Tips - Hints - Marketing - FSBO

[REIaddicted]

Some of the information below will be directed at all homeowners that wish to sell FSBO. I am also including some great hints that investors may wish to take advantage of as well. Please note: This is a compilation of information I have collected while researching the topic.

Should I sell FSBO?

You have sat down and thought about moving. You have asked yourself all the pertinent questions:
1. Why do I want to do a FSBO?
2. Do I know have the dedication, devotion it will take to sale my house myself?
3. Do I have the time patience to market my home?

I can bet your answer to question one is "I don't want to pay those 6% commission fee's." So you can get a clear picture on what is involved for question 2, take a look at these points and be honest with yourself.
a. Must buy your own yard sign
b. Must create and print your own sales flyers
c. Must pay for your own newspaper advertising
d. Must perform your own market analysis to properly price home
e. Must qualify your own buyers to make sure that they are financially capable of purchasing your home
f. Must be available for appointments during the week, evenings and weekends
g. May have to give up weekends to hold open houses
h. Must make sure that the purchase contract is written to protect your best interests.

This is not an attempt to sway you from selling FSBO, just some honest questions you must ask yourself. Now, if you have answered YES, then let's get going and get your home sold. !

The first order of business is to take an inventory of your home. I would suggest downloading Dan's e-book:
Complete Home Rehab in 10 Days and Lady's Home Rehab
http://www.magicbullets.com/gifts/
Now, take a look at this checklist and make notes on what needs to be completed.

Exterior:
1. How is the condition of the paint?
2. Doorknobs polished and working properly?
3. Any doors that “stick” when opening?
4. Siding frees of cracks?
5. Bricks firmly in place?
6. Front entry clean (including entry rugs)?
7. Doorbell in good condition?
8. Gutters Clean?
9. Roof in good repair?
10. Windows cleaned, caulked and working properly?
11. Window screens in good condition?
12. Exterior lights working?
13. Fence paint attractive?
14. Sidewalks free of clutter, toys, etc.?
15. Trash cans out of sight?
16. Lawn green, mowed and trimmed?
17. Trees and shrubs trimmed?
18. Flower beds need sprucing up?
19. Garage clean and clutter removed?
20. Workbench free of tools, etc.?
21. Garage door working properly?
22. Driveway cleared of vehicles?
23. Auto stains in driveway?
24. Pool and spa clean and in good condition?
25. Pool equipment working properly?


Kitchen:
26. Ceiling and walls clean?
27. Flooring in good condition?
28. Sink clean and in good repair?
29. Faucet leaky?
30. Countertops in good condition and uncluttered?
31. Oven clean?
32. Stovetop have fresh drip pans?
33. Appliances in good condition?
34. Pantry neat and organized?
35. Paper lining in drawers neat looking?


Great Room / Family Room:
36. Paint on ceilings and walls in good condition?
37. Flooring in good condition?
38. Window treatments (draperies, etc.) freshly done?
39. Room cluttered?
40. To much furniture?
41. Fireplace clean with wood stacked neatly?


Dining Room:
42. Paint on walls and ceiling in good condition?
43. Too much furniture in room?
44. Flooring in good condition?
45. Draperies freshly done?
46. Light fixtures clean and shiny?
47. Room uncluttered?


Laundry Room:
48. Washer and Dryer neat and free of dust?
49. Floor clean?
50. Light working properly?

Heating And Cooling Systems:
51. Furnace and air conditioning in good condition?
52. Furnace and air filters replaced?
53. Hot water heater clean?

Bedrooms:
54. Paint in good repair?
55. Draperies fresh?
56. Light fixtures make the room appear bright and airy?
57. Flooring clean and in good repair?
58. All door hardware in good condition?
59. Excess furniture removed?
60. Closets neat and clean?

How do I decide what to fix and not to bother with?
Itemize your repairs into three categories: Critical, Important and Optional.
1. Critical: Critical repairs are problems that should be corrected before selling a home and often include: fixing leaky roofs, repairing tiling or flooring, fixing any heating or cooling problems, repairing any electrical problems, repairing any plumbing leaks or problems, fixing any broken windows. If a critical repair is not completed, you should expect to have your home on the market a lot longer than normal, expect to lower the sales price of your home, and expect to have fewer eligible buyers qualify to purchase your home.

