25 Tips for Selling Your Own House in a Tough Economy

This blog and website offers hundreds of tips for selling your own house, but many of these tips are spread over many web pages. So in this blog post, we have compiled 25 selling tips from all over the website and put them at your fingertips.

With each passing year, more homeowners chose to selling their own houses instead of hiring an agent. Why? There are three reasons for the increasing number of for-sale-by-owner scenarios:

1. Homeowners realize they can save thousands of dollars by selling their own house.
2. They also realize they can handle the process for themselves, using item #3 below.
3. For-sale-by-owner websites / services have improved a lot over the years.

Can you really save thousands when you sell your own home today? Sure you can. If an agent sells a $300,000 house and gets a standard 3% commission, he or she will make $9,000 off the deal. I've sold my own house before, so let me be the first to say that this is too much money to pay an agent. I was surprised how easy the process was, and I was glad we put that commission back into our own pockets.

This article offers quite a few tips for selling your own house to save money. But if you only remember one thing from this lesson, make it this. You should sign up for an FSBO service that allows you to list your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This will put the house in front of a huge pool of potential buyers, which will help you make a sale as quickly as possible.

Selling Your House on Your Own

Without further ado, here are 25 things you should know about selling your own house in the current economy. Some of the items on this list are explained in detail elsewhere on the site, so I've provided links where necessary.

Initial Research & Planning

• Find out how much equity you have in your home. If you're upside down in your mortgage loan, you might not be able to sell without paying money out of pocket. So start by finding out where you stand.
• Start tracking your local real estate market to find out what's going on. In particular, you should find out how long houses are staying on the market (on average) and what they are selling for. This is one of the best tips I can offer for selling your own house, because it helps you in so many ways. Market awareness is critical for a successful sale.
• In particular, I recommend starting with the weekend edition of your local newspaper. This is a great way to find out what's happening in your real estate scene, whether it's a buyer or seller market, what homes are selling for, etc.
  
• Visit some open houses in your area to find out what kind of competition you're up against, and to see how well (or how poorly) people are staging their homes for sale.

Pricing the Home

• Listen up. This is one of the most important tips for selling your house in any kind of market, but especially in a buyer's market. Overpricing a home is one of the most common mistakes made by people who sell by themselves, and it will delay your sale more so than any other factor.
• The best way to determine your home's value (and to set your asking price) is by having it appraised by a professional appraiser. Home value websites are neat, but they only give you a general idea and do not account for upgrades.
• The appraiser will factor in the overall condition of your property, so it's wise to prepare for that visit.
• You probably have an emotional connection to your house, and that's only natural. But you need to detach those emotions when setting the price. You must base your asking price on current market values, backed up by sales data and other information. You cannot set your price on what you feel the home is worth.
  
• In a seller's market, you'll have a bit more flexibility with your pricing (i.e. "wiggle room"). But in a buyer's market, the opposite is true. This is why you need to know what's going on in your local real estate scene.
  

Preparing the Home

• Let's start with the basics. If you have things in your house that are broken, you need to fix them before buyers visit your home. In addition to showing up on the home inspector's hit list, items in disrepair suggest that you don't care about the house. This is the wrong impression to give a potential buyer.
• To prepare your house for the market, you must also go beyond the basic repairs. You must work hard to show the home at its best -- this means painting, removing clutter, repositioning furniture, etc. These things fall under the category of "staging," and you can learn more about it in this tutorial.
• Staging does not need to cost a lot of money. In fact, that's the exact opposite of the goal here. Here's an excellent article that offers free and low-cost ideas for showing off your home.
• The front of your home (including the yard) is especially important, because that's what creates the first impression for potential buyers. Prepare the entire property, but spend some extra time on your curb appeal.
  

