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When I Think of Selling My House

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.

8 Tips To Always Be Ready to Show Your House FSBO

by Joel Weihe

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!

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.

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.

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

by Joel Weihe

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

How Disruption Will Happen in Real Estate

by Joel Weihe

How disruption will happen in real estate and how it will save you money. Disruption is the catchphrase of the times. The word itself has almost run it’s course and is hardly relevant anymore.

The world is changing so fast that’s it’s not so much disruption as simply massive inevitable change. Change in the ride share business-Uber replacing taxis. Change in where we sleep when vacationing-AirB&B replacing hotels. Change in how we watch movies-Netflix replacing the video store. Change in real estate business-Artificial intelligence replacing real estate agents.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash — Disruption in real estate -Uber

It’s going to happen. The real estate business is going to change radically. No one knows yet what that change is going to be but it is happening now. Investors are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in startups trying to do just that. To disrupt the real estate business.

Agents are becoming irrelevant. The general public hasn’t caught on yet in masse. But they will. Homeowners are starting to wonder what they get for their money. Those huge commissions they pay when buyers are finding homes online on their own.

The problem with the startups trying to dislodge real estate agents is they still cost consumers money. Still quite bit of money. Some are trying to make it “easier” to sell home but still relatively expensive. Others have adopted the buy low sell high technique but that doesn’t make much sense for consumers. What does make sense is for someone selling their home keeping their money and actually making a profit.

An agents marketing these days consist of putting homes online, where consumers are looking. A task that can easily be performed by just about anyone . Seriously, it’s not rocket science.

While all these slick expensive startups are searching for the magic bullet I believe disruption will come from the source, the consumer. The guy selling his house figuring out he can do it himself and save thousands of dollars. I believe that’s how disruption in the real estate industry will occur. When the general public figures out how they can easily sell their homes themselves.

Find out how you can easily sell your home yourself.

Joel

How To Prepare Your home for Selling

by Joel Weihe

When selling your home yourself it pays (literally) to get your house ready for the market. How to prepare your home for selling is one of the lessons you’ll learn at DIY Real Estate, easily sell your home yourself.

Here’s a tip to help you sell your home yourself fast and for top dollar.

One very important thing to do when selling your home is to de-personalize it – make it not your house anymore.

The idea is to make sure the buyers can picture themselves and their family in your house, so they buy it. The personal stuff in in your house prevents that. The more personal touches the harder it will be for potential buyers to think of it as their new home. Get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary when selling your house. Put it in storage. This means family photos, memorabilia, keepsakes, and anything else that says “you”.

By emptying the house it also declutters. The less stuff the more spacious it appears.

Consider hiring a stager trained in the art of decorating. Staging is simply arranging your furniture to best showcase the floor plan and maximizing space. You could even do it yourself. Learn by looking at magazines, model homes and/or moving the furniture around and seeing what works best.

You can easily sell your home yourself and keep your money.