As the price of real estate companies continues to rise, more homeowners are opting for sale by owner rather than hiring a professional. While this isn’t extremely difficult, there are several items to take into consideration after you have chosen this option. Here are some tips and tricks to help you along the way.
One of the most important aspects of selling your own home aside from actually selling it, is making sure it is done legally. Since you don’t have an agent to insure it is all done properly, you want to make sure you hire a licensed inspector as well as a licensed real estate appraiser. You also need to make sure you get the title transferred properly. Each state or city might have it’s own set of laws regarding the transfer of property. These include legal documentation in the real estate records.
Review and hire a proper real estate lawyer for this and ensure they read over the contract for sale and closing documents. This may be an added expense but it will be cheaper in the long run than finding out months or years later that the house was not legally sold.
So how do you actually go about selling the house? First set a price for your home. You must be willing to part with your emotions here or else you may never be able to sell your home. Research the market in your area and the pros and cons of your house before setting a price that is reasonable for your area.
Next, make yourself available. You can’t sell your house if you don’t have anytime to show it. If you don’t have time to market and sale the house, you are better off hiring an agent. If you do, showing the house is more than just opening the door to a prospective buyer. You must prepare your house for the showing by doing any necessary repairs, cleaning up your landscape, and cleaning the house up of any clutter. There is nothing worse than going into somebody’s house and seeing their junk everywhere. You want the prospective buyers to be able to picture their own furniture and belongings inside the house.
As far as getting anybody to come in to look at the home, you must market it. While you won’t have as wide of a reach as a real estate agent, you can market your house by listing it on sites like Craigslist as well as sticking a sign in the front yard.
In terms of the legal ramifications of a For Sale by Owner, Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help you navigate this process. Contact him at 813-549-0096.
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
