ask questions on The Truth About FSBO Community online or ask your title attorney or mortgage broker. Take advice from people that are involved in the selling process professionally.
3. That being said, don’t take advice from people that don’t know what they’re talking about. There are always naysayers. I’m sure you’ve already had people say you’re crazy! People who have never sold a house themselves will be happy to give you their advice.
On one level people think they are going to “protect” you from making a terrible mistake. On another level, I believe people get jealous when someone leaves behind the “normal” way of doing things and takes off to do something 
different. Something perhaps they wish they had the guts to do themselves!
Hire Some Helping Hands When Selling Your House
Posted by Deane in Miscellaneous on October 7, 2009
We are all busy all the time, but few times are we busier than when we are selling a house and moving!
Why not consider hiring some help? At Care.com, you can find help and “care” of all kinds! You can find housekeepers, movers, errand runners, pet sitters, babysitters, and senior care by zip code. There will be a photo, a short bio, reviews and fees on each service provider. When you find someone you like, Care.com will provide you with a free background check and references! (Now if only online dating services did the same…)
So why not make life easier on yourself during this busy time! Get your house cleaned. Find someone to watch your pets or kids on moving day. Hire someone to help you clear out stuff or pack.
If you are moving out of the area, you can prearrange to get help on the other end for when you get to your new home, too!
I hope this helps you because “I care” . I want to make selling your own house as easy as possible for you!
Prequalified or Preapproved? Why FSBO Sellers Must Know the Difference
Posted by Deane in Miscellaneous on August 2, 2009
Of course you want a potential buyer to be able to get a loan. If they want your house and can’t get one, they have just wasted a lot of your time and perhaps got you all pumped up for nothing. That’s no fun. You probably have heard the terms “preapproval” and “prequalification” but aren’t clear on what they means, the difference, and the significance of that is for you when selling for sale by owner.
Here are the basic definitions:
Prequalification – A condition where a lender has generally assessed a buyer as a good candidate for a loan, based on unverified information from the buyer. It is not a guarantee that the buyer will get a loan.
Preapproval – A condition where a lender has not only assessed the buyer’s loan application information via the prequalification process, but has also taken that loan through several other steps to insure a loan commitment to the buyer.
As you can see, prequalified means very little as it’s only based on what the buyer has told the lender about his finances without verification. Some buyers slant information to make themselves look good on purpose, and some are not aware of exactly what information will be taken into account by the lender.
I always tell my readers that if you are selling your own house, you don’t want to deal with prequalified buyers. If someone really loves your house, tell then to come back and make an offer after they’ve been preapproved.
Handy tip! If you have trouble remembering which is better, think of the phrase “Q&A” as in “questions and answers”. Q comes first and A follows. And that is just what happens with getting a loan. First you get preQualifed and then preApproved! Hey, it works for me!
Real Estate Agent Scare Tactics Against FSBO Selling
Posted by Deane in Strategies on August 2, 2009
I just read another article by a real estate agent trying to scare the daylights out of homeowners like you, that are selling for sale by owner, that has me fuming! This article was “57 Reason Why You Can’t Sell Your Own House”. The reasons listed ranged from silly to totally manufactured. Notice the how it uses “real estate speak” to make the questions harder to understand than necessary, too.
I don’t want to bore you with debunking all 57 (!) so I’ll just pick three so you can get the idea:
Reason #1 - What is the condition of the current title? You may be thinking, “Gosh, I have no idea!” You may not even fully understand what a title is. Not to worry! That is something neither homeowner or real estate agent would find out anyway. Your title company or attorney that will be doing the closing will always do a “title search” and let you know if there are any issues on your title. Most likely, there won’t be.
Reason #8 – Did you review your existing financing to determine whether is can be assumed? Again, you may be thinking, “I have no idea! How can I find out? Why do I need to know?” Assumable loans stopped being issued in 1989. If you obtained the mortgage on your house after 1989, the answer is “no”, it won’t be assumable. If you obtained your mortgage before 1989, it’s possible. Contact your lender and ask – it probably won’t be, but there is a chance. An assumable loans means that your buyer can “take over” your loan and not have to get their own loan, which can be a great selling point.
Reason #39 – How will you prequalify a potential buyer? Good news. You don’t have to! Only a lender prequalifies buyers, not you and not a real estate agent. Prequalified doesn’t mean anything, anyway. You only want to work with preapproved buyers. So I guess this was a trick question!
I resent real estate agent resorting to scare tactics like this to try to make homeowners selling FSBO feel stupid and powerless. They must be pretty desperate if they to resort to having to scare homeowners into listing with them.
At the risk of sounding like I’m trying to scare you, if you are selling for sale by owner and didn’t know the answers to those questions, you should consider investing in The Truth About FSBO – Complete Selling System. My mission is empower FSBO sellers like you so that you can proceed in selling your own house with confidence. Isn’t it always better to make decisions from a place of empowerment and knowledge, than to make knee-jerk reactions from fear? And that, I believe, is the difference bewteen what that agent was trying to do to you and what I’m trying to do for you.
P.S. Let me know if when you come across this sort of thing. If you do, I would LOVE for you to send it to me so we can stop this emotional assault on people selling “for sale by owner”.
