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Can’t Afford to Sell Their House

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Can't afford to sell their house. Homes for sale on percentage basis. There is a banner across the picture of townhomes that reads %% Sale%%.

Photo by Benedikt Geyer on Unsplash

Well, it’s happened again. A past client can’t afford to sell their house and they can’t afford to keep it. At least they don’t think they can but I will show them how to sell it on their own and save money.

To many times I run into or hear of people whom for whatever reason have to sell a house shortly after they bought it. By shortly I mean anytime within a year or two maybe three.

Theoretically the longer you live in a house the better the investment it is. Time gives the real estate time to appreciate and you to build equity by paying down, or paying off, the mortgage.

When someone has to move after only owning it a short time they really can’t afford to sell their house. Sometimes they can’t afford to keep it either. It can put families in a bad place.

Can’t Afford to Keep Their House

In this situation a young family wanted to live in a neighborhood for the schools. The area also held a certain prestige. They found a house they loved, went through the loan process, closed on the property and moved in.

A little over a year later they contacted me and indicated that they had bitten off a little more than they could chew. The house was eating up to much of their money. Once the mortgage and bills were paid they were left with very little disposable income.

They came to me for help selling the place. We went over the numbers and what it would cost to list the house with me. Even with charging the very minimum and having to pay a buyers agent they would have had to bring money to closing. They would have been in the red which means that the real estate commissions would have to be paid out of pocket. Thousands of dollars they didn’t have.

I asked them what I ask everyone that asks me about listing their house. “Have you ever thought about selling your house yourself?” And I got the same answer I usually get, no. Even if a home seller isn’t “in the red” it still makes since to save thousands of dollars selling themselves. Sell the house without hiring a real estate agent.

They didn’t make a decision at that meeting. I offered to help by giving them our free home selling guide. They took it and said they would think it over.

This particular story is to be continued…

You Can Do This

It’s really not that difficult to sell your house yourself. Real estate agents don’t have to put forth much effort once they have the business. If a house is in good condition, properly made ready for market and priced right it will sell. I can tell you how to sell a house. You can find that information easily.

What excites me is teaching people how to squeeze every last dime out of their For Sale By Owner. How to create multiple offers and get thousands more dollars. How to get buyers really excited about buying your house. Literally fighting over it. Making more money for you. That’s what excites me. Because I know it’s possible.

How To Take Great FSBO Pictures

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Leveral cameras lying in the grass indicating the importance of FSBO pictures.
Taking great FSBO pictures

When selling a house pictures are important. Really important. Here we’ll learn how to take great FSBO pictures. You know the old saying, A picture is worth a thousand words?

That’s a true saying. When selling a house, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Anyone who has searched homes online have seen the pictures of dirty, messy and cluttered homes. Or pictures of one small corner of a room? Pictures like that don’t impress and certainly don’t inspire potential buyers to schedule showings.

Great pictures sell houses. Literally. For real estate agents and For Sale By Owner listings. When home shoppers are scrolling through real estate sites it’s the pictures that make them stop and further investigate. Home shoppers spend more time on listings with great pictures. That means they’re spending more time on your listing which makes them more likely to pick up the phone and schedule a viewing.

Your FSBO pictures are what is going to attract buyers to your home. Attracting potential buyers to view your home is what is going to get it sold. You may have already done all the hard work of preparing your house for market and pricing it right. The great fsbo pictures you take is what will bring the buyers to your door.

Most successful Realtors use professional photographers or own expensive technical equipment and software. You, as a For sale By owner, don’t necessarily have to own a bunch of expensive equipment. There are inexpensive accessories that can be had to use on your camera phone.

9 Important Factors to Consider

There are many important factors to consider when taking your FSBO pictures.

