The FSBO House and You: Selling on Your Own

Knowing how to sell "for sale by owner," or FSBO, can save thousands of dollars for any home owners. Try selling any home For Sale by Owner before considering paying a real estate agent and the agency they work for up to 7% to sell properties for sellers. Sellers can sell their own house and keep that money for their family as long as they have the determination. All sellers have to do is a little advertising and some research.

First, get the property ready for people to see. If sellers have a messy cluttered home, it is not ready to be shown to potential buyers. Clean up the house and put away all unnecessary clutter. If the house carpets are dirty or smelly, rent a carpet cleaner and thoroughly clean them. When people do eventually come to see any house that is for sale, make sure to put away any pets, keep the sinks and counters empty, maybe light some candles, and don't have any strange smells in the rooms (don't cook liver and onions a half hour before a showing, for instance). Some real estate agents and FSBO sellers swear by setting a bread machine to be timed to cook as a showing is about to start. The scent of baking bread can make a house feel homey, which is important psychologically-you want buyers to imagine themselves living in the building.

Once the listing is clean and clutter free, you are ready to take pictures and get your property on the market. Make sure to get the best angle on the pictures you take, and if you don't have a digital camera, borrow one and upload the pictures onto the internet. After taking pictures, create a listing on the internet at various FSBO websites, and put your pictures and property information into the real estate listing computer system. FSBO sellers can enter into the MLS; check internet search engines to learn how this works in individual states.

After you have taken your advertising steps, sellers should immediately take pictures and create a FSBO flyer on the home. Put the flyers out on the table if you have an open house, and make sure every person who comes into the property gets one. Also put some in an information tube on a sign in your yard for people who are driving by and might want to know how much you are selling the house for. The flyer should include all of the important information about the listing. Go to a local real estate agency or stop by a home that has a sign with any information tube on it and take a flyer. This way you can see how to set up your own flyer for your FSBO home.

Look on the internet and see how other people have done their FSBO listings. Check out different websites and choose which ones you want to advertise on. Some will allow you to have more pictures and space to advertise than others. Compare prices and get the listing up for your FSBO house on the internet as soon as possible. There are tons of potential buyers on the internet and you never know when the family will come along and think your FSBO house is what they have been waiting for.