When selling a home for sale
by owner in Fairfax, it is often a fatal mistake to look only at the selling
commission. Many homeowners find out too late that all they received was a
sign in the ground, and listed in the MLS system. There is much more to
selling a home than that! It isn't luck. There is experience drawn from
past home sales, negotiations of price, terms, conditions, contract
terminology, financial ability, inspection issues and so on.
So when selling a home for
sale by owner, or looking at listing only by reduced commission, flat fee, or
cut rate commission,... it is always smarter to look at the big picture. It
is always much more prudent to look at the experience level of the agent that
you are hiring to get your home sold. When listing a home that was for sale by
owner... ask the listing agents a few questions. "How
long have you been in business?" "How many homes a year do you
sell?" "How do you intend to market the home?" "Do
you have testimonials of your home seller clients?" "What
experience do you have?" Do you really want to end up with an
agent representing you that has no sales experience whatsoever? Would
that be wise?
Do I really need help when selling a home
for sale by owner in Fairfax northern Virginia? Yes, of course you do! Most
Virginia for sale by owner's do! The success rate for Sale By Owners or FSBO's
has changed little over the years. Only a small percentage will be
successful. Nearly four out of every five buyers will use an agent or broker
to complete their transaction. Eleven percent will buy directly from a
builder. Only nine percent will purchase
their home directly from the previous owner.* Many will sell there homes for
less than market value, because they do not understand the process, and end up
wasting time with unqualified buyers or contingency offers.
If you came into a small inheritance,
chances are you would seek the services of a tax lawyer, an accountant and a
financial planner. So when it comes to selling or buying a home that is a
biggest investment of your life, many people do not feel an agent is
important. All too often they are wrong. The bottom line is that
transactions are much more complex than they seem. Real estate deals and
finances have become more involved in recent years and for that reason it is
important to have professional assistance.
Almost every
home seller dreams of bypassing a real estate agent and saving the sales
commission. Occasionally, a seller gets lucky. Perhaps the seller is
relocating with his company, and they’ve offered him a bonus if the employee
sells the home in a short period of time. Many times, the bonus is the
downfall. The seller wastes time trying to sell it themselves to keep the
entire bonus. More often than not, the home sits. A lot of traffic, yet no
sale? How can this be? Is the home advertised?
Is there a yard sign?
Is it easily
found on the Internet? Well times have changed.
It used to be a
classified ad would bring loads of qualified buyers to a home on a single ad.
The Internet has changed all that. Today, there are more than 30 million
persons on-line on the Internet. That is more people than own vcrs! 2 out of
3 adults over the age of 12 are on line every day! Industry studies show,
that over 70% of all home purchases begin on the net. A buyer in Ohio, can
view the inside of every major room of a home for sale in Fairfax in full
color! They can narrow their purchase, and the house hunting trip by shopping
and previewing homes on line. Today, even a loan can be obtained on the
Internet, tax records, school reports, and credit reports. You have to ask
yourself, “Do I have this exposure?”
Having sold
many for-sale-by-owner homes that were unsuccessfully marketed in northern
Virginia, I noticed that a most common error made when marketing their home
was “due diligence.” A buyer advises the seller that they are going to get a
letter from a lender within a few days, but the letter never comes! When
asked for a loan letter…they tell the seller they are still shopping around
for the best rates. Again, the letter never arrives. The reasons are many,
and all too often the buyers are not heard from again. Were they qualified?
Could they afford to buy? This can be frustrating especially if this drags on
for several months. What are the reasons? Who knows? Were they self
employed, did they have bad credit, were they a slow pay on credit or did they
just not have the correct documentation when inquiring about a mortgage. The
real answer is they did not have anyone directing the buyers to the right
lender that can provide a loan suited to their particular needs.
Also, many
times buyers that frequent for sale by owner homes are not qualified. A good
real estate agent will always have a buyer qualified before letting them in
their car for an afternoon of house hunting. That is the smart thing to do!
It is important in personal safety to be careful with potential buyers. If
they cannot afford to buy a home, then what are their real motives for
looking? You should remember, the only way an agent gets paid is when they
successfully close the deal. They are not a taxi service.
