Thinking Forward

Bellingham for sale by owner: FSBO homes for sale

How do you know what your home is worth?
Even if you know what the home down the street sold for, do you know how much to add on for that renovated kitchen? Do you know how much to deduct because your roof is aging? Your Realtor does.

Each year a significant number of frustrated For Sale By Owners turn to Jordon for help. Selling a home was more work than they figured it would be. At some point, the pricing, marketing, screening, scheduling, showing and complex legal paperwork got to be too much. If that’s sounding like your scenario, you’re not alone.

Four out of five homes sold annually in the U.S. are sold through a real estate agent. Good news for sellers: With the help of an agent, homes sell for 16 percent more than those sold without representation (according to the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers by the National Association of Realtors).

There’s no substitute for a professional who knows the local marketplace, its inventory, and the idiosyncrasies of its buyers and sellers – especially when it means getting top dollar for your home.

Contact Jordon to find out more about selling your home.


For Sale By Owner FAQs
Top 20 Objections & Myths by FSBOs
Should you go it alone or get professional help?
   

• You don’t have the right information to price your home: Overpricing unnecessarily delays a sale, while underpricing forfeits any gains you may have made by avoiding an agent’s commission

For Sale By Owner FAQs
As an FSBO, have you ever asked yourself these questions …

Preparing your home for sale
• Do I need to remodel?
• How much work needs to be done?
• What are the key things I should do?
• Should I focus on the exterior or interior?

Home pricing
• How do I figure out the price of my home?
• Should I get an appraisal?
• What if my house is worth more than the appraiser says it is?

Negotiating
• What’s the best way to work with potential buyers?
• Should I wait for multiple offers?
• What if I don’t want to negotiate?

FSBO difficulties
• Why has my home been on the market for a long time without any interest?
• Why are other homes around me selling while mine doesn’t?

You’ve got questions. Jordon Olson has answers. Contact him today by e-mail [link to home@thejord.com] or phone 360-927-4915.


Top 20 Objections by FSBOs
If you’re a For Sale By Owner you may be skeptical about the value a Realtor can bring to the home buying or selling process. Jordon Olson can address each of these concerns as they relate to your specific scenario. Contact him today by e-mail [link to home@thejord.com] or phone 360-927-4915.

1. “We’re not rich, and we need every cent for our new home. We can’t afford to pay you the commission you’re asking.”

2. “How would you market my home, anyway?”

3. “This is a terrific property, and I’ve put so much work into it over the years. Why not start out with a higher price and just see what happens?”

4. “I could just wait out the market. Maybe I shouldn’t put my home on the market yet.”

5. “What you do just isn’t that hard. It’s not worth that much.”

6. “Well, you put up a For Sale sign in the yard, load the information on the MLS, and do some open houses. I’ve read about it in the paper. I know how real estate works.”

7. “In fact, my brother didn’t even hire a real estate agent when he sold his home two years ago, and he got even more money than he was asking for.”

8. “I talked to some other companies, and that’s what they said they’d do. And for a lot less than you’re talking.”

9. “I see how people can help you do your job, but how does that help me?”

10. “You’re making a huge commission on my investment.”

11. “But doesn’t the brokerage pay you?”

12. “What if my home doesn’t sell? Do you get any money then?”

13. “But if other companies are willing to do it for less, I would save money going with one of them.”

14. “I’m sure I’ll get a buyer in no time. I’ve only had the house on the market one week, and I’ve already had three people come and see it.”

15. “If I list my property, it will be with my friend in real estate.”

16. “We’re both college-educated professionals who understand contracts and marketing. We’ve also talked to several of our neighbors, so we know what homes are worth in our area.”

17. “We have a lot of time on our hands, so selling our home would give us something to do. We love our house and we are proud to show it off – but we want our buyers to love it as much as we do.”

18. “I’ve wasted three months listing with a real estate salesperson who did nothing. Not one offer. Why should I pay you to do nothing and waste more time? I can do a better job myself.”

19. “What makes you different from the last salesperson I listed with?”

20. “But my last salesperson told me it was a waste of time to fix up the house, since the buyers will want to do their own decorating.”


Should you go it alone or get professional help?
Here’s advice from the National Association of Realtors. www.realtor.org

For Sale By Owner could be a bad idea if:
• You’re in a hurry to sell

• You have a hard time handling tension, complications and rejection


• You’re uncomfortable negotiating

• You unknowingly stumble into legal mine fields because you don’t have a real estate attorney on your side

Benefits of using an agent:
• Agents know the market and can help you determine the right price for your home

• Agents have a vested interest (commission) in selling your home for the highest amount possible

• They have far greater resources than you for locating buyers and steering them to your home, such as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and "comp books," which list recent sale prices of homes similar to yours in your neighborhood—the key determiner of your home’s worth

• Agents can advertise your home in classified ads and real estate magazines

• They make sure in advance that prospective buyers are financially able to buy your home

• Agents aren’t emotionally invested in your home, so they can keep cool, level heads during the negotiating process

• They save you valuable time, working many hours behind the scenes for every hour they’re in your presence


>> Contact Jordon to find out more about selling your home.