Build Your Home Selling Team

We can help take the place of a real estate agent to market your home and attract interested buyers as well as provide valuable education and know-how. To help with the home selling process, we offer a “Find a Pro” service that will help you find professional services in other real estate areas. You may not need all service providers, but you might want to use “Find a Pro” to engage these key team members:

	Home Inspector
	Title & Escrow Company
	Real Estate Lawyer
	Real Estate Appraiser
	Home Warranty Company

Prepare the Home for a Successful Sale

Most buyers prefer homes that are not in need of major repairs, so you’ll want to address any maintenance issues.

	You may want to hire a certified Home Inspector to get an expert opinion on the condition of the house.
	Review your home inspection report and decide what repairs you want done. We recommend fixing the basics, such as broken windows, leaky facets or painting a room to make it friendlier and brighter. Use our "Find a Pro" section to find everything from an electrician to a roofer.

Price the Home

One of the most important things you can do is price your home correctly. Educating yourself about your local real estate market, including recent sales and current listings, will help you arrive at a proper asking price.

	Compare your home to similar homes currently listed on the market. We recommend you visit any available open houses to understand how these home were priced.
	Get a Property or Valuation report for your home. The report will compare your home with recent sales in your neighborhood. (Note: most ForSaleByOwner.com listings come with a free property or valuation report)
	Consider hiring a professional appraiser for an expert opinion of your home’s value in today’s housing market.
	Research and review the most recent sales of similar homes in your market.
	Consider what improvements you have done that may impact your home’s value (ex. remodeling the kitchen).
	Analyze all your research and set an asking price.

Nearly 90% of all buyers use the Internet to search for a home, so online marketing should be a key component to selling your home, along with traditional means such as a yard sign, word of mouth and open houses.

	Create a listing on ForSaleByOwner.com. With a home selling guarantee and nearly three times as many visitors as our next closest competitor, ForSaleByOwner.com is the country’s leading FSBO website.
	Write a professional listing ad that include all the best features of your home and that will attract buyers. Visit this page to how to write a successful ad.
	Put a "for sale" sign in your front yard. Most ForSaleByOwner.com listing packages come with a yard sign. Or, you can order one at our online store.
	Consider renting a storage spot for seldom-used furniture, off-season clothing and unused children’s toys to de-clutter your home and garage and make them appear more open and spacious.
	Stage your home so it makes a great first impression to prospective buyers. Visit this page to learn how to stage your home.
	Take interior and exterior photos of your home. Visit this page to learn how to take quality photographs.
	Post a video tour of your home. ForSaleByOwner.com sellers can upload a video to their listing by logging into their account.
	Hold Open Houses to showcase your home. Visit this page to learn how to hold a successful Open House.
	Spread the word that your home is on the market by telling friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Leverage your social network like school groups, local shops, church and community groups, and more.

Strengthen Your Marketing Power

Having more marketing and advertising options is always important to a home seller. To gain more exposure for your home, try some of these tools and services:

	Advertise your home on Realtor.com without having to commit to paying a commission. Learn more here.
	Place your home on your local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). You will pay commission (around 2-3%) only if the buyer is working with an agent. Learn more how you can do it.
	Generate more exposure for your home by posting your ad to Craig’s List and community websites. ForSaleByOwner.com offers a tool to help post your listing to such sites. Log into your ForSaleByOwner.com account to find out how.
	Consider alternatives to selling your home, including marketing your home as a “lease to own.” Learn more here. ForSaleByOwner.com customers can easily add "lease to own" to their listing by accessing their account.

The tasks that people assume to be difficult when selling a home is handling the paperwork. A real estate attorney will only cost a few hundred dollars and will allow you to focus on working with prospective buyers.

	Make sure potential buyers are pre-approved to ensure that they will qualify for a mortgage. Visit this page to learn more.
	Download state-specific real estate forms & contracts from ForSaleByOwner.com for all your real estate needs.
	We recommend you hire a real estate attorney who can help you handle all of the paperwork.
	Understand and anticipate that the buyer will want to have an inspection done by his or her own home inspector and/or appraisal company.
	Only accept offers from pre-approved buyers. When you receive an offer, you and your attorney can accept, reject, or make a counteroffer.
	Agree on a sales price and ask your attorney to assist you with the contracts.
	Agree on a closing date that is acceptable to all parties.

Close the Deal

	Contact your mortgage lender to determine the mortgage payoff amount.
	Closing day. You, along with your attorney and/or a representative of your title company, will meet with the buyer and their legal counsel to sign a wide array of closing documents that will give title of the property to the buyer.
	Hand over the keys to the buyer.
	Determine how much you saved in commission. Our average seller saves $12,400!