  1. The lens. A wide angle works best so you can capture more of the room. We use a 10-22mm Canon because it takes in more of the space without distorting the size too much.
  2. Natural lighting. Open all the drapes, curtains and/or blinds. Take pictures at a time of day when the light is at its best, usually when the sun is at its highest.
  3. Interior lighting. Turn on all the lights in the house unless they are causing shadows. Use high wattage bulbs, which should be in place anyway.
  4. Shadows, Take your pictures from angles that produce the least amount of shadows.
  5. Positioning. Most of my pictures are taken from the corners of the room to capture more space. That’s not to say that’s always the best angle. Sometimes centering a focal point, like a fireplace or a window configuration, works better.
  6. Honesty. Take pictures that are true representation of the property. Don’t just take good pictures of a crappy house to attract people. It’s a bad idea to over promise and under deliver.
  7. Software. If you have and know how to use photography software such as Photoshop or Paint Shop use it, but use it only to remove shadows and brighten what needs to be brightened. Do not use it to remove defects of the property.
  8. Tripod. Use a tripod. Always.
  9. Flash. Use a flash when needed is darker rooms. A flash can also be used to reduce shadows.
A house living room showing great fsbo pictures.

Great Pictures Attract Home Buyers

You can probably get good quality pictures of your For Sale By Owner practically free if not completely free. What route you take depends on the value of your home, your own confidence in your ability and your time. One could hire a professional photographer if not so inclined to do the job themselves. It isn’t as expensive as you would think.

Whether you take your fsbo pictures yourself or hire it out make sure they are fantastic pictures. Great pictures is what will attract potential buyers to want to view your home. The more buyers you attract the more offers you potentially get. The more offers you get the higher the price is driven up. That’s how you sell your house fast and for the most money!

When I Think of Selling My House

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A big beautiful white for sale by owner house for sale
for sale by owner real estate sign and beautiful house.

When I think of selling my house the first thing I think about is equity. Equity is defined by one of the many dictionaries out there as “The value of mortgaged property after deductions of charges against it”. In other words, how much money you walk away with when selling your house after it is paid off.

Equity can be built in a couple of ways. One way you build equity is by paying down your mortgage. That’s like a savings account.

Another way one can build equity is time based. Most real estate appreciates over time. So if you buy a house and live there for 15 years all the payments you have made paying down your mortgage is equity and if your homes value has increased, which it likely has, that’s even better.

For example if you have lived in your house forever, unlikely, and have paid off the mortgage you get to keep it all. Yay for you.

If you bought your house last year and are selling because you decide you bought the wrong house, or whatever reason, you might not get anything. In fact you might have to pay to sell your house if you hired a real estate agent because you have to pay the agent. There is not likely to be a lot of equity in your house depending on how much you put down when you bought it.

How Much Money Do I Get

I have lived in my house for 11 years now. I negotiated a good price when I bought it, put down 16% and paid all of my own closing costs. Only putting down 16% means I had to pay PMI, or private mortgage insurance, for a few years so that cut into my equity somewhat.

My wife and I plan on leaving the area when we retire in…not sure yet how many years but hopefully not long. So the other day I was pondering what it will be like when I sell my own home. My own, I’ve sold lots of homes for lots of people over the years, but what about when I sell my own home.

So I have been paying the mortgage down for 11 years. Add that to the 16 % I put down and the rise in market values. That’s a nice chunk of equity. That would be added to our retirement account so it’s also a very important chunk of equity.

That chunk is as of today, if I sold my house, $47,000. We’re not selling today but if we were that would be our profit minus any expenses. The selling expenses are cheap, about $620 for the closing fee and title insurance. Unless I have to pay a Real estate agent. If I was going to pay a real estate agent to list it on the internet at today’s value it would cost me another, ready for it, $8400. That is a nice payday for someone to do something I can easily do myself.

It’s also something you can easily do yourself.

Yes, I Am A Real Estate Agent

Yes, I am a real estate agent and I know how to do everything that needs to be done. But, there are many brand new agents that are winging it just as I did when I was a new agent.

Two points to the fact that I am a real estate agent.

The first point is I know how easy it is to sell a house, in any kind of market, be it a buyers market or a sellers market. For anyone. That’s the big “secret” in the real estate industry we don’t want you to know.

The second point is I will not list my house on the mls. Most agents don’t. I’ll go straight to the online real estate portals such as Zillow, Trulia, Homes.com ect. That is where I’ll try and pick up a buyer without an agent. That will keep my profits at $8400

If a buyer comes to me with an agent that they have a contract with I may consider but I am for sure going to negotiate with that agent. I may offer them 2%, or 1.5%. The buyer will always know what I am doing so everything is in the open and disclosed. If the agent does not accept my deal then the buyer may lose a great house, due to his agent.

