Buying a Fsbo (for Sale by Owner) Home: Protect yourself

You’ve found the perfect home. The only problem is it’s for sale by owner, and you’re not sure where to start. Possibly you have heard horror stories about homes bought directly from the owner. Unfortunately many of them may be true.

There have been many buyers who have found out too late about problems with a home, or incorrectly negotiated the terms of the contracts. The result of which, costs the buyer even more money.

With the right steps, however, a FSBO home doesn’t need to be a scary prospect. There are simple methods that you can use to protect yourself (and your money).

Consider a Buyer’s Agent

Before we get into tips for negotiating alone here is something to consider.

Without professionals involved you have two parties negotiating the terms, in an industry they may not know anything about. A buyer’s agent will not only make the whole transaction run more smoothly, they know the law concerning real estate and they can help you to protect yourself.

Call a real estate professional. Ask them to contact the seller for you. Most real estate agents will do this at a reduced commission. In many cases you can negotiate that fee into the contract.

Ensure a Fair Price

The first thing you want to do is, ensure that the asking price is in line with what similar houses are selling for in the area. Since the seller isn’t a professional, it stands to reason that, they may not have correctly priced their property. Real estate professionals, the local newspaper, and the internet are all good places to start. Some real estate offices will even provide an in-depth market analysis for an area (usually for a small fee).

Tips for Negotiation

Negotiation can be one of the more stressful components of a FSBO purchase. Without the involvement of a third party you are dealing with the seller on a one-on-one basis. Since you both have a vested interest, in the price of the property (you want to pay less, the seller wants more), this phase of the purchase can get quite tense.

Here are a few considerations for the negotiation phase:

Start Low with Your Offer: Since you don’t know what the seller really expects, start low! The only place they can go from there is up.
Negotiation Contingencies to Protect Yourself: Along with the price you should make protection a part of your negotiations. Ensure you allow for appraisals, home inspections, approval of the disclosures, and a contingency for insurability.
Leave Your Earnest Deposit with a Third Party: Instead of giving your deposit directly to the seller, use a lawyer, or an escrow service.
Full Disclosure, Really?

Most states have laws that say, a seller must disclose all known faults/issues with a property. The problem comes when the seller didn’t know about a problem (or their just dishonest). Be sure you hire a qualified inspector to look at the home. Your lawyer or local real estate office will be able to recommend one.

Real Estate Attorney

Last, but definitely not least, do not sign anything without a lawyer. Have them draw up the purchase contract. Work with your lawyer through-out the purchase. They know the laws, as they pertain to real estate. They can also help you to watch out for any caveats that might come back to haunt you.

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Why Use a Realtor Vs Fsbo

There are many reasons why it is a good idea to utilize a realtor in buying or selling a home. It is a realtor’s job to know their market, the current trends and pitfalls, the areas, and everything else concerned with the process of home transactions. Many people, when choosing to buy or sell via the FSBO process, end up utilizing an agent at some point during the process because there are aspects of the deal that are better seen to by a professional. Let’s have a look at both the buying and selling processes.

In buying a home realtors have a few primary functions. During this emotionally charged process the realtors job is to see to all of the little aspects of the purchase that are so time consuming to the buyer. That is, the process of securing a home inspector, overseeing the contracts and the negotiation with the selling agent and the owners of the home. These areas are where the experience of your realtor will shine. During this time you are likely going to be concerned with your upcoming move, the sale of your old home, getting the family ready for relocation and a myriad of other things that all take time and effort. Its your realtor’s job to take some of the stress off of you and allow you the necessary time to see to these important tasks.

During the selling of a home the realtor’s job taken on even more importance as they are responsible for the marketing of your home. This is a hugely involved process that spans several forms of media. Typically a selling agent will see to all of the steps involved with securing your home the coverage and exposure it needs in order to sell in a timely fashion. This step in the selling of a home starts with the realtors already established web presence and the listing of your home on the area’s MLS service. After your home is listed, the realtor will then proceed to hold open houses, create flyers and media packages for your home, take out ads in the local paper and field calls and enquiries about your home. This can be a very time consuming process and the media coverage of your home is something that is extremely difficult to achieve if you are selling your home yourself.

It is in a realtor’s best interest to provide you with the utmost level of service in the selling or purchase of a home. It is their livelihood and responsibility to ensure that you as a customer are satisfied and indeed more than happy with the service that they have provided. After all it is your referral or testimonial that might secure them their next client.

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To Fsbo or not to Fsbo?

Each year many homeowners decide to maximize the profit on their home sales by

selling it ¡°For Sale By Owner¡±. At first glance, this is the most tempting

option to most homeowners especially in the current real estate market with its

rapid appreciation rate. Why pay substantial broker fees when they can pocket

several thousand dollars themselves? While this attitude is completely

understandable it doesn¡¯t realistically reflect the services a professional

realtor truly does offer.

Last year, according to the National Association of Realtors ¡°Profile of Home

Buyers and Sellers¡±, 13 percent of all home sellers chose the FSBO route. More

telling than these numbers, is the fact that one third of all FSBOs sold their

homes to someone they knew prior to the transaction which means that the actual

figure of FSBO transactions to strangers is realistically at eight percent.

This is a significant downward trend from 18 percent eight years ago.

