Selling your Home For Sale by Owner (Fsbo)

Selling quickly to meet a deadline is a common concern for home sellers. A recent National Association of Realtors survey found that 55% of home sellers were in a hurry when they put their home for sale. Some of the most important items to keep in mind when selling with a deadline are:

Preparing your home for the sale In most neighborhoods, if you must close on your home sale within 8 to 10 weeks, then you should put your home on the market quickly and not delay for home preparation. Remember, most closings occur 4 to 6 weeks after you have found a buyer and agreed on price. Consider hiring a cleaning service to thoroughly clean your house if you don't have time. Follow the advice contained in Preparing Your Home, but remember that any delay in preparing your home may be costly.

Pricing your home for sale Pricing appropriately is even more important for sellers with a deadline. Consider hiring an appraiser that can quickly suggest a value for your property. Calculate the financial and dollar cost of missing your deadline. If you are relocating to another city, don't forget to calculate:

the cost, time, or financial risk of buying another home without your current home sold;
the cost and time required to get temporary housing if you need your current home to sell before you buy another home in your new city;
the cost and time required to maintain and secure your home when you are out of town,
the cost and time required to visit your family members who stay with the home until it sells,
the cost and time of keeping pets in a kennel,
the reduced purchase price you will receive because your home is vacant when it is shown,
travel expenses returning to your town to move your personal belongings or attend closing, and
any other costs or time your missed deadline may require.

See our recommendations for Pricing your Home for further advice.

Selling Your Home Before A Deadline

Selling quickly to meet a deadline is a common concern for home sellers. A recent National Association of Realtors survey found that 55% of home sellers were in a hurry when they put their home for sale. Some of the most important items to keep in mind when selling with a deadline are:

Preparing your home for the sale In most neighborhoods, if you must close on your home sale within 8 to 10 weeks, then you should put your home on the market quickly and not delay for home preparation. Remember, most closings occur 4 to 6 weeks after you have found a buyer and agreed on price. Consider hiring a cleaning service to thoroughly clean your house if you don't have time. Follow the advice contained in Preparing Your Home, but remember that any delay in preparing your home may be costly.

Pricing your home for sale Pricing appropriately is even more important for sellers with a deadline. Consider hiring an appraiser that can quickly suggest a value for your property. Calculate the financial and dollar cost of missing your deadline. If you are relocating to another city, don't forget to calculate:

the cost, time, or financial risk of buying another home without your current home sold;
the cost and time required to get temporary housing if you need your current home to sell before you buy another home in your new city;
the cost and time required to maintain and secure your home when you are out of town,
the cost and time required to visit your family members who stay with the home until it sells,
the cost and time of keeping pets in a kennel,
the reduced purchase price you will receive because your home is vacant when it is shown,
travel expenses returning to your town to move your personal belongings or attend closing, and
any other costs or time your missed deadline may require.

See our recommendations for Pricing your Home for further advice.

Preparing your home to sell

Many things need to be considered when getting your home ready to sell. Buyers usually take about 20 minuties to decide if they like your home or not. Preparing your home, inside and out is very important.

Indoor and Outdoor Cleaning

*Outside the front of your home: mow, rake, weed, and trim.
*Oil squeaky door hinges and wash the door/entryway windows.
*Clean light fixtures and switch plates.
*Clean all appliances.
*Clean curtains, drapes, and blinds.

Repair Broken or Malfunctioning Items

*Doorknobs (interior and exterior), doorbells, locks, and cabinet knobs.
*Toilets, leaky faucets, slow drains.
*Window sash cords, locks, storm windows.
*Superficial cracks on the walls or ceiling.
*All appliances.
*Peeling wallpaper or paint.

Remove Personal Property

*Old or off-season coats, hats, and boots.
*Wall hangings and posters.
*Kitchen appliances (especially important because they obscure counter space!)
*Old clothing, shoes, accessories.
*Books, collectibles or collections of any kind.
*Sports and recreation equipment.

Use Paint To Improve Home's Image


*Front door, front storm door, front door frame.
*Mailbox, exterior light fixtures (especially near the front door).
*Shutters, downspouts, gutters, and other exterior trim.
*Any areas with stains from old problems that have been corrected

Projects To Avoid
Improvement projects rarely pay for themselves. Consider a home improvement only if you have time, it involves an important area of the home such as the view from the street, the front door/entryway, the kitchen, or main bathrooms. The only exception to this general rule is when you are "completing an image" that directly appeals to a buyer. For example, say your home has an updated furnace, electrical, and plumbing systems, but your roof will need to be replaced in less than a year. In this example, you should consider a new roof because your home will be fully updated and will appeal even to buyers that are afraid of doing updates themselves.

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Setting the Price

In setting the listing price for your home, there are several things to consider. Try to think like a home buyer. Based on a list of houses for sale in your neighborhood, buyers will determine which houses they want to view. Consider the following pricing factors:

If you set the price too high, your house won’t be picked for viewing, even though it may be much nicer than others on the street. Even though you may have told your listing agent that you would take less, buyers may not even view your home because it appears to be overpriced.
If you price your home too low, people may wonder: "Why is that home so much less than other homes in the area? Is there something wrong with it?" Your home may sell quickly, but a buyer who would have paid a FAIR MARKET VALUE did not have time to find it.

While there are many reasons why houses don't sell, overpricing tops the list, and is the first thing you should consider if your home is sitting on the market while others around it are selling. Setting your listing price is one of the most important decisions you will make when selling your home.

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