2. Important: Important repairs are items that should be considered before selling a home and include: fixing the sprinkler system, repairing doors, fixing any broken fencing outside, cleaning spots on the ceiling from water damage, repairing pool pumps and cleaning mechanisms, and fixing any discolored flooring or countertops. Important repairs will help sell a home quicker and help attain your asking price.

3. Optional: Optional repairs are issues that may not be necessary to correct in order to sell the home and include: fixing the cracks, the driveway or sidewalks, refinishing hardwood floors, resurfacing cabinets. Other optional repairs include changing old and worn door knobs and plate covers for new ones, replacing the faded window coverings or adding additional landscaping to the front or back yards. Optional repairs tend to be more cosmetic in nature that a homebuyer may expect to find after a home ages. But remember you want to sell and sell fast, getting as close to your asking price as possible.

Cosmetics are the least expensive for a homeowner, and one of the most valuable purchase is PAINT! A face- lift is needed to make old feel new again.

[REIaddicted]

OK, NOW WHAT?
You have repaired the roof, fixed the air and heat unit. Scrubbed the ceilings and walls until your fingers look like prunes and you have used all the old toothbrushes that had been stored under the sink. Mowed and trimmed the yards, replaced the shed door and painted the front door.

Let's consider curb appeal. Say what? It is the first impression that your home makes upon a buyer-an impression that is often difficult to change once it is made.

Before you begin any work in the front of the home, park across the street, look out from your car window, and look at your home. What grabs your attention first? Is it the flowers or the weeds? Is your garage door closed? Kids toys lying around? The neighbors trash that has blown in your yard? Your Nome and wind chimes collection sitting on the front steps?
Take a look at this partial list and see if you can identify any of these with your home.

Pick up dead leaves and trash caught under rocks and shrubs
Plant flowers
Re-seed bare spots in grass
Replace; remove dead plants and shrubs
Mend fence
Old cars, campers and large trash hauled away
Pet droppings picked up
Hoses rolled up or stowed away

Exterior of House
Install, replace house numbers
Hose down / wash the house
Wash exterior windows
Replace light bulbs in outdoor lights
Clean out gutters and ensure that they drain away from house
Fix any broken or bent gutters
Scrape and paint exterior trim
Scrape and paint exterior of house
Driveway hosed off or swept
Walkways hosed off or swept
Make sure that there is not any wood to ground contact around house
Door knob polished or replaced
Floor mats cleaned or replaced
Walls cleaned
Corners cleared of cobwebs

Absolutely NO clutter. Everything is hosed, swept, de-cobwebbed, painted, polished, repaired, stored, and depersonalized. You want the new homeowners to start arranging things to make this house their home (in their mind) from the get-go.

[REIaddicted]

How much is that house on the block? Well, if you are expecting to get the money you have poured in to your home from all the repairs and sweat equity. You might decide to live in your newly repaired home and stay awhile. That just isn't going to happen.
Pricing your home is one of the hardest and emotional issues you will have to deal with. Yet, the process has to be done in a very unemotional, methodical way. As a 3rd person if you will.

First drive the neighborhood. Find homes that are equal in amenities, square footage, and number of bedrooms and lot size. If the homes are for sale, go ahead and grab one of their flyers and call it research. Is there an open house in one of them, great! In the name of research, take a tour, get ideas and their asking price.
If you price it too high, you will scare potential buyers. Price it too low, you may be throwing away potential profits. As you begin to determine the price for your home, you will need to research the current homes on the market. This helps you determine a starting price, the expected sales price and the rock-bottom price for your home.

A seller should think of pricing as a range of numbers where the actual sales price will fall. The highest price in this range is generally the starting price, which is usually the initial asking price for a home. On the other side, a seller will have a rock-bottom price,
(The lowest acceptable price you will take) The expected sales price generally will fall somewhere between the rock-bottom price and the asking price.

Most sellers will determine an asking price by evaluating comparable home sales. A comparable sale is a home that is similar in size (+/- 20% of the sq. ft), age and amenities, that was sold no more than six months ago, and is located in a close proximity to the property. As it is told, in a buyers market, you may expect about 90% of your asking price and that is on a great day.
Another way to determine a market value is to evaluate the price a home sold for, divide it my square footage. There is your dollar value per square foot. (Make sure the homes you are using in your research had the same amenities)
To determine a price, these are just a few of the quick methods. If you call your Realtor and tell them you are selling FSBO they will be more than happy to accommodate you. They will also ask to come over so they can talk you in to sighing with them. (We will cover this later)

House cleaned, repaired and given a face-lift. I have my price so I should ...........
Market, market, and yet market more! Let's get down to the business of placing your home up for sell. You're sure you want to do this, right? Ok then, let's go.

