By: Barry M. Milteer

In today’s real estate market, a home-grown website, ad in the local paper and yard sign with directional signs on the corner, are just not enough. For most for sale by owners (FSBO), little incentive exists to invest the time and effort in building a meaningful web presence and the long-term upfront costs of running local newspaper ads to promote your property is impractical.

Unless you get lucky, illogical strategies like “I’ll try it on my own for a month or two and then turn it over to a realtor”, are doomed to failure. Such strategies illustrate a lack of confidence as well as a coherent plan for effectively marketing your property. It takes both to be successful and unfortunately, far too many for sale by owners (FSBO) start out with strategies like these.

Whether you’re a first time for sale by owner (FSBO) or seasoned real estate professional, buying, selling or renting a property requires commitment and hard work. If you don’t have the time, don’t kid yourself. Hire a real estate professional. Trying to market your property on the ‘cheap’ usually offers little reward. In most cases, you’ll end up wasting valuable time and money. But if you’re serious about going it alone, do some research to understand what you’re up against and how to avoid common pitfalls.

Fortunately, most of the information you will need is readily available. You only need to avail yourself of the numerous for sale by owner (FSBO) resources currently available on the web. Since much of this information is written by real estate professionals, it’s fairly comprehensive. These resources cover every aspect of the for sale by owner process, including property preparation, determining and setting the selling price, the advertising process, buyer/seller negotiation, as well as understanding the closing process. Even the contracts and forms required to close a property are available and best of all, many of these services are free!

About the Author:
Barry M. Milteer
President Home Advancement, LLC - An Atlanta Real Estate Advertising & For Sale by Owner Company.

By: Evelyn Grazini

Here are some important things to consider and do before you decide if you should sell your home yourself – and keep the Commission in your pocket!

If you ask any Real Estate agent for advice on the subject, they will most definitely tell you not to try it because it will take twice as long to do it yourself then if you had their help. However, remember when you bought your house. If you’re like most home buyers, the Real Estate Agent walked you through the house, had you fill out a few forms, and then you sat in the Escrow office while they did the rest, and the Agent pocketed the 5 to 6 percent commission (or more).

I’m not saying the Real Estate Agent has an easy job, but do your homework and you will be in a very good position for a quick sale.

First, determine whether it is a buyers or sellers market. In a buyers market, there are more buyers then homes available, making it easier to sell. In a sellers market, determine if you want to take a chance and pay an extra two to three mortgage payments on your house while you try to sell it, or hire an Agent.

Look at other homes in your neighborhood. How long have they been on the market? If they are not selling, you might want to decide to wait before you move out of your house until a buyer is found – giving you more time to sell, but also less time to move.

Second - Be Prepared! There’s nothing more frustrating than being asked a bunch of questions you can’t answer. Ask a Broker for an “over-the-net” home evaluation (these are usually free), so you’ll have proof of the homes value. Hire a Real Estate Attorney to find out what paperwork you will need, the Attorney can also do the closing. To find out what forms you will need, go to the State Real Estate Commission.

Find an Escrow company that you can recommend for the good faith deposit and make contact with a Title Company. Remember, it is the buyers responsibility to hire the Mortgage Broker for their loan, as well as who they want for Escrow and closing, but if they have no clue where to go, your help will be most appreciated, and you will have a better chance of making the sale if you look like you know what you’re doing.

Save money by advertising only on the major Real Estate Ad days, and if there are any open houses going on in your neighborhood, have yours at the same time.

If you’re doing everything you can and still not finding people interested in your house, consider working with a low cost Real Estate Broker or a Discounted or Medium Service Broker, (who may be Internet based). Through these resources, you may be able to place an ad in a Multiple Listing Service. Be sure to pay the extra cost for a photo of the house. Text only descriptions just will not do.

As a last resort - You might also consider working with a Buyers Agent. These Agents work for a buyer, and normally split the commission with the Sellers Agent. Since you are sellers agent in this case, you may get some help, and a quicker sale for 2.5 to 3 percent of the selling price.

Again, weigh getting help with having the house on the market for a longer period of time. A 3% commission on a 300,000 house is still $9,000 to a Buyers Agent, but that’s also an extra $9,000 in your pocket when compared to a 6% Real Estate Agent fee.

