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A tool for the well informed Real Estate Professional or those involved in the Home Buying /Selling transaction.

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For more real estate tips, see our Tips Archive

Marketing Tips For FSBO Sellers

In last month’s article there were suggestions to prepare your home for sale. I hope this month’s article will help you with your next step to sell your home FSBO (For Sale by Owner). In all fairness next month’s article will be tips when selling with a Realtor. The right realtor can be a great help in selling your home.

Suggested Supplies

Accessible pens and pad by telephone, “for sale” sign, permanent marker, information bin, information sheet, questionnaire.

• For Sale Sign: You will find great “for sale” signs in Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc. You should purchase a sign which states by “appointment only” along with the optional metal stand and the optional information bin.
• Use a permanent marker (more tolerant to weather conditions) to write some minimal info on the sign. Example:

4BR / 2BTH with pool and lake view

555-333-3333

(Telephone number should be large and visible from the street)

• Information Sheet:  Many greeting card programs, word programs, etc. have “for sale” templates available. You will be able to just enter your home information and it will set up in a flyer format for you. If you have a digital camera it would be a plus to add one or more quality pictures. Make a list of the “best” and “desirable” features of the home.  Sample:

246 PENNY LANE
$349,900

• Awesome Views of Lake & Smoketree Mountains
• Adjacent to Golf Course Residential Estate Homes
• 3 Bedroom 2 Bath + Family Room

Example flyer

Pad, Pen, AND Information Sheet by Telephone:

Be ready with your information sheet to answer questions from your callers. You will also be able to effectively remember the features of your home quickly and relate them to the prospective buyer. If you make an appointment, you will have your pen and pad ready for their name, home telephone number, and cell phone number. Make sure you are not home alone when you do show the home!

• Questionnaire:  This is my personal tool. After numerous wasted telephone calls I devised a questionnaire (available in my book). Some sample helpful questions to ask:

Do you own a home now?

Are you looking for something right away? If not, when do you plan on buying a home?

Have you been pre-approved by a bank or mortgage company yet?

(If they have never owned a home, have not been to a bank, are just in town “looking” (not buying at the moment), give them your address and suggest that they drive by the home before you make an appointment. If they want to come and see it anyway, or if after they drive by they would like to make an appointment, explain to them that you would be happy to make an appointment once they know they have been pre-approved for the sales price. If they are not ready to buy at the moment…oh well…just show it to them anyway. It will be good practice.

This will cut back on wasted time showing your home to prospective buyers that may not even be able to buy your home!

Helpful Tip: When setting up appointments to show your home, I suggest that you schedule an appointment when BOTH the husband and wife are available. This will enable you to show the home once NOT twice!

Placing an Ad in Local Newspaper(s)

Write a short ad:

Once you get the ad pricing you can add items to it. Refer to your informational sheet for ideas.

Adding “No Brokers please” will cut down on realtors soliciting you to list with them. If a realtor does call, I suggest that you offer them 2% or 3% if they do bring a buyer to your home. You can sign a ONE day listing with them if you do show your home to one of their clients.

If they are any real big pluses, put them in your ad. A certain desirable school? A desirable area/neighborhood (name it in the ad)? When getting ad pricing information, ask if they have any “specials”. The cost for a monthly ad may be less expensive than paying by the week, day, or weekend. Determine what will work in your budget. Weekly? Monthly? Weekends only? Pricing in ads usually has a line minimum. If you exceed that minimum you will incur more of a cost. Besides your local newspaper you may also want to put an ad in your local “shopper” paper such as a Pennysaver, Thrifty Guide, etc. Those are free newspapers and the ad cost usually is less than the local paper.

Website Ads

If you have your own website you can put your home information on your site and include your website address in your newspaper ad. Try to keep the web address short if possible.  Example: <.www.mysite.com/home.html>  When you advertise your home on the site you should include pictures. There are free web sites that allow you to upload pictures of your home and easily add information.  If you have a friend or relative with a web site ask them if you can put your house info on their site and include their web address in your ad. Your house can be on a separate web page on their site and will not interfere with their web page information in the least.  See this example web site, www.myhavasu.com/fsbo/index.htm

Some Free Websites for FSBO’s

www.mlshub.com

www.postyourproperty.com

www.1ownerhomes.com

www.nofeelisting.com

www.propertytrek.com

www.freehomelistings.com

www.fsbond.com

www.fsbofreedom.com.

Good Luck with your FSBO! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Irene

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Don't make the same mistakes that have already been made by other home buyers and sellers.

Learn the secrets of realtors, mortgage companies, buyers, sellers, etc. and others  involved in the home buying and selling.

Qualities that you should look for when choosing your Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Company.

A helpful checklist to use when selling your home by owner.

Read about Lisa's Real Estate Nightmare.
"...my credit is no longer perfect, and I am close to bankruptcy."

A Must For New Home Buyers

As a realtor I wish all my clients and customers would read this book before they bought or sold a home. I found it to have plenty of valuable information...this is a small price to pay to either save some money or save a person from one of the nightmares Irene describes.

Carol Hesse
Real Estate Agent
Homes in Havasu