Have a team of people set up to help you out.
Mortgage Company – find a loan officer or a mortgage company that will work with you. Get to know them and offer to send them referrals of people are looking for financing.

Title Company – You are going to have to work with a title company unless you sell to a private investor (in some cases). Find a company that will work with you. Many of them will give you the necessary documents required for the sale of your home.

Home Appraiser – Get your home appraised. It will be to your advantage when setting your asking price.

Home Warranty – Roll a home warranty into the sale of your home. Have this ready up front.

It is time to put your computer to work. First, you will want to take some digital photos of the house interior and exterior (you will use these later as well).

Here are some tips for taking photos.
1. So try the same shot from different angles, distances, and heights.
2. Even slight movement can blur your pictures. If you have a viewfinder, use that instead of the LCD screen to line up a shot. The farther you hold the camera from your face, the more likely you are to wobble it.
3. Glare. If one portion of the house your shooting comes out looking too dark, your problem is probably underexposure, which often occurs when the background light is brighter than the details you're trying to capture. To reduce the impact of background light, take exterior pictures when the sun is in front of the house or wait for an overcast day.
4. If you take pictures through a window, the camera's auto-focus feature may zero in on a nearby object (the window screen or a tree branch) and not the intended subject matter, resulting in blurry photos.

Ready, Set, Go

You will want to use letter size, paper. (Sure, show your personality and place it on some fun, light colored paper) No fancy borders or odd lettering. This will distract from the purpose of the flyer.

Headings: you will want a simple yet descriptive heading. Something that will stand out to your targeted audience. Think about what first attracted you to the home.
1. Charming bungalow
2. Sparkling pool
3. Spacious home
4. Handy man special (if you failed to do all those repairs)
Now upload and place an exterior and an interior photo of the home so the reader feels like they are being invited in. Don't be cheap... use color photos!

The flyer should now answer some basic questions:

What is the sale price?
How many square feet does it have?
How many bedrooms and bathrooms?
What are the basic features about the home?
Are there any amenities that make this home stand out from the others?

Be descriptive in your summery. Allow the reader to feel excited and WANT to visit your home as soon as possible because this house surely will be sold fast!
Don't forget to add your address and phone number.

It is less expensive to take to a major printing company (like Kinko's) and print them up on their copier. The more you can print the better, as you will be mass marketing with these. If you just want to get a feel for the market, print 100 of them up and see how it goes.
EXAMPLE FLYER
Contact phone: 417-000-000
Address:000 Pond Avenue
City: Lompoc Beach California
ZIP Code: 93438

Property Information
Sq. Footage: 4411
# of Floors:3
# of Bedrooms: 4
# of Bathrooms:4.5
Lot size/acres: 6250
Garage size:1

Additional Information/Features
This magnificent, three-story house features approximately 3,500 SF of interior living space, a beautiful ocean view, and is only steps from the Atlantic Ocean. Luxurious trimmings abound in this exotic oceanfront setting. Charming architectural features enhance this exceptional enclave.
Located in a quiet historic neighborhood, this 1885 contemporary residence includes three bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a maids quarters and a convertible den. Guests are welcomed in the gracious Foyer, leading to a huge family room. The living room, dining room, and the modern, customized European kitchen with a large pantry and a second refrigerator, are situated on the second floor, and enjoy full ocean views. The third floor is comprised of a private, sumptuous master suite, with whirlpool bath, that also has spectacular ocean views.
Also, you’ll find a beautiful Mediterranean-style, marbled courtyard with a covered patio area, and a small heated pool, separating the house sections. There is also a hot/cold shower next to the pool. The house has three zones of air-conditioning with ceiling fans in every room. Two large terraces overlook the ocean. The residence also includes a spacious laundry room and a second kitchenette.
International Airport and International Airport are only minutes away. The home is conveniently located close to hundreds of excellent restaurants, and is only just five minutes from the world-renowned Time Harbor Shops. A clay and hard court tennis facility, and the city recreation facility are just three blocks away, also next door is the ten-block North Shore Open Space beachfront park, with bike and exercise trails and a public library is only a block away.