About the Author:
Evelyn Grazini delivers helpful FSBO advice on selling your home alone – Find free articles at http://www.fsbotactics.com

By: Scott Johnson

First of all, let’s talk about what makes the For Sale by Owner (FSBO) industry so hot. FSBO is normally used to describe homeowners who choose to sell their homes themselves and don’t use a real estate company in that process. They advertise in FSBO classified ads, use FSBO web sites, and otherwise find ways to sell without agents.

Across the country a growing percentage of homeowners are discovering how easy and economical it can be to sell your own home without using real estate agents or brokers. In fact it is estimated that over 90,000 homeowners per year are deciding to go it alone.

The National Association of REALTORS estimates that nationwide, thirteen percent of real estate sales are done without any involvement from an agent or broker.

The number one motivation for homeowners to market and sell their own homes is of course financial. You can save thousands on real estate commissions when you sell your house yourself. Homeowners manage to eliminate real estate commissions completely by going the FSBO approach.

Selling your own home does not have to be difficult when the proper steps are taken. If you price your home right, present it properly, and use some effective signage and advertising, you can sell your home yourself and pocket the commission yourself.

Getting the Exposure and Help That You Need

In many areas of the U.S. FSBOs can find additional help and services that will provide them with the additional marketing tools that they need to help them sell their home. Most of these services are provided at a minimal cost when compared to real estate agent commission fees of 6% or 7%.

Now there is a new company by the name of FSBOQuickSell.com that puts For Sale by Owners in touch with locally trained FSBO Consultants and provides their FSBO Success System for free. FSBOs who sign up with their service are provided with many of the same services for which others in the industry charge dearly.

For example:

- Free FSBO Seminar through live Internet access.
- Free FSBO Success Guide
- Free Signage and other medias
- Free 1-800 information line you may use
- Free Buyers Purchase Forms
- Free Pre-qualifying of for potential buyers
- Free Address book to register Open House guests

By now, if you are like most people you might be wondering “What’s the catch?” So, how is it possible that FSBOs can take advantage of a powerful home selling system for free? The simple answer is that FSBOQuickSell.com has aligned itself with mortgage professionals nationwide in order to provide this unique marketing service to home sellers. There are neither fees charged nor referral fees exchanged between home sellers and the mortgage professional, in accordance with the Real Estate Settlement Protection Act (RESPA).

Why would they do this? Because, in addition to helping FSBOs weed out people who can’t afford to buy, they are able to identify people who are likely to buy homes in the future and, perhaps assist the For Sale by Owner with the purchase of their new home as well.

Does this mean that the FSBO is under obligation to obtain their next mortgage from the professional who is providing these free services? Not at all, but it does make sense to possibly entrust that next transaction to someone who is willing to earn the FSBOs business with a demonstrated commitment to their best interest.

About the Author:
Scott Johnson is an author and speaker. He speaks about how to find undiscovered opportunities in hidden niche markets. Additional resources can be found at: http://www.SmartMoneySystem.net, http://www.FSBOQuickSell.com, http://www.BecomeMortgageBroker.net

By: Nicholas Butler

Safety is often raised as an issue in FSBO (For Sale By Owner) real estate sales. Some real estate agents try to scare homeowners into listing with them by claiming that is unsafe. Some homeowners are unsure how to show their property safely.

By taking a few sensible precautions there is no reason why selling your home FSBO should be any less safe than selling through a real estate agent. In fact selling FSBO should be safer. There is nothing that a real estate agent does to vet buyers that FSBO homeowners cannot do for themselves.

What Does A Real Estate Agent Do?

Real estate agents claim that they vet prospective buyers before they visit your property but what does this mean? Does the real estate agent check whether the buyer has a criminal record for violent crimes or theft? Of course they don’t. At best, the agent may get a name, address and contact number of the buyer before they visit.

Getting a contact number for buyers is easy, just ask when the buyer calls to enquire about viewing your property. Before the buyer visits call them back to confirm that they are still coming. This lets you confirm that the contact number is genuine and also reduces the likelihood of no-shows.

