Selling your home via the FSBO method has some particular areas of concern for the home owner that should be understood before the sale process begins. When selling your home yourself you are essentially un-insulated from the potential buyers. In using a realtor there is a intermediary working between the two parties and that is one thing that FSBO sellers have to learn to do without. This layer of insulation can be handy as it separates the qualified buyers from the lookers. In selling FSBO you should always be sure to qualify potential clients so that you are sure that your time is not being wasted. The easiest way to do this is to require a letter of approval from the buyer’s lender. Don’t be afraid to ask for this as you don’t want to deal with unqualified buyers or just people who happen to be looking. Time is money and in a FSBO sale that concept holds true.
Another good thing to shoot for when selling via FSBO is a professional grade marketing plan. This can be a difficult thing to achieve on a reasonable budget but there are ways to do it. A good place to start is a flat-fee MLS listing. This will ensure that realtors in your area know about your listing and can direct clients towards your home. not having your home listed on the MLS can mean much longer before word gets out about your home and the average sellers would like to see a quick and clean sale. Try inviting the local realtors to an open house. You can make it clear that you aren’t interested in retaining their services, merely that you want them to know that your home is for sale and open to their clients.
One last thing that you should try to remember when showing the home. It may be difficult to remove yourself emotionally from the sale of the home. As difficult as this may seem it is necessary. People may have trouble mentally removing your family from their view of the home. The ideal situation would be a buyer coming into the home and instantly being able to see themselves living there. This may be hard to do if you are recalling the things that happened to you and your family while living there. Try to detach emotionally. I know it’s hard but it will assist the sale greatly.