Yes, when I think of selling my house I think of profits. I don’t mind paying someone to help but I’ll pay them something within reason.

You can sell your house yourself too, and keep more of your profits.

Buyer Has A Real Estate Agent

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What do you do with your For Sale By Owner when the buyer has a real estate agent they want to work with? You actually have a multitude of choices. Remember, you are in control. That’s one of the reasons you decided to do a For Sale By Owner.

You can:

  1. Pay the agent his or her rate..
  2. Tell them thank you but no thank you you will wait for a buyer without an agent.
  3. Negotiate with the buyers agent.
  4. Separate the buyer from the agent.
Buyers agent shaking hands with their client outside of a house.
When your buyer has a real estate agent

Let’s go through these options one at a time. Keep in mind that the reason you’re selling your home yourself is to save money. Lots of money. Depending on your personality, time constraints and stubbornness will determine what’s in your best interest when your buyer has an agent.

Pay The Agent His or Her Rate

When your buyer has a real estate agent you can pay the agent his or her rate. In my state, Kansas, that is most likely 3% of the contract price. Otherwise it would be 6% if you were hiring a listing agent. The bonus to this option is the agent will do all the paperwork for you. You still save thousands of dollars on the listing side.

The agent will want to use their contracts so make sure you read and understand what it is you’re signing. Real estate contracts from real estate associations are designed to protect the real estate brokerage and absolve them from responsibility.

Beware the agent that tries and charge more or even double saying they have to “do all the work”. In my experience it is much easier to handle a real estate transaction when I don’t have to deal with another agent. When I handle the hole thing myself. In reality there’s really no more “work” involved for the buyers agent. Don’t let them fool you into thinking there is no matter how slick they talk.

Wait For Another Buyer

Tell them thank you but no thank you. This is exactly what it appears to be. You’re just not going to pay a real estate agent. In this case the potential buyer missed out on a great house because they hired a buyers agent.

There’s this thing in real estate called Agency. When a buyer is in an agency agreement it is their responsibility to pay the agent if you, the seller, doesn’t. At least in Kansas and most other states that’s how it works. The right thing to do for the agent would be to walk away and go find another client. Most of the time the real estate agent had nothing to do with the buyer finding your For Sale By Owner anyway.

Again, if you have prepared your home for market as we show you how to do and priced it right you will get lots of attention. So much that a buyer may be willing to pay their agent to get your house. So much that a buyer may be willing to fight to dump the agent to get your house.

I have been in this exact situation at times with a For Sale By Owner and simply walked away so my client could get their home. With a lot of these clients we still remain friends to this day and they send me referrals too!

If that makes me sound holier than thou I’m not. I’ve just always lived by the philosophy if you treat people right and fair you will get treated the same.

Negotiate When Buyer Has a Real Estate Agent

There is nothing that says you can’t negotiate with your buyers agent. Tell them you want to sell your house on your own but you’ll think about offering them 1.5% of the contract price. Or 2% or whatever you want to offer. They can see what a good job you’ve done getting ready, and that you won’t have any problem getting your home sold. Plus, once again, you can get the agent to do the work for you.

If you are going to negotiate do so with the buyer present. The agent will try and negotiate without the buyers knowledge, even though eventually he/she has to disclose it. They don’t want their client to know they aren’t getting their dream home because the agent isn’t willing to budge.

Separate the Buyer From the Agent

When your buyer has an agent try and separate the buyer from the agent. This is a little tricky and unless all the stars align might not even be possible. If there is way to have a conversation with your buyer without the agent present you may be able to work something out.

For instance in the past I have had people call me, from referrals, and ask me to help them find a house because they did not like their agent. Ethically I can’t do anything but advise them that if they don’t like their agent they need to break the contract, agency, that they have with that agent. Start by talking to the agent directly. If that doesn’t work talk to the agents broker. Ultimately If that still produces no desirable results call the real estate commision in your state and complain.

You can pass on that advice. If your home is as spectacular as it should be and your buyer has a real estate agent you can probably get them to drop the agent.

Sell Your Home Yourself

The real estate industry is in a great flux and changing rapidly. People are starting to figure out that real estate brokerages are expensive and just not that necessary anymore. Instead of being the caretakers of information, which is all publicly available now, they are switching to a service standard. We call it representation. A real estate agent simply represents.

