FSBO - For Sale By Owner
A Comprehensive Guide for Sellers

Selling your home as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) is an attractive option for those who want to save money. Things to take into consideration include the time investment, effort, becoming savvy in successfully marketing your house, negotiating offers and familiar with real estate legal aspects.

You will be acting as your own real estate agent, so it is imperative to understand the steps required for a successful home sale. The Comprehensive Guide for Sellers is intended to help you learning real estate sales process.

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FSBO Home Sale Manual

Research and Preparation

1. Establish A Price
   1. Check comparable sales and estimated market value.
   2. Look around at neighboring homes for sale and see what they are selling for.
   3. Take any upgrades or features that your home offers into consideration when comparing it to others in the area.
   4. Set your price about 3 percent above your determined market price, which will give you wiggle room to negotiate effectively.
   5. Set your price just a hair below a round number, such as $579,900 as opposed to $580,000. The actual difference is minimal, but the perceived savings may be just enough to attract a buyer.
   
   TIP: Be cautious of pricing your home too high or too low. When your home is priced too high, interest from prospective buyers dwindles. Even if you are lucky to find a buyer willing to pay your asking price, you might have trouble getting the property appraised for that amount. Of course, there’s also a danger of undervaluing your home if you rely totally on instinct. This is especially true if you purchased your home when market prices were lower.
2. Repair and Stage
   1. Make sure everything in your home works, from kitchen appliances to plumbing to that backyard spa that hasn’t been turned on in years. Anything broken that you fail to point out will almost always be detected.
   2. Consider any additional things you can do to make your home look move-in ready.
   3. Add fresh coats of paint that are neutral in color and clean smudges off the walls. You may even consider making minor improvements, such as planting a new flowerbed.
   4. Remove all clutter
      Outside
      • Sweep front walkway and remove newspapers, bikes and toys.
      • Trim back the shrubs.
      • Clean windows and window coverings throughout.
      • Make sure roof and gutters are clean and in good condition.
      • Mow the lawn frequently and plant flowers.
      • Keep pet areas clean.
      Inside
      • Clean the kitchen and bathroom.
      • Vacuum regularly to keep carpets clean.
      • Place fresh flowers in the main rooms.
      • Put dishes away, unless setting a formal display for decoration.
      • Make all beds and put all clothes away.
      • Open the drapes and turn on lights for a brighter feel.
      • Keep pet areas clean and odor-free.
      • Minimize clutter throughout the home by putting away dishes, toys and family photographs (if you normally display a lot).
      • Enhance the spaciousness of each room – remove some furniture if necessary.
      • Put all jewelry and valuables in a safe place, especially if you hold an open house. Trim bushes making certain there is at least a six inch gap between it and the home.
   5. Since motivated buyers can move on to other properties quite quickly, it’s imperative that you make your home available for viewing as soon as possible when someone calls to schedule an appointment. This means you need to keep the home “staged” for showing pretty much around the clock.
   
   TIP: Avoid over-improving your home. While making necessary repairs and touchups are going to improve the value of your home and help you sell it more quickly, major repairs which aren’t necessary

Marketing Your Home

1. For Sale Sign
   1. You’ll want to draw people to your home – if even for a quick drive-by look – by posting directional signs at main intersections near your home.
   2. place a detailed For Sale sign on your lawn.
   3. Tips for making For Sale by Owner sign
      • For Sale By Owner should be included on sign
      • Make sure your text is large enough to read from the street.
      • Include your phone number.
      • If possible, include flyer so potential buyers can have a takeaway
2. Flyers
   1. Flyers should include price, pictures and property information as well as your contact information.
   2. this information as a takeaway from home visits or open house events helps ensure that prospective buyers will remember and further consider your property once they’ve gone
3. Open House
   1. While open houses can amount to a lot of prep work and even more sitting around awaiting visitors, there is a possibility you can connect with a prospective buyer or two.
   2. There are steps that you make take to make for a more successful open house.
      • Put an add in Indianapolis Star.
      • Schedule an open house in the early afternoon on weekend days.
      • Schedule an open house at the same time there are other open houses in the area.
      • Strategically place signs leading people to your open house.
      • Give visitors a chance to move through the home at their own pace
      • Limit conversation to the welcome greeting and request for any questions to be answered before the prospective buyers leave.

Sales Negotiations

1. Prescreening Buyers
   1. Before entering too far into negotiations, you’ll need to know what the buyer’s financial situation is.
   2. Find out whether or not the buyer is pre-approved by a financial institution and for what amount, by asking pre-approval letter, which means that the buyer has a credit score and the income to get the credit for a house purchase.
2. Offers and Counteroffers- In Depth
   1. When a prospective buyer presents an offer to you, either directly or through a buyer’s agent, the first thing to remember is that you should not reply to it verbally.
   2. There is usually a two- or three-day period, as indicated in the offer, during which you may review and consider the offer before responding in the form of a written acceptance or counteroffer.
   3. A common trap FSBO sellers fall into is the desire to stop all negotiations with a potential buyer simply because they are insulted by a low offer. Keep in mind that a buyer’s initial offer rarely represents the highest price they are willing to pay.
   4. What you choose to include in the counteroffer is largely up to you, though it should differ enough from your original price and conditions to warrant review by the potential buyer.
   5. Sending back a counteroffer with no concessions on your part will very possibly put negotiations in jeopardy.
   6. A common misconception of offers and counteroffers is that only the price of the home is being determined. Other contingencies such as linking your escrow closing date to the sale of the buyer’s current home, possession date, closing date, title costs, survey costs, and costs linked with inspection outcome are just a few of the common.
3. Inspection Phase
   1. Inspections are typically conducted by licensed professionals who take their job seriously.
   2. As part of this inspection, you will also be required to make any major repairs needed to appliances and electrical, heating, septic and plumbing systems.
   3. In some cases, the buyer may simply ask for money to make such repairs and include them as a contingency in the offer.
4. Escrow
   1. Whether supplied by the buyer or seller, an escrow company represents both parties equally and provides each with protection and convenience throughout the sales transaction.
   2. Holds all legal documents and funds on behalf of both parties, and makes sure the final sale is satisfactory to everyone involved.

Closing

1. An appraisal ordered by the buyer’s lender to make sure that the property isn’t worth less than the loan amount.
2. As part of this process, the lender will also check the title on your home to make sure it is free of any liens.
3. Commitment document outlining what must be done by the buyer to complete the sale.
4. At closing, funds are collected, loans are paid, the ownership is transferred to the buyer and insurance of a clear title is issued.
5. On the actual closing day, the buyer will do a final walk-through of the home to assess its condition and check that all agreed repairs have been made.
6. Make sure to bring keys, garage door openers, users manuals for home appliances, and home owner’s driver license.