FSBO Advert Contact Details

It is advisable to limit the amount of information that you make available through online FSBO advertising. Some homeowners include their full name, telephone numbers, e-mail address, street address of the property for sale and times when they are at home. Whilst including this information is not enough to forge documents such as a passport it is enough to gain unwanted attention from confidence tricksters.

A potential buyer only needs to know your first name to make polite initial contact. There is no need to include your surname and titles in your FSBO advert.

Choose an online advert that protects your email address. There are programs that trawl the web looking for published email addresses. If you post your email address in your FSBO advert you are asking to receive spam.

The better FSBO sites such as www.smartvendor.com.au have online messaging systems that allow buyers and sellers to communicate online while keeping email addresses private

When selling your own home a mobile (cell) phone is invaluable. Not only are homeowners less likely to miss a call from a potential buyer but also a potential thief cannot cold call the property to check whether anybody is home.

Open House Inspections

We don’t recommend holding an open house viewing when selling your property. Open house inspections are hard to supervise and many buyers find viewing a property with lots of other buyers unproductive and frustrating.

Real estate agents use open houses as a way of getting leads about other properties that are for sale. Often the real estate agent will stand at the front of a house to make sure buyers receive details of their agency. But once inside the property buyers are allowed to roam around unsupervised.

Potential thieves can use open house inspections to check out security systems and case the properties if left to roam unsupervised. Don’t provide too much detail relating to your home’s security system to a buyer on their initial visit.

Common Sense Rules

When you are holding viewings of your property follow these common sense rules:

Remove all valuables from the property. Take them off site preferably in a safe deposit box. Don’t just put them in a drawer.

Make sure there are two people in the property at all times. Ask a friend or family member to accompany you. Only one of you need conduct the viewing.

Keep blinds and curtains open during viewings this allows people outside to see in to the property and will potentially deter somebody thinking of getting up to no good.

Showing Your Property After Dark

Allowing buyers to drop in for viewings without a prior appointment is not recommend and especially not if the buyer is requesting an impromptu viewing after dark. Politely explain that you’re happy to show your home during daylight hours, when the buyer can fully appreciate your home’s wonderful features. Offer a flyer or information sheet to take away.

FSBO May Not Be For You

FSBO is not for everybody. In order to sell your own home you must be prepared to show potential buyers around the property. If you are uncomfortable doing this or feel that your circumstances would make you especially vulnerable it would be wise to consider using a traditional real estate agent.

About the Author:
Nicholas Butler is an member of the smartvendor.com.au team
Smartvendor.com.au is an Australian For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Site . - Smartvendor.com.au is committed to providing Australian homeowners a value for money alternative to traditional real estate agents. http://smartvendor.com.au

By: Geff Long

The problem most people make (including real estate agents), is trying to do too much in the ad. They try to sell the home in that one ad and it just can’t be done. It will cause the ad response to drop dramatically.

As backwards as it seems, the more information you provide in the ad, the lower the response rate. Now, I’m not saying don’t give any information… I’m saying pick and choose the information you will include carefully. There is only ONE job the ad should have… and that is to get the reader to take ONE action.

That’s it. Nothing more.

You see, people are reading those house ads to try and ELIMINATE homes to call on or look at. That changes your perspective a little bit, doesn’t it? Common sense would tell you that they are searching for houses to look at, but that isn’t the case.

There is no way they can visit all those homes listed in the newspaper, so they have to eliminate some of them. If you give them a big ad with all the information and show them a picture, they are quickly able to eliminate it and cross it off their list. Don’t give them that option.

There are 4 important and essential parts to your ad. You must grab the reader’s attention, capture their interest, create a desire, and get them to take action. And believe me, it is not rocket science and if you stick to that plan, the response will surprise you.

Let’s look at each part individually.

1. Grab Attention

To grab the reader’s attention, you need to show them that the ad pertains to them. The easiest way to do this is by starting your ad with the name of the city or neighborhood your home is in. It’s that simple. Anyone looking for a home in your area will start reading your ad.

2. Capture Their Interest

The easiest, fastest way to capture interest is to give the reader some financial information. People are starved for this information, but the real estate industry rarely gives it to them. Simply get in touch with a Bank or Loan Officer and ask for a Good Faith Estimate for your home. They will be able to show you some exact financial numbers that you can use. You will use Down Payment, Monthly Payment, Loan Amount and the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) information in your ad.