If you need representation and you don’t have the time or inclination to sell your home yourself than hire an agent. I pay someone to mow my lawn because my time is worth more than if I were spending it mowing.

By following our detailed instruction we can show you how to sell your home yourself for the most money while at the same time saving thousands of dollars. It’s the thing agents should be doing for you to get top dollar and to often don’t.

8 Tips To Always Be Ready to Show Your House FSBO

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Ready to show

When you have your house on the market for sale it is important the house is always ready to show. You never know when that full price cash offer is going to request a showing. When they do you certainly want to be ready.

I always tell my listing clients that you never, ever, ever want to deny a showing. The person who is destined to buy your house may buy another on the same day access to yours was denied. That’s not to say the home won’t eventually sell but you could be losing out on a better offer. Point is you just never know.

When I’m scheduling showings as a buyers agent and a showing request is denied it is so very annoying, to me and my client. Sometimes I hear things like “the house is a mess” or “it’s just not a good time”. My buyer’s reaction usually is “they must not really want to sell their house”.

Although it’s not always easy it’s always a good idea to be ready to show!

Great curb appeal and ready to show

Assuming you have already done all the work to get your home on the market there are some daily habits and hacks you can preform to make sure it’s always ready to show.

1) Develop new habits

Make it a habit to pick up as you go. If you’re anything like me you probably have routines. Routines like coming home from work or wherever and putting your stuff somewhere. Get in the habit of putting your “stuff”, like papers, receipts, extra pens, pocket change ect in a drawer or somewhere else out of sight.

When you use a dish in the kitchen immediately put in the dishwasher, providing you have a dishwasher. If not, wash it right away. If your reading a book, put it back in the bookshelf when done for the day. Simple things like that will make keeping the house show ready easy.

2) Keep it clean

When selling your home, and selling it for the top dollar and fast, it pays, literally, to always be ready to show. Keeping your house clean can make all the difference. It’s not always easy but it is profitable.

Run the vacuum every night, or have someone in the family do it. Wipe down and/or dust visible surfaces. Basically clean the house every night before turning in. This is not as difficult as it seems if you assign duties to family members and get into a routine. Get everyone excited about the move and make a game out it. It doesn’t have to be stressful.

It’s really not “cleaning” every night, like a deep clean. That’s already been done. This is more of a “straightening up” every evening. It won’t take long.

Keep it clean and ready to show

3) Use storage

Make your life easier during the home sale by getting rid of anything that is not day to day necessary. Many of my clients hire a storage facility or mobile storage unit like PODs to clear all the clutter out of the house. (Not that all your stuff is clutter but you know what I mean)

By having less stuff in the house it shows better and is easier to keep clean, organized and straight.

4) Stash your stuff

Stash your stuff. What I mean by stash your stuff is have places you can put things during showings or when you’re not going to be home. That can be drawers, cabinets, under furniture (yes, seriously) or neatly in a closet.

One of my clients had 6 younger foster children. With lots of toys. We really had a situation trying to figure out to keep the house picked up. As a solution I purchased several nice looking plastic storage totes from amazon. She kept them in different rooms the kids frequented. The kids were trained to pick up all the toys when finished playing and put them in the totes. Every time before they could leave the house for a showing or to go out the kids had to pick up their stuff and put it in the bins. It worked marvelously. They made a game of it.

5) No trash

Have literally no trash in your house. This can go back to developing habits and this one is emptying the trash every morning. Keep whatever you use to line your trash cans close by and simply gather up all the trash, take it outside and insert new fresh liners.

When people are looking at your home they open cabinets, it just happens. If that’s where you keep your refuse receptor they are going to see it. Having an empty trash can is much more appealing then a bag full of stinky ugly trash. Believe or not I’ve seen people open trash cans, decorative stand alone trashcans with lids. Weird? Yes, but it too happens.

6) Get some magic cleaners

There are all sorts of products on the market that make cleaning walls and surfaces fast, easy and convenient. For cleaning smudges, handprints and some writings a “magic sponge” does the trick. There are many different brands and types to choose from. Microfiber cloths are great for picking up dust, lint and pet dander off surfaces.

Keeping items like these handy can make straightening up and “quick cleans” easy, fast and profitable.

