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Selling a home yourself, without an expensive real estate broker is easier than most people think.  FSBO Home Guide provides these marketing tips to help you sell your home fast.

• Homes that show well sell! Home buyers are attracted to clean, spacious and attractive houses. Remove all clutter from counter tops, tables and rooms. Scrub-down your house from top to bottom. A well manicured lawn will set the stage for your home.  Improvements such as trimming trees, planting flowers, fixing squeaking steps, broken tiles, shampooing rugs and even re-painting a faded bedroom will greatly enhance the appeal of your house. 
• Advertising in your regional newspaper will help your reach your local market.  Sunday will generally be the most popular day for real estate listings for large publications.  To determine the best day for advertising in smaller newspapers in your area, we suggest you advertise on their biggest distribution day/s. 
• Lawn Signs - Place a For Sale By Owner sign in your yard which has a "Take One" Flyer tube or box.  Always keep plenty of flyers in the box.
• Hold a monthly, bi-monthly or weekly open house.  You will be eager to sell your home, however, creating a regular open house day will limit the amount of stress and interruption in your home.  Be sure to place open house signs out the day of your event and take them down immediately following the close.
• If you can afford it...we suggest getting an appraisal.  As homeowners we have an emotional investment in our property, thus unless you are experienced in the real estate market, it will be difficult to establish a fair market price for your home. 
• Even though it's an additional expense, it may be wise to hire a real estate lawyer ($500 to $700 average) who will protect your interests throughout the entire transaction. An experienced lawyer can help you evaluate complicated offers (those with a variety of conditions), act as an escrow agent to hold the down payment, evaluate complex mortgages and/or leases with options to buy, review contracts and handle your home's closing process.
• In some areas, title companies will handle all aspects of the transaction and have in-house legal departments that can assist you with legal issues that may arise.  Look for a FSBO friendly title company.  Rates and junk fees can vary by company.
  
  Important Note:  Be sure to interview several title companies and select one prior to entering into a contract with a buyer.  If the title company has a legal department and can handle the closing, buyer's can make out their earnest money check to the title company.  This is a much more professional way of handling the sale of your home.  Earnest money is generally 1% of the selling price.
• Seller's Disclosure - Sellers are required to provide a Seller's Disclosure.  The disclosure basically provides the buyer with the condition of the house and any known improvements or existing conditions that the seller is aware of at the time of sale.  For instance, if a seller list that there is a small leak in the roof on the Seller's Disclosure and the buyer should try to come back a year later and sue for damages, the seller can prove it was disclosed at the time of sale via the Seller's Disclosure.  Be honest and upfront about the condition of your home to protect yourself from damages at a later date.
• A valuable selling tool is to consider offering buyers a Home Warranty.  A Home Warranty generally cost between $350 to $500 and will cover the cost of replacing a furnace, air conditioner and etc., should it break down within the first year after the buyer takes possession.  Warranty companies will try to repair the broken appliance first and if that isn't possible, they generally will replace the item.
• If you are concerned about how your home will hold up under an inspection, you may want to opt for a home inspection prior to placing your home on the market.  A home inspection can average between $300 to $500 depending on the market in your area.
• Should a real estate professional contact you about showing your home...here is one suggestion for handling this situation: If you decide to allow a realtor to show your home, then  advise them if they need a commission to add 3% to the selling price.
• Buyer's Agent - Buyer Agency means that a buyer has hired an agent to help them buy a home. The buyer has signed a contract with the agent to compensate him/her for their time. The agent receives their commission from their client, the buyer, not the seller.  Now, they may ask you to pay their commission so that their client doesn't have to, but you are under NO obligation to pay as you have not entered into a written contract to do so.  The only thing a Buyer's Agent needs from a home seller, legally, is your verbal permission to show your property.

• Spend your time wisely by requesting buyers have a mortgage pre-approval before allowing a private showing.  Many realtors today will not show homes to buyers unless they are pre-approved.  They can request a pre-approval through one of our experienced Mortgage Loan Specialist.

Many of the marketing tips listed here would be recommended by a real estate professional.

The information provided here is for information purposes only.  FSBO Home Guide is not an attorney nor does it pretend to act as one.