3. Create Desire

Part of this is already done by the low down payment and financial information. It creates a big interest and starts creating a big desire. You can continue on and push some “hot button” issues to really create desire in the reader. Use terms that give a positive emotion. Quiet Street, Fenced Back Yard, Fireplace… these types of terms are “feel good” terms.

4. Getting the Reader to Take Action

What is it you want the reader to do? Only give them ONE option. You can have them call a phone number, go to a website, or attend and open house. Choose ONE option and make that the focus. Having them call a phone number will generally get the biggest response.

There you have it. Four ridiculously simple steps that will skyrocket the response from your “For Sale” ad.

About the Author:
This article is authored by Geff Long, author of the book “Open House Secrets”. His book can help you get a massive response to your advertising and sell your home FAST. You can find more information at: http://www.openhousesecrets.com

By: Raynor James

If you are selling you own home, you need to consider the effect of pets. People who are working with a real estate broker are sure to get coached about the potential negative effect of pets. If you aren’t working with a broker, this article discusses the pet issue.

When You Show Your Home

If you are selling you own home, you must realize a lovable pet might cause the following problems:

1. The potential buyer may be so nervous about dogs that she doesn’t picture herself living in the home,

2. The potential buyer doesn’t like pets and thus doesn’t see her furniture in the home in her mind’s eye,

3. She doesn’t picture the route she’d drive to and from work, and doesn’t imagine where she’d stop for errands or fun along the way home.

In short, the presence of pets makes it difficult for the potential buyer to see the house as their own. Is a potential buyer in that frame of mind likely to buy that home? No.

Defense Against Pet Damage

If you have pets and you’re selling your home as a FSBO, take heed. Board your pet or pets while your property is on the market. You can visit it, and take it for walks and to the park, but don’t take it home. Have carpets shampooed. If they’re really holding odors, you might even replace all or some of the carpet. Get any damage the pet has done repaired. Store or get rid of furniture you do not want to repair. Reseed the lawn and repair any damage to plantings. You’ll find this is money and labor well spent.

Pets are an integral part of many people’s lives and rightly so. While you may love your pet, keep in mind potential buyers may not.

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About the Author:
Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, “FSBO”, properties. Are you thinking, “Should I sell my home?” Visit http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.
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“House For Sale! Direct Buyers Only!” — These popular ads can be found everywhere, including the internet…

Many people rely on the internet to sell their property because it’s a great way to advertise. There are a growing number of websites that allow posting of “for sale by owner” or “FSBO” ads (pronounced fizz-bo). These websites target buyers from all around the world. Internet ads are also being proven worthy of consideration because of their cost-effectiveness as compared to other forms of advertising.

Taking a sneak peak at lists of properties which are for sale by owners on the internet can help you gather indispensable information. You can also access handbooks and other sources of information that are available on the internet.

Every day, thousands of people become potential buyers of products and properties that are for sale by owners. They go through newspaper ads, banner ads, search engines, billboards, and other sources of information to find what they are looking for. If you are planning to sell your own property, be sure to advertise where perspective buying are looking. Who knows… you might just be holding on to the exact perfect product a prospective online buyer is looking for!

The “for sale by owner” method can save you from unnecessary expense, take away your need for an agent or a realtor, and help you save time on deciding where to advertise. With the “for sale by owner” concept, you can get maximum exposure and hit your target market of prospective buyers DIRECTLY.

The main goal of selling your own home is to promote your property straight to buyers. One of the best places to do this is a website called ForSaleByOwner.com. This website is one of the top providers of homes that are for sale by owners, and is very innovative in terms of marketing and the information they provide. They bring buyers directly to you the moment you apply and register your property on their list…a very quick approach for advertising.

Don’t forget another great source of advertising on the internet which are the lists of people or “leads” who are trying to sell their home. List providers usually present a complete database of those who frequently use their listings and help customers find properties in both local and international markets.

Selling your own home can save you the expense of having to pay a realtor, providing you do your homework and make informed decisions. With the power of the internet you can find a million ways to advertise, so why not give it a try?