Since the internet has ‘leveled’ the playing field, this is no longer such a bad thing! Hours and hours of work selling your own property can be minimized if the internet is leveraged properly. Most often licensed agents leverage the internet just the same way – they list a property on the MLS, possibly create a website for a home, and then let the market come to them. Is this really worth paying thousands of dollars for?

With the right guidance, you can do this too – and do it better! Think about it – most licensed agents have more than a few listings to manage – you will only have one – your own! If you want to learn how to FSBO, now is a great time and there are plenty of resources available.

There are many tools, products, and services that can guide you through this – and save you THOUSANDS of dollars on the back-end since you are not required to pay a commission since you sold your own home. It is very important to seek the right guidance and know what companies to use as strategic partners during the listing process – there are tons of service providers and choosing the ones with the best returns is crucial.

If you are thinking of going down this path, be sure to have your ducks in a row! Right now is a GREAT time to list your own property – as long as you expose it properly on the internet and an MLS listing service. Mortgage rates have JUST dropped below 5% again and the government is doing everything possible to boost home sales in this current economy. This means AMPLE buyers who are looking for the home you currently live in!

Get out there on the market, price your home properly, and learn how to FSBO – and kudos for saving THOUSANDS of dollars in the process!

De-Clutter

Nothing conveys space like an uncluttered room! Clear the all rooms of any furniture you can do without. It doesn’t matter what you do with it: sell it on eBay, put it in storage, give it to friends, just get rid of it. Potential buyers like to imagine their own furnishings in a room, so doing this gives them a chance to do so. The de-cluttering also goes for cupboards: half-empty cupboards look much more spacious than ones stuffed full of clothes and other personal objects. Use it as an opportunity to overhaul your closet and help some local charities at the same time.

Surface Space

As important as clearing the rooms of furniture is, so too is ensuring that all mantelpieces, dressers, ledges, and windowsills are clear of papers, books, trinkets and ornaments, and CDs. When you’re selling your house, less is definitely more when it comes to checking out the inside.

Clean up

It’s a fact. A clean house is far easier to sell than a dirty one. So make sure that you pull out all the stops when cleaning this time. Windows should be sparkling, stainless steel items gleaming, bins empty of rubbish, cobwebs banished, and even the tops of doors should pass the “White Glove” test. Gardens need to be mown, trimmed, and tidied, and branches, twigs and wayward leaves removed. Bushes need to be pruned, and outdoor furniture scrubbed. Those extra hours spent cleaning may seem arduous at the time, but will be easily forgotten once the house is sold.

Neutral Tones

Boring they may be, but neutral tones appeal to everyone. Your stunning red room may have been a favourite until now, but the time has come to bid it farewell, painting over it with tones of Magnolia, Ecru, Vanilla and the like. Neutral tones provide an impression of spaciousness, and calm. When you refresh your walls, make sure it’s with neutral tones.

Buyer Perspective

Look at your house from the buyer’s point of view. If it’s a family, would you let a baby loose on the floors in their current state? If an elderly couple, would you leave light bulbs unchanged or a missing tile in the floor for them to trip over?

Floating Floors

If your floors are looking a little worn, carpet tatty, tiles dated, or lino peeling, then it’s time to install floating floors. Floating floors comprise of interlocking parquet planks, which sit on top of your original flooring. Completely removable if necessary, they will provide the fresh, new, clean, and classic look that sells.

It’s The Little Things That Count

Yes, it is true: placing vases of fresh flowers around the rooms, pulling up all the blinds, turning on lights in darker areas, opening up the windows on a warm day (or lighting a fire on a cold one), putting matching towels in the bathroom and crisply-ironed linen on the beds really does work. For a gentle contrast, plush cushions perched lazily on sofas and beds provides a wonderful impression of luxury and relaxation. Admittedly, in order to accomplish all of the above you may have to spend a little extra, however in terms of increased property value and a quicker private sale, that little extra will go a long, long way!

The first and immediate source that will come to our mind is an ”Agent”. No doubt he will be well versed in such transactions, as he is a professionally qualified person in this field. But you may have to part with a small commission to him for his consultation, since he will be helping you out honestly and it will only be fair for him to expect some compensation for the time and efforts he put in for you.

The next person will be a mortgage officer. He will also be as much professional as an Agent, since he will be seeing as many as the transactions as a real estate agent. Here one advantage will be that he may not expect any commission for this job, since he is likely to feed a mortgage business from the prospective buyer.

Next in the line will be a closing Agent or a Title Insurance Company, who will be also seeing so many transactions in the real estate fields. Finding a closing agent will be very easy as they advertise in the phone book. These agents are also available locally. They or you might be coming across them in your day-to-day business. These agents will know a lot than one thinks of them. A regulated attorney will be giving bigger and more expensive ads. He can be contacted for pretty good business.

Another source is FSBO advertising and assistance companies. These companies advertise either on online or through a print media. Many of these companies will help you, as they exist out to help out the FSBO market. They will always be aware of the problematic areas and benefits as a ”FSBO” buyer or seller. Hence they will be giving a correct answer for your questions.

Last but not least, FSBOS don’t want to talk to brokers. That’s a mistake. Brokers are the best source of real estate information. You can’t avoid them. You should learn how to use their expertise.