7) Avoid odors

While your house is on the market avoid any cooking that produces strong odors. Your cooking probably smells really good and I bet I would like it too but…not everyone has the same tastes as we do. What smells good to me and you may not to others, like that full price cash buyer.

You’ll also hear lots of advice about fresh baking, scentsy’s and other “good” smells. Don’t believe them. What is a good smell to one person may offend another. Plain neutral fresh air is the best.

8) Take a vacation

Just kidding, but maybe not. If you can swing it the least stressful option is to not be home at all. Prepare the house as per DIY Real Estate instructions and take off for a few weeks.

When selling your house yourself, and saving thousands of dollars, it’s not always realistic to take off. It’s still possible though if you could leave someone behind, like a family member. Maybe you have a good friend or neighbor willing to help with showings.

I have actually seen that happen before in my role as a real estate agent showing a buyer a FSBO home. The client wanted to see a For Sale By Owner house. When I called the owner to schedule he told me he was out of town. He gave us a number for a neighbor who let us in.

Ready for market, ready to show

As you can see keeping your home show ready is possible and can be made to be not all that difficult. If all the hard work of preparing your house for market is done properly beforehand the touch ups for showings should be easy.

Keep in mind the rewards for all your hard work. You get to keep thousands of dollars you would have been paying me, or someone like me. And remember that you end up doing all the hard work of preparing your house for market and keeping it show ready anyway, whether you have an agent or not. No one does that for you so think about what it is you’re actually paying for.

I will show you in detail everything you need to know to have a successful For Sale By Owner. Literally everything a real estate agent should be doing and you can do better to sell your house fast and for the most money.

Click here to learn more about how to sell your house yourself and save thousands of dollars.

Educate Yourself On The Competition

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When you sell your house as a For Sale By Owner you need to know what your up against. You need to be better than the competition. It can be with price, condition, concessions or just by being the best. Know that the buyers seeing your home will be seeing others for sale in the neighborhood.

Strawberry market
Competition among strawberry sellers

Attend open houses in the area is one way to get to know the competition. Browsing the real estate internet portals like Zillow, Trulia Homes.com is another way. It’s a good idea to schedule viewings and go see the homes in real time.

Call the number on the sign or hire a buyers agent to show you around your neighborhood. Keep in mind that many Realtors will want to know if you’re pre-approved with a mortgage lender. If you’re buying another home after you sell yours than yes, you should have a re-approval letter. If not call around until you find one one that’s willing to show you listings without a pre-approval.  They don’t need to know your not in the market to buy.

Use The Information You Find From The Competition.

Once you are well aware of the competition make sure your home outshines all the others in your area. Whatever you have to do to make your home better do it.

Often buyers are looking in a particular neighborhood or part of town. That means they will schedule several showings in the same area and compare what they see. By knowing what the competition, the other homes for sale around you, are doing you have the opportunity to make your listing the best!

We here at DIY Real Estate write and talk a lot about the WOW factor and first impressions. When a potential buyer pulls up to your home you want it to be the best looking house in the area (first impression). That will get them inside where you have the chance to show them that they can own the best house in the neighborhood.

Seriously, take the time and effort to make it so and you will sell your home fast and for top dollar, maybe even more. And all on your own without paying a real estate agent thousands of dollars just to “list” your house.

Make Sure Your For Sale By Owner is Ready to Sell

Some common complaints I hear from buyers when showing houses;

  • Not clean
  • Clutter
  • Needs paint
  • Dirty or damaged flooring
  • Pet smells
  • Price

This is not an exhaustive list but some of the most common. It gives you an idea of how you can be better. Being better is what gets your house sold. Leaving an impression is what gets your house remembered. Make sure your house is ready to sell before you put it up for sale.

Other Ways to make Your Listing Stand Out

Offering concessions is a way to make your offer more attractive than the others in your area. “Giving away” extra appliances can garner attention. Many buyers need help with closing costs and will ask anyway. Consider offering to pay a portion up front.

Do you have a really nice outside space? If your backyard is set up for outdoor activities or relaxation with games, grill area, cool furniture, a pool or whatever else, think about leaving that stuff for the buyer.

The point is to make your house stand out. make people want to make their own. You’ll sell it faster and you’ll get more money.

You can easily sell your home yourself and keep thousands of dollars in your pocket.

Joel

DIY Real Estate

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