For Sale By Owner Tips & Ideas
If you are selling a home by owner in Utah, here are some tips and ideas you can use to sell your house. It's important to remember that there are two things that sell a house - Price and Exposure. If your house is priced right and potential buyers know it's for sale, it will sell.
In fact, the main reason people hire a real estate agent is for their expertise and experience. Of course, they also have numerous tools that expose your home to thousands of potential buyers. If you can do this yourself, you are well on your way to selling your house.
Tip #1 - Pricing
Pricing your home is probably the most important step in selling a home. A well priced home is the difference between those homes that sell and those that sit on the market for months. The best way to determine the market value of your home is to have it appraised by a professional home appraiser. Not only can they tell you the market value, but you can show it to potential buyers who try to convince you your house is worth less.
The downside to the appraiser approach is it cost money. If you don't want to pay that much, Utah Home Central will provide a complimentary, no obligation, Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for you. A CMA compares homes that have sold, that are similar to your home, and comes up with a market value. These CMA's aren't as accurate as an appraisal, but they will get you pretty close to market value. To request a CMA, click here.
To read more about pricing, please view our Pricing Guide by Clicking Here.
Tip #2 - Staging
Selling anything is about presenting it as favorably as possible, and a home is no exception.
What is Staging? Staging is the process of preparing your home to show its best. Staging is an extremely important step if you want to sell your house quickly and for top dollar. Your home will be competing with many others and your goal is to get potential buyers to remember your house above all the rest. Also, a well staged home can sometimes get $10,000 - $20,000 more than if it wasn't staged. You can either do this yourself or you can hire a professional.
To read more about staging a home yourself, please view our Staging Guide by Clicking Here.
Tip #3 - Exposure
Once your home is priced correctly and staged to sell, it's time to let potential buyers know it's for sell. This is probably the most difficult step for most homeowners selling their house by owner. Here are a few ideas that may help:
Idea #1
Create a flyer and take it around to all your neighbors letting them know your house is for sale. Even if they aren't interested, they may know someone who is.
Idea #2
Send out emails to all your friends, family and acquaintances letting them know your house is for sale.
Idea #3
Have some sales cards (similar to business cards) printed up with the information on your home and hand them out to everyone you come in contact with. Even if they themselves aren't interested, they may know someone who is. 1000 of these can be printed for about $60 at High Tech Signs and they'll print on both sides for you.
Idea #4
Advertise your home on KSL.com, Craigslist and Utah Home Central (we have a free FSBO listing) and any other free FSBO site.
Idea #5
If you find you are unable to sell your home by owner, Utah Home Central will sell your house for a low flat fee. You will still have to pay a buyer's agent a commission, but it will save you thousands of dollars on the listing commission.
Good Luck!
