Avoid These 3 Costly Mistakes When Selling Your House For Sale by Owner.
Selling your home for sale by owner is appealing to anyone looking to save money in the home selling process. But sometimes trying to save money can actually end up costing you more than you think. This article will cover 3 mistakes you should avoid making if you decide to sell your home as a for sale by owner.
Over Pricing Your House or Property
Many times when we run into someone looking to list and sell their home For Sale by Owner, the individual selling has a very strong emotional attachment to the property. An emotional attachment is great when it comes to marketing a home but you should avoid emotions when pricing your home. When a for sale by owner lists with BlueMatch, 9 times out of 10, their home has been listed way more than what it is worth.
Homeowners usually assume that all agents are going to give them a lowball offer. By overpricing their home, they believe they will negotiate down to where they want to be. In reality, this is not what happens. An Agent will typically avoid an overpriced listing like the plague. An agent that sees you are a FSBO knows that they will have to do twice the amount of work.
When you overprice your home, you are adding an additional obstacle for the agent to jump through. If you have competition in your neighborhood, we can guarantee there is a high likelihood your home will be skipped in the showing process. Less Showings = Less Interest.
There are many great pricing tools out there to help you correctly price your home. BlueMatch offers a free pricing tool on their site powered by HouseCanary. You can also do your own comps through Zillow data. Our recommendation is to have at least two local agents comp your home (all agents will do this for free) and compare their pricing to your own comps. Price your home correctly from the get-go and avoid costly price reductions later.
Don’t Over Negotiate.
A common mistake we see at BlueMatch when it comes to for sale by owners other than under-negotiating is over-negotiating. Under-negotiating leaves money on the table in favor of the buyer. Over-negotiating will kill your deal dead in its tracks. When you negotiate real estate, you must understand what the market tolerance is in relation to your position.
If you are in a buyer market and there is a $10,000 appraisal gap, chances are you will not be able to stand firm with your sale price. If you decide you won’t budge because you lack understanding in your position, more than likely your offer will terminate. Not compromising when you should also creates unnecessary tension that can cause the buyer to emotionally terminate. buyers terminating because of buyer fatigue and frustration is much more common than you think.
Stick With the Marketing Basics When Selling as a For Sale By Owner
We can’t tell you how many times a For Sale by Owner has come to list with BlueMatch and the listing they bring with them is an absolute mess. Deviating against the norm for the most part does not make you stand out. At least in a positive way. When it comes to marketing your home, stick with the basics.
Clear and precise ad copy, great photos, and listing it on the largest consumer facing sites is the key to a good listing. It sounds so simple but it is missed by so many in the for sale by owner world.
Take time when writing your ads. Go through sites like Zillow and Realtor and read other ads written by agents in your area. Keep the content simple and concise. You don’t need to write a novel but you also should write more than a couple sentences about what makes your home special.
Do not skimp on the photography! It has been statistically proven that listings with better photos get more showings. Photos are the first thing any home buyer is going to look at. Make sure your photos are professionally taken and put your home in the best possible light. Spending a couple hundred dollars of photos can pay big dividends in the end.
Finally, make sure you list your home on any and every consumer facing site you can find. Most for sale by owners just throw their listing on Zillow and nothing more. There are dozens of other sites you can list on with minimal to no cost. A quick Google search will unravel many additional options other than Zillow.
Selling a home for sale by owner can be a tricky process. These 3 steps can help you get a leg up in your for sale by owner journey. As always, happy selling!