Marketing the Property

• Once you've done your research, set your price and prepared the home, it's time to start bringing in buyers. Here are some marketing tips for selling your own house in the current economy:
• Let's start with the basics. Get yourself a yard sign to let the world know the property is available. You can buy them at Home Depot, Lowes or your local hardware shop. You can also create custom real estate signs online.
• Create a property flyer that lists information about your house. This should include basic information such as the price, schools and taxes. But it should also list all of the great things about your home (proximity to shopping, scenery, local parks and jogging trails, special features and upgrades, etc.).
• If you're selling your own house, and you want to bring the most buyers, you'll need to list the house in the Multiple Listing Service. This is a nationwide database used by real estate agents, so it will alert all of the agents in your area that your home is available.
• If you're in a tough market with a lot of selling competition, you may need to go above and beyond with your marketing campaign. Some people create websites for their home, with plenty of photos and other information. They will then include the website address on property flyers, yard signs, newspaper ads, and wherever else the house is promoted.
• If you're serious about selling your own house (and I hope you are), I recommend signing up for a service like ForSaleByOwner.com. They offer a variety of tools to help you promote your home, including MLS listings and Realtor.com placement. Get started here: National Real Estate Listings without the Commissions!
  
  

Negotiating With Buyers

• You need to have a plan for negotiations before you get into a negotiating scenario. How much are you willing to bend on your asking price? How much time do you need before the closing? What kind of contingencies are you willing to permit? You need to research and answer these questions early on.
• Back up your negotiations with hard data. If a buyer (or the buyer's agent) asks why you are asking a certain price for the house, show them the appraiser's report and the recent sales data for your area. This is the key to successful real estate negotiations.
• If you price your home realistically, and you work hard to prepare and stage it, you may be able to avoid negotiating altogether. You'll be more likely to get a full offer for the house. That's why pricing and preparation are so important.
• Don't be afraid to say no. If a buyer has unrealistic expectations or seems to be wasting your time, you have every right to dismiss them. It's not personal -- it's business. Of course, you have to make these decisions carefully, especially in a buyer's market where offers are few and farther between. Be open to negotiations, but don't let a buyer take advantage of you.
  

In closing, I'd like to leave you with my best advice for selling your own home. And that is to read this tutorial on the subject. It explains all of the things we've talked about in this article, but in much greater detail. You'll be much better prepared for the process if you read it!

How Do I Sell My Home Myself in the Current Economy?

How do I sell my home myself in a tough economy? Is it even possible? What do I need to know about selling my own house in order to sell it quickly and for the best price?

These are common questions among homeowners. The reasons why are fairly obvious. Property values have dropped in most cities, there's a surplus of homes on the market, and many buyers are having trouble qualifying for mortgage loans. Put these things together, and you have a classic buyer's market -- for the ones who can get mortgage loans, at least.

Let me start with the easy answer to these questions. Yes, you can sell your own home in a tough market, if you research and prepare for the process. An experienced real estate agent could make the process easier, but if you can duplicate the efforts an agent would make on your behalf, you can probably succeed on your own.

We have recently posted a comprehensive guide to this process. It covers the process from every angle and with plenty of helpful tips. So if you're planning to sell your own home, do yourself a favor and read our new tutorial on the process. It answers the common question among homeowners: How do I sell my home myself in the current economy?

Go Above & Beyond to Sell Your Home

When selling a house in a tough market, you really have to go above and beyond to get the attention of home buyers. We talk about this in great detail in the article I mentioned above. Basically, you have to outperform all of the other sellers in your area if you want to sell. Here are some of the things you should focus your energy on:

• Staging -- You should stage your home to showcase the best features it has to offer. This involves painting, de-cluttering, strategic furniture placement and more. Learn more in our room-by-room staging guide.
• Pricing -- If you get this wrong, all of your other efforts will be in vain. Over-pricing a home is one of the most common mistakes sellers make in the current economy. Property values have dropped in most cities across the U.S., so you need to base your price on current market values.
• Marketing -- How can I sell my home myself in a tough market? Well, you need to bring in as many potential buyers as possible. And this means putting the home on the Multiple Listing Service. Get started here: National Real Estate Listings without the Commissions!
  

We post new tips to this blog on a regular basis, so you might want to bookmark this page in your favorites folder. We offer advice on all aspects of the selling process, from the preparation to marketing and beyond. I hope this information helps you navigate the path toward a successful sale. Good luck.

Have Questions?
I want to sell my home by myself, and I have questions about how to do it. If this describes you, feel free to email us your questions. Send them to editor@homebuyinginstitute.com, and we will answer them right here on this blog.