Financial Information
Asking price: $ 1,795,000 (Mortgage Info)
Current loan type: Conventional
Seller's Flexibility: Willing to negotiate


The next thing you need to do is purchase a for sale sign. You CAN use those found at a local discount chain. But let's face it, they are not the most attractive things and magic marker on a yellow sign does not show how motivated you are. They can also give the wrong impression of the condition of your home.
Visit your local home improvement store, you will find some suitable, sturdy Signs, sign posts, and sign riders (tubes that the flyers will be avaiable in) Don't forget to by the stick on numbers for your telephone number. It will be a good idea to purchase a couple of these signs, the more places your sign is seen, the more traffic you will have.

Good, now place the on the edge of your yard. Not in the yard, but someplace that is noticeable yet not obtrusive. Those flyers you made up stick 25 in the tube to start with.
Now run around the corner and place your other signs in selected spots.

Signs should say: For Sale by Owner ---->
Phone number

Time to get about the business of writing the classified add.

Take a look at your local current classified section of your local paper. See what advertisements catch your eye. Design your ad similar to these ads.

What should go into your classified ad?

Bold title phrase: Victorian Home, Great Steal, Lakeside View, etc.
Asking price: you want to filter those who can't afford
Location: by area or neighborhood, don't list your home address
Size of the home and number of key rooms
Phone number
Action statement: must sell, won't last long, etc.

Owner needs to sell Fast!
Riverside Home 4-bedrooms, 2-bath, Over 12,000sqft Lot, pool, vaulted ceilings.
562-618-8679.
Price: 379900.00
Cerritos CA

Ad is written, signs hung, flyers made.... What else?
You did say you were dedicated and devoted, Right? Then let's get moving. Nobody said it was easy. If you want the extra profit, then do the extra work.

Your flyers need to go up in grocery stores, convenient stores, bulletin boards, and friends that have businesses. Hand them out to friends, relatives, and co-workers.

With everyone on-line you should use your account to for a free web page. Design a quick tour with the photos you took in the very beginning. Write the ads and descriptions as in all the examples. Make sure you include the URL to all of your advertising as well.

Place the ads in the Thursday - Sunday local classifieds. Don't forget those small papers that every town has. (Horse trader, thrifty nickel, etc)
If you don't mind sharing say a 2.5 % agent fee, you can also solicit the real estate agencies. (Stand firm that you will do FSBO, but allow them to "help" you)
Don't forget to place ads on all the Internet sites.
Free if you can find them. Start here. :

http://fsbo-home.com/ads/Ad_Signup/

Your phone may be ringing off the hook by now.
Keep a logbook by your phone to record contact info from callers. Remember that your number one objective is to get them to your home for a viewing. Try to book them for an appointment.

Handling phone calls
First get the caller's name and number (call display helps) and ask how they heard of your ad (for tracking advertising effectiveness).

Answer the caller's questions concisely with detail. If they ask if it has a garage, tell them how big it is as well. Add facts and additional information whenever you get a chance, without seeming pushy. Stay in context to the original question if possible.

If the caller has not yet seen your internet listing, tell them about it and that it will contain photos and more details, in case they're interested.

If the caller appears interested at all, don't forget the BIG question: "When would you like to see it?". Your goal is to get bookings. This caller is a lead. If at all possible, you don't want to lose the potential appointment.

_________________________________________
Full Name

__________________________________________
Phone #

How did you find out about our home?
Web Site___ Newspaper ___ Drive By ___ Flyer ____

[REIaddicted]

Hello good people. Due to time restraints, I am going to attach the entire file for the FSBO tips.
Check it out as there are some great forms to use as well. There is a total of about 15 pgs.

Lisa :SM050:

[Dan Auito]

Hello good people. Due to time restraints, I am going to attach the entire file for the FSBO tips.
Check it out as there are some great forms to use as well. There is a total of about 15 pgs.

Lisa :SM050:

My methods differ in some slight respects Lisa but they are complimentary none-the less, anyone contempating a FSBO sale should review both the magic cows doc http://www.magicbullets.com/gifts/final%20cows%20from%20kendall-1-s.pdf and the one attached above, between these two docs and you doing what is required, you will BLOW THE COMPETITION AWAY :shocking: and get top dollar without paying a commission! :praise:

[brymetime]

...the magic cows doc http://www.magicbullets.com/gifts/fi...endall-1-s.pdf...

