4 Awesome Tips for Selling Your Home by Owner

My husband and I are actually in the process of selling our home by ourselves, so I decided I would write about my top 4 things that I found helpful. I hope this article will help you to be successful in selling your own house. And to someone who is thinking about the idea this article may also sway them from wasting their money on a realtor. So here are my top 4 tips!

1. Get knowledgeable! This entails a lot and is one reason most people just decide to use an agent. You need to do a few things. Figure out the the market in your area and how much your home is worth. Then, make sure you price your home accordingly. Do NOT, I repeat Do NOT over price your home. You will regret it in the end, because you will end up dropping the price over and over and it will take month or even over a year to sell your home. Make sure your house is worth what your asking. The best way to do this is to get your home appraised by a professional. Also, you need to talk to a title company or real estate attorney. These guys can really help with all the legal paperwork and make your job a little less stressful.

2. Would you buy Your Own Home? Ask yourself this question before you put it up on the market. Fix and and all repairs that need to be done, like holes in the walls, repaint chipped or worn out paint, and even putting in working light bulbs. The little things matter here. After you fix the home, you also need to stage your home and make it presentable. Give it a warm and inviting mood, so when your potential buyers walk through the door, they can be like, "Wow, this is so cozy, I could defiantly see myself living here!" Another thing, make sure you de-clutter your home. Rent a storage building and put all the unnecessary items there. This makes a HUGE difference. You want the buyers to see a clean and kept home that they can picture their things everywhere and their pictures on the walls.

3. MARKET! MARKET! MARKET! You must advertise your home in order for people to even know it is available. There are a few ways to do this. You can have an open house. This way you can get people in the door and answer any questions they may have. Open houses tend to work better if you are in a high traffic area unless you advertise in a local paper about it. That brings me to my next suggestion: run an ad in your local paper. Take a photo of your home and write an interesting article to get people's attention. Include something that really makes your home stand out and gets the buyers to WANT to come see it. My last suggestion would be to advertise online. Many people have internet access and a lot of times you can advertise your home for free online. If you market your home online and in the paper you have the majority of people covered. Oh, one more thing. If it seems none of those suggestions are working for you, you may want to spend some money and get an MLS listing. This means your house is now available to thousands of potential buyers and it still means no real estate agent.

4. Get some negotiating skills! This will really come in handy when someone gives you an offer and you can respond correctly. You need to know your expenses and how much you can drop your price. You should be able to be flexible to your buyers needs. That doesn't mean to take the first offer that comes along, especially if you fill you are coming down on the price too much. You should be happy when you sell your home.

Okay, so those are my 4 tips to help you sell your home. Yes, it is hard work, but in the end can really pay off. If you aren't up for the challenge or you just don't feel like you have the time or effort to put into selling your own home, then going with a realtor would be fine. Just make sure you choose one wisely. They should be interested in YOUR home, and really take the time to come out and look at it.

Oh, a few other little things I want to mention. Make sure you put up mail or paperwork so other people can't see it. Don't leave it in draws that will be opened or on top of countertops. This could lead to identity theft you never know. Also, don't be afraid to ask your potential buyers if they are pre-qualified. You have a right to know if they can even buy the house. And one more thing, if you own a pet, make sure you do something with it, so it doesn't get in the way or discourage buyers from buying when they are looking at your home.

Well, good luck to all of you! I hope this article helps you in selling your own home.