Buying Real Estate Yard Signs Online

If you plan to sell your own home, you can probably pick up some "for sale" yard signs at your local Home Depot or hardware store. But if you want a custom sign for your yard (or if you're a real estate agent who needs personal branding options), you should order your real estate yard signs online.

Much like the commercial printing industry as a whole, the sign printing industry has evolved a lot over the last few years. Many companies have created websites that allow you to customize a yard sign template with your own information. This saves you time while giving you a wider range of options for sign design and customization.



While the process varies from one printing company to the next, here's how it usually works:

• First, you would visit the yard sign companies website to choose a design. Real estate signs come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
• Next, you would customize the design by including your own phone number, logo, or other information you want to have on the yard sign.
• Finally, you would proof the finished product online, and then place your order. The printer will then produce your real estate signs in the desired quantity and ship them to you (usually through UPS).

If you plan to use house flyers as part of your property marketing strategy (and I recommend that you do), you should invest in a flyer box as well. This is the clear plastic / acrylic box that attaches to the yard sign pole. This is great for those people who casually drive by and spot your "for sale" sign. Even if they don't have an appointment to see the house, they can at least pick up a flyer to schedule a future showing.

It's also a good idea to place your yard sign close to the street, so people can the agent's name and phone number without exiting the car. If it's pouring down rain, few people will get out to retrieve the flyers. But if the real estate sign is close enough to read, they can jot down the phone number and be on their way.

Where to Buy Yard Signs

Like I said, there are quite a few sign shops with websites these days. But only a small handful of them offer online design and customization options. Build-a-Sign is one of the most advanced online services we have seen to date, and their website is incredibly easy to use. So if you want to customize and order your yard signs via the Internet, we recommend using the link below:

Get started here:
Shop Custom Real Estate Signs Online at BuildASign.com!

How to Prepare for a Home Appraisal

I recently got a question from a reader who wanted to know how to prepare for a home appraisal visit. She was planning to sell her home, and she wanted to pay a professional appraiser to come and evaluate the property. Specifically, she asked if there was anything she could do to prepare for the visit that might increase the appraisal value. So I'll address that topic in this blog post.

How a Home Appraisal Works

If you want to know what your home is worth in the current market, a professional home appraisal is your best option. Sure, you can get a ballpark estimate from one of the many home value websites online today. But these websites only account for recent sales data in your area -- they don't factor in the improvements and upgrades you may have made to the home. After all, how could a website possibly know about such things?

If you want to get the best possible estimate on your home for pricing purposes, you should pay for an appraisal. Through this process, a licensed home appraiser will visit you to evaluate your home in person. He will do a room-by-room assessment of the property. He will look at the condition of the home. He will account for upgrades to the property and the landscaping. Lastly, he will look at recent sales data for comparable homes in your area.

In the end, you'll be presented with an appraiser's report. You can use this document to help determine your asking price (if you're selling) or to determine how much equity you have (if you're refinancing). Just bear in mind that if you do sell the home, the buyer's lender will have their own appraiser pay a visit as well. Still, it helps to do your own research ahead of time.

How to Prepare for It

As for how to prepare for an appraisal, I can sum that up with one statement. Prepare the home like you would for a buyer's visit, and then don't sweat it. Many of the things on the appraiser's checklist are things you cannot change -- size of the home, location, number of rooms, recent sales data, etc. You have no control over these factors. They are what they are. So you shouldn't worry about that side of things.

So let's focus on the things you can do to prepare for a home appraisal visit. In essence, these are the same things you should do when preparing the home to sell:

• Make any necessary repairs around the house.
• Update any outdated fixtures (but don't overspend in this area).
• Freshen up any paint that might be faded, chipped, etc.
• Do whatever you can to improve your curb appeal.

It's important to note that the things listed above won't add a lot of value to your home appraisal. They may help some, and every little bit helps. But more importantly, they will prevent the appraiser from entering your home with a negative mindset. When somebody is coming to put a value on your house, the last thing you want to do is give them a bad first impression. That's where the above list of items comes into play.

It's also important to tell the appraiser about any upgrades you've made to the house. This is critical, because it could increase the base appraised value of the home. This includes new flooring, decks, major landscaping additions, swimming pools, new cabinets or counters, etc.