Dan, is the "magic cows doc" you referred to included, or better yet revised and updated, in your book "Magic Bullets in Real Estate (http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Bullets-Estate-Thomas-Daniel/dp/0974002003/sr=8-1/qid=1170130913/ref=sr_1_1/105-5984251-8371631?ie=UTF8&s=books)?"

Thanks,

Ryan

[Dan Auito]

It is at the end of the book yes. The information is timely and the principles apply today.

[brianb_cobbres]

From my failed attempt to FSBO

1. Why do I want to do a FSBO?

It was all about the money.

2. Do I know have the dedication, devotion it will take to sale my house myself?

I did not realize how much it can actually take. Placing adds, designing and printing flyers, showing the house all while working full time nearly an hour away made this nearly impossible. In the end I actually resented the house and the FSBO process.

3. Do I have the time patience to market my home?

Maybe when I am REI full time.



I can bet your answer to question one is "I don't want to pay those 6% commission fee's." So you can get a clear picture on what is involved for question 2, take a look at these points and be honest with yourself.

Protect and buyer agent and that 6% savings get cut in half real fast.

a. Must buy your own yard sign

$20 was not so bad.

b. Must create and print your own sales flyers

First dont be cheap with your flyers. I have seen some many horrible, hand written, B&W, fuzzy pictures and I just have to shake my head. Luckily I have a pretty decent color laser so could print them out myself as needed. Be prepared to have 100 flyers taken for every showing.

c. Must pay for your own newspaper advertising

There are lots of free places to list but you need to list where the most buyers are looking which usually means the local daily paper. Not all that expensive but adds up over time.

d. Must perform your own market analysis to properly price home

I did and chose to go over market due to condition and was correct in the end but it did take too long. Doing the math I lost much more by holding out. Price to sell from now on.

e. Must qualify your own buyers to make sure that they are financially capable of purchasing your home

With FSBO I got a lot of tire kickers. People shopping for a good deal and people who were not serious. The quality of the potential buyers went through the roof when I finally gave up and listed with a realtor. I may consider FSBO again when it is a lower value home and I can list it at a deal but will stick with realtors in upper suburbia.

f. Must be available for appointments during the week, evenings and weekends

Very tough when you work an hour away from the house. Summer was better as you can actually see in the evenings but late fall and winter force you into work hours and weekends.

g. May have to give up weekends to hold open houses

Ug, just say no.

h. Must make sure that the purchase contract is written to protect your best interests.

Again, lots of tire kickers and deal shoppers that were not motivated buyers. I was suprised how many people were out looking for houses without looking into getting a mortgage first.



Just my experience.

[brymetime]

It is at the end of the book yes. The information is timely and the principles apply today.

Ok, thanks Dan. I am very excited about reading it.

Ryan

[brymetime]

BrianB_Cereniti:

Thanks for your input. I agree that a "FSBO" is going to take more time and energy than listing with a real estate agent.

I think you provided some common pitfalls to "FSBOs." I have addressed some of the pitfalls with potential solutions below.

d. Must perform your own market analysis to properly price home
Hire a professional appraiser.

e. Must qualify your own buyers to make sure that they are financially capable of purchasing your home
Use a toll-free "Info Line" to help screen your callers. Require a pre-appoval letter from a lender and earnest deposit be submitted with any written offers.

f. Must be available for appointments during the week, evenings and weekends
Schedule potential buyers to arrive at the house at the same time on Saturday or Sunday. This will increase the competition and require less of your time.

g. May have to give up weekends to hold open houses
Yes. However, there would be some time spent preparing the house even if you listed it with a real estate agent.

h. Must make sure that the purchase contract is written to protect your best interests.
Hire a real estate attorney.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Dan Auito]

Ryan has been reading! Good man, You have a shot!

[ThreeRiversREI]

Thanks for your input. I agree that a "FSBO" is going to take more time and energy than listing with a real estate agent.

I think you provided some common pitfalls to "FSBOs." I have addressed some of the pitfalls with potential solutions below.


Hire a professional appraiser.
Use a toll-free "Info Line" to help screen your callers. Require a pre-appoval letter from a lender and earnest deposit be submitted with any written offers.
Schedule potential buyers to arrive at the house at the same time on Saturday or Sunday. This will increase the competition and require less of your time.
Yes. However, there would be some time spent preparing the house even if you listed it with a real estate agent.
Hire a real estate attorney.


Somebody give Ryan a gold star!

:SM022: :SM128: :SM022: