There are many ways to sell your own house.  The following is how I sold my own home and have helped others to do the same.  I’m not a real estate agent but have helped many prepare their homes for sale over the years.  My suggestions are offered only as a guide and obviously no results can be guaranteed.  As mentioned at the outset of this series, I sold my home within 2 months on my own using this method after the professionals had failed for two years.  After selling my home, I helped my neighbor do the same within a month.

Having said that, this is how we sold our own homes.

First Step: Get your home ready for sale.  Do all repairs, paint and clean up the entire property

Second Step: Get a bank appraisal from an independent appraiser so you can set a reasonable and competitive price.

Step Three: Go to forsalebyowner.com and open an account by clicking on the button ‘Sell Your Home’.  At this point you will be exposed to tons of free information on all aspects of selling your home.   I suggest reading all you can.  I recommend the ENHANCED service because if offers a good exposure on multiple sites at a reasonable price.

I do not recommend going for the MLS listing.  The reason being is that you will have to offer a commission to real estate brokers for selling your home.  From my experience and that of several I’ve interviewed, agents steer clear of showing homes not in the hands of brokers.  It appears they simply do not want to deal with private owners.  In our experience, we saw no traffic at all from any MLS listings.

If you can, try to list your home under certain price points for more exposure.  For example, if you plan on selling for $205,000, it would be better to list at $199,900 so anyone searching up to the limit of $200,000 will see your home.  When listing on the site, be sure to mark your price as “flexible”.  This will generate more interest.

A good idea is to ask a friend what he or she likes about your home.  Then think back why you bought your home.  Maybe its the layout, the great room, the master bed room or landscaping.  Then look at other listings to get an idea of how to write your description.  Be careful here and be completely honest on anything you publish.   For example, if your central A/C doesn’t work, don’t list it unless you are having it repaired or replaced.  You get the idea.  Anything published in error can come back to haunt you at a later date.

Buy or borrow a good digital camera if you don’t have one.  Sometimes I laugh at the photos that realtors publish in the MLS system.  Avoid photos of a narrow hallway or small bath.  Focus on the highlights of your home.  What exactly are the best parts of your home?  If you have a great room or open kitchen with new appliances, or maybe a master bedroom suite, be sure to get good photos.

For example, the buyers of my house told me they contacted me because of the photos.  The same was mentioned when my neighbor sold her home.  I took all the photos and I’ve done so for others through the years.  The key is to take your time and use good lighting.  But be sure to high light the best parts of your home.

When people scroll through listings, the photos are going to draw them to read the description.  Your lead photo should always be a good view of the front of your home.  Take your time and schedule your photo session on a sunny day after the grass has been cut and all the toys have been removed.  You get the idea.

I suggest providing a cell phone number as well as your home number to enable contacting you is as easy as possible.

Keep a printed copy of your webpage by the phone.  Also, I’d suggest an outline of the best points of your home.  Don’t be surprised by phone calls asking about your tax bill, yearly costs, oil bills, water bills, etc.  Be sure to mention how close you are to a bus stop or school, how far to the nearest store or major highway for commuters.  In other words, take the time to note down everything you can think of concerning your home’s location and operating costs.

We found that shoppers for homes sold by owners are well aware that these sellers will be more flexible in pricing and making a deal happen.  From our point of view, this is fine since most shoppers are more motivated and serious then those shopping with Realtors.  Also be aware that during the negotiating process, most buyers will seek some sort of help with closing.  From my perspective, I tried to keep things as simple as possible.

Important point: I strongly recommend getting the help of a real estate attorney in advance of listing your home.  In most cases you will have a set fee and the attorney will provide all the necessary legal forms for dealing with the buyer.  It seemed to me that my attorney actually did what most people expect from the Realtor.  They make sure all laws are followed and are looking out for your interests during all negotiations.

Once you have your home advertised on forsalebyowner.com, you will find an option that easily enables you to advertise on Craigs List.  In our experience, this did generate some phone calls.

Now the challenge is to keep your home neat and clean so you can be ready for a visit on short notice.  I suggest you approach this as a job and realize that your reward will be handing over the keys to a buyer.  Now, buy some seasonal flowers for the porch and fresh flowers for inside the home and wait for the phone to ring.

I have to admit that selling my home on my own was much less stressful then constantly wondering why the Realtors weren’t bringing any buyers.  I still have several friends who are Realtors and they do serve a very necessary role.  But their driving interest is in the ‘buyer’ and the seller is just another home on the market.  Its just common sense when you consider the over abundance of homes on the market today.  At least when you sell your own home you are in control.

If you get no calls, consider the price again.  Are you realistic when comparing to your appraisal?  How does it compare with other homes in the neighborhood?  Sometimes, dropping the home $500 and placing a “Now Reduced” in the title will generate more interest.

If the price is right, how are your photographs?  Again, if you don’t catch the visitor’s eye, they’ll never click on your home.

Finally, ask someone you know to read your description and see what their opinion is.  You might have missed something or might have published something that will deter many from calling?  Get that second opinion.  But be patient, depending upon your location, home shopping might be seasonal.