Promoting Your Home Effectively When Selling By Owner

By selling your home on your own you are known in the real estate world as a "FSBO" or "For Sale By Owner". Some buyers specifically look for FSBO listings because they assume they can deduct a standard real estate professionals fees from the price of the home so they tend to make lower offers. Others believe that FSBO homes are easier to deal with than trained real estate professionals. Obviously, neither case is always true but it happens enough to be aware of it.

Your advertising is what drives potential buyers to first, become aware of your home, second, to gain interest, and finally, to make an offer for your home. It is only reasonable to assume that the more interested buyers you have the higher selling price you can expect.

In this era of highly accessible information there are many options available to you as a seller of real estate. As in any project you undertake, it would be wise to sit down and think out a strategy before spending any money, in order to avoid wasting money on ineffective promotional tools. Some questions you might ask yourself are the following:

How much time do I have to sell my property?

How much cash do I have to spend on advertising?

How many buyer leads do I expect, per dollar spent on advertising?

How much time do I have to devote to advertising daily and weekly? After assessing your personal situation you will be better prepared to develop your promotional strategy. There are several advertising options out there, some more expensive than others and some deliver more leads than others. It's reasonable to assume that the most valuable advertising resources are those that deliver the most leads to you for the least amount of money. Some of the most popular and effective methods follow.

Posting an ad in the local newspaper

Conducting an open house

Distributing flyers around the neighborhood

Posting a yard sign in front of your house

Posting an ad on an internet real estate website (or on multiple sites) Naturally, there are no guarantees that you will get attention by merely participating in the above promotional methods, because a lot depends on your ad copy, the presentation of information, and your asking price. Buyers simply won't contact you if your price is too high. However, the right combination is essential to selling real estate by owner successfully.

Once you have decided where and how to advertise, you'll need to write your ad copy and organize facts about your property. Following are a few tips on writing your ad.

Writing your ad
Keep in mind that many people seek out FSBO properties when you write your ad. Be sure to take advantage of this by making it clear you are selling by owner.

Here is a list of things to do when writing your ad:

Do indicate you are selling by owner

Do indicate you have a complete property listing on the internet, and where it can be found

Do describe the structure, style, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms

Do describe the neighborhood

Do list the sales price

Do highlight any special features your home may have, such as a pool, hot tub, fenced yard, etc.

Do include your phone numbers and email and indicate the best time to reach you (if by phone) By not including the property address in your advertisement, you encourage potential buyers to call for more information, which gives you an opportunity to set up an appointment to show them your home.