Basic Home Selling Tips

We serve up proven tips based on the experience of some of our most successful sellers.

1. Price Your Home Correctly.

As a seller, you want to sell your home for the highest possible price. But that doesn’t necessarily mean hiking the asking price arbitrarily. Overpricing your home will increase the time it spends on the market, and many buyers are sensitive to the length of time homes have been for sale. Pricing your home at fair market value may ultimately net you more money.

Since price is the most important factor in selling your home, ForSaleByOwner.com offers pricing services and tools designed to help sellers appropriately and accurately price their homes. Once you learn exactly how your home should be priced, you've accomplished one of the hardest steps in selling your home on your own.

To understand the dynamics of home pricing, please see our comprehensive Pricing Guide.

2. Prepare Your Home For The Buyer’s Eye.

Buyers look for homes, not houses. Buying a home is an emotional decision, and buyers end up wanting the home within which they believe they will be most comfortable. It’s essential for home sellers to make necessary repairs, spruce up the house inside and out, and pay attention to curb appeal. Ignoring little things will lead to lower offers and a longer time on the market.

3. Don’t Mistake “Lookers” For Buyers.

If you open your door to everyone who walks down the street and sees your “For Sale By Owner” sign, you may end up spinning your wheels. Make sure potential buyers are qualified by asking a few key questions the first time they call or ask to visit.

We suggest asking these questions: How much is the buyer looking to spend? How much can they afford to put down? Is their credit good? What can they afford to pay each month? How much money will they realistically walk away with when they sell their present home?

We also suggest that sellers ask all potential buyers to obtain written pre-approval for a mortgage in amount of the asking price of the home minus their down payment. Click here to have your home buyers get pre-approved.

4. Keep Your Options Open.

When a buyer expresses interest in a home for sale, never remove Internet and print listings until the day the contract is signed. The home selling process can be unpredictable and complicated; often, sellers learn too late that an item such as surveys, title insurance contingency, assessment, pest inspection, structural inspection or other details have impeded the sale.

We offer a directory of trustworthy vendors, from home inspectors to title attorneys, to make home sales as smooth as possible.

5. Give Your Potential Buyers Some Space During Showings

Buying a home is always an emotional decision. Potential buyers like to get a feel for a house to see if it will be comfortable for them. Even though you know every aspect of your home, buyers will never be comfortable if you follow them around, telling them every improvement that you have made and hinting for compliments. Giving the buyer some space and resisting the temptation to list every feature and aspect of the home, will allow the buyers to better visualize living in the home themselves.

Here are some proven tactics for pointing out important features without hovering. 

• Create explanatory signs and set them at those features to provide background information. For example, if the bathroom was renovated in 2009, a sign created with your desktop publishing software, fashioned into a tent, can serve as a flag on the wall or sink. Signs are for headlines, not details. In this case, the sign can simply say, "Bathroom completely renovated in 2009." 
• "Table talker" pedestals used by restaurants are perfect for setting signs on furniture and windowsills. Find these inexpensive sign holders at restaurant supply stores. Another alternative: miniature easels available at artist supply stores. 
• Create a 'tour guide' booklet that goes into detail about improvements and features. Format the booklet with an overview page, then devote one page per room. If your skills are up to it, drop in a couple captioned photos for each room so that buyers are sure that they are matching the right descriptions with the right features. 
• Highlight recent improvements on a single page. Create a bulleted list with the most recent improvements at the top. 

6. Obtain A Qualified Bank Appraisal And Commitment For Financing From A Home Lender

How would you feel if your home sold for $206,000, only to find out from the bank appraiser after the buyer made an offer that it was worth $216,000? In today's real estate market, this happens more often than you think. Your home will have to be appraised by a state or federally licensed lender sooner or later. Sooner can result in several extra thousands of dollars in your pocket.

A qualified bank appraisal is a tremendous marketing tool for your home, because buyers are afraid of paying too much for a house. That is why they often make low offers. A certified bank appraisal gives you a point of reference, a "benchmark" of value on which to base your decisions. More importantly, a professional appraisal helps you sell your home for full price, because the buyer can see that the price was realistically established by an uninterested but qualified, competent third party. The appraisal will also help separate unqualified lookers from serious buyers. Simply ask the lookers to produce a pre-qualification for the amount, or more, of your appraisal. If the buyer can do so, you have established that she can afford to spend the amount of your appraised value. If not, save yourself time, energy and frustration by telling the would-be buyer that the number - in this case, the gap - speaks for itself. 

7. Obtain Written Pre-Approval For A New Home Loan For Your Next Home

Nothing is more heartbreaking than to sell your home and find your new dream home, only to find out that you cannot obtain financing for the dream home.

A written pre-approval is a formal written promise by a home lender to make you a new home loan. It costs only $300, which will be applied to your appraisal fee and credit report fee when you get your new home. Do not confuse a verbal pre-qualification with a formal written pre-approval. Verbal pre-qualifications are just that, verbal. They are not binding on the home lender. Many homebuyers have received verbal pre-qualifications, only to later be denied a home loan and have their dream shattered.

8. A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words.

When selling your home its important to take clear, crisp photos of your home, preferably from multiple angles. Since 93% of potential buyers look online first, this would be a good time to invest in a quality digital camera.

9. Use A Quality Yard Sign

Many people who are looking to buy a home will decide upon the neighborhood in which they’d like to live and then drive around that neighborhood looking for homes for sale. For this reason a good sign could make a big difference.

While your sign will probably garner less interest than more informative means of advertising like web listings or a fact sheets it’s a great potential source of word-of-mouth from your neighbors and passersby.
We recommend using a high quality sign that displays an internet address where potential buyers can go to see color photos and to learn more about the home. A cheap looking sign will detract from the otherwise attractive appearance of your home. Even worse, a bad sign could turn off potential buyers by causing them to wonder where else you have cut corners.

10. Make Every Word Count.

When posting a home for sale online, a clear, informative, compelling description of your home is essential to spark a buyer’s interest. Make sure important features of your home are included in the Internet listing. And add some color: What’s nearby? What are the seasons like? Where’s the nearest town?

Additionally, even if you leave a phone number, some buyers may only contact you via email. Make sure you check your email at least three times each day and respond to potential buyers as soon as possible.