So selling a
home is no longer a simple process, and getting top-dollar is especially
difficult for do-it-yourselfers that don't know the process. A common mistake
is that a seller often overlooks the experience, the network of agents and the
connections an agent uses to make things work. They have contacts,
inspectors, handymen, and relationships of many peers that have successfully
worked with them before. It is not unusual for a good agents to perform 40
sales or more a year. Compare that to the home seller that sells a home only
when a need arises.
Without an agent, marketing a home to receive its best market
value, prepare a legally binding contract, arrange for financing, survey,
handling inspections counters and closing the sale successfully takes
experience. It takes more than luck to sell a home. There’s more to it than a
planting a sign in the yard, a color flyer and placing a clever ad in
newspaper. That is not even half the job. Getting it closed is true test.
Obtaining the
best price for your home, with or without a real estate agent, usually takes
several steps. The first is getting you home market ready. Getting the home
into tip-top shape is just the first step, then correctly marketing it. If an
agent isn’t hired, be ready to market the home, prepare a legally binding
sales contract, help the buyer obtain mortgage financing and the close the
sale. That’s all there is to selling your home without professional help. But
consumer surveys state, the main reason that a persons will shop a for sale by
owners it that they think they will save money. So be prepared to
deal with it.
In a practical
sense, I have been listing homes and selling homes and real estate for many
years in the northern Virginia and suburban Washington DC area. Most of our
sales are always to persons being transferred into the metro DC area. The
buyers that are relocating... fly in for an average of three days to purchase
a home. Keep in mind, that with a corporate transfer, they already have
financing in place. They are already have loan approval. Their company
offers it as a service to the relocating employee. So on their first day, the
buyers get settled into the hotel after traveling, then they get a bite to
eat, and a good nights rest. On day two, they will meet the agent. The agent
briefs them with an overview of the area, the current market conditions, home
inventory list, talks about commute times, roads, and perhaps schools. Then
they are off to look at neighborhoods and homes.
The next day,
perhaps the buyer has to check into their new place of work to get acquainted
with the surroundings and so forth. A meeting with a loan officer would also
take place. Then off to look at a few more homes. By this time, the selection
has narrowed down, and an offer will usually be drawn up this day. It is not
unusual that they will write an offer as the leave town. It is almost
expected. The agent can handle most of the details for contract
contingencies, and inspection. After all, they’ve done this before, and it
isn’t magic.
A common event
during this relocation buying timeframe is that the agent will drive past a
for sale by owner home. Perhaps they notice the sign in the yard, or a flyer
box. If the buyers like the curb appeal, they have the agent call from the
car phone to show the home. The call is made to show the home, but the
answering machine is on. It is frustrating. They wait in the car for a bit,
maybe even drive the neighborhood hoping the seller will call. The buyers
usually mutter that is probably sold already. After waiting a bit more, they
decide to drive on. Time is valuable! They'll find something else.
The sad thing
is, that the call from the seller is finally returned later that evening, but
it's too late! They were busy at work, or attended an important meeting, and
were unable to call. That is nice, but in the meantime...the buyer’s already
left town, and they purchased something else. Without a lockbox, or the
Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the home cannot be shown at the most important
time of the day. When there are real buyers actively looking!
Are you a FSBO or a for sale by owner in northern Virginia or Fairfax
area the DC and confused with selling your own home? Overwhelmed with
home selling choices, getting a contract, showing your home without a lockbox,
appointment only or... home selling questions pertaining to: flat fee MLS,
flat fee real estate services, discount commissions, discount real estate
services, get listed in the MLS, by owner, for sale by owners, FSBOs,
directional signs, flyers, commissions, home seller tools, ads, real estate
books, classified ads, discount mls listing, real estate fees, getting a home
listed on the Internet, financing, mortgage calculators, open houses, multiple
listing service, contract forms, real estate contracts, real estate mls, sell
home, selling, mortgages, rates, qualifying, qualified, closing attorneys, and
real estate closings...? Contact me! I can help! I
have a lot of experience selling homes in our area!