Even more telling was that only half of last year¡¯s FSBOs, according to the

article, plan to go it alone again. Why? Many FSBOs are not aware of the

increasing complexities of the transaction process, especially in California,

with more complex disclosures and legal requirements required than ever before.

In addition, they were often unprepared for the required time to market and

show their property, the competitiveness of the real estate industry, and

awareness of the various fees required for outside consultants, inspectors,

appraisers, title companies, escrow and loan officers.

Of course, this does not mean that selling your home via FSBO is not a good

option for some home sellers, in some cases it may be. However what it does

mean is that you need a clear idea of what responsibilities you will be

assuming in contrast to hiring a professional realtor and calculating whether

the costs and time invested will be worth it to you.

Some questions to consider if you intend to FSBO:

1) Do I have the time, energy, skill-set and ability to devote in selling my

home? 2) Am I prepared to deal with an onslaught of buyers, including savvy

investors and realtors, who perceive FSBO¡¯s as targets for low balling? 3) Do

I know how to market my property properly? 4) Am I familiar with the trends in

the national real estate industry as well as my local real estate market? 5) Am

I prepared to offer financing options to the buyer? 6) Will I be dealing with

only pre-qualified buyers? 7) Am I prepared to answer questions about

financing? Do I fully understand the disclosure process and legal

ramifications for my state? 9) Do I have the skill-set to successfully

negotiate the handling of legal contracts, agreements, and any disputes with

buyers before or after the offer is presented? 10) Am I familiar with competent

professionals that will be involved in the transaction such as title, home

inspectors, appraisers, escrow company and their fees? 11) Am I able to project

and account for all the hidden costs, time factored in, marketing costs, and

fees paid?

The above items are a few of the factors that the home seller should consider

before selling his home on his own. Also, one important item to keep in mind is

that very much like the title of Harvey Mackay¡¯s famous book, ¡°Swim With The

Sharks¡±, real estate is very competitive and the buyer is just as equally

motivated to get the lowest sales price, with the most concessions as the

seller is to get the highest sales price the market will bear.

Most importantly, the facts are, sellers make more money when they use a real

estate professional. According to the National Realtor¡¯s Association survey,

¡°Homes sold with the assistance of a real estate professional in 2005 sold on

average for 16 percent more than FSBO sales.¡± As in many other industries,

realtors vary in experience and skill level. Real estate is as populated with

mediocre realtors as well as with excellent ones. However, hiring a skilled,

full-time professional realtor, who is in the top twenty percent of his

industry, to handle your sales transaction will be worth every penny of his or

her¡¯s broker fee.

Nef Cortez has been a licensed real estate broker and has held various

positions in the real estate industry for over 25+ years. Visit his website at

Diamond Bar Homesfor information on foreclosures.

for more information visit http://www.nefcortez.com

Selling or buying private for sale by owner properties relies much more on a external team of experts like Lawyers, Home Inspectors and of course Mortgage Lenders. This week, Catherine Evel, Mortgage Broker and franchise owner of Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial (www.catherineevel.ca) will introduce our FSBO Radio listeners and guests to the advantages of planning your mortgaging requirements early in the private for sale by owner selling and buying process. Marketing and advertising your For Sale By Owner Home is a job that most private sellers catch onto quickly, however, qualifying the right potential becomes increasing more difficult as you may not be comfortable asking the potential private buyer for their entire financial history and documentation while their removing their shoes in your foyer. Catherine Evel, Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial, provides a easy, comfortable approach to help For Sale By Owner sellers and buyers manage the mortgage maze and successfully understand the roles and responsibilities of both private buyers and sellers. Thepublic is encouraged to conduct their own investigations, analysis, due diligence, draw their own conclusions, and make their own decisions. Any areas concerning taxes or specific legal or technical situations should be referred to lawyers, accountants, consultants, real estate agents, or other professionals licensed, qualified or authorized to render such advice.
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Why Should A Seller Get A Home Inspection?

Get a Pre-List Home Inspection If You Want Top Dollar For Your Home With The Least Amount Of Hassles! Do you like bad surprises? Especially if it hits you in the pocketbook?

Putting your home on the market without a home inspection of your own could lead to surprises that can cost you time and money.

More often than not, the surprise will not be a pleasant one. Yes, you are already thinking about how less your house is worth now than it was six months or a year ago. No one wants to put more money into a house they are getting ready to sell. The price is already lower than what you want. But you have to consider the chances that spending more money on repairs may be the thing that will make or break your odds of getting it sold quickly and at the best price. If you think about it, it just makes sense to spend the extra money. Why?

Your real estate agent can see cosmetic changes that may need to be made, like painting the walls a more neutral color or switching out the kitchen cabinet knobs to give it a more modern feel. That is fine, and may boost the price quite a bit. But an inspector is trained to look at the “bones”- the foundation, the plumbing, the furnace, and the roof – all of the big things that can halt a sale in its tracks.

Most buyers will get an inspector of their own to inspect your house and note detail by detail what is right and what is wrong. Either the buyers are required to by their bank or lending institution, or they do so voluntarily because they are wary of what is out there on the market because they are more savy than in the past. They know it is a buyers market so they can scrutinize and analyze every detail.They will test windows, flush toilets, listen for squeaky hinges, and notice cracks. Remember they will be comparing your house to 5 to 10 others.

Spending the time and effort to have your house pre-listing inspected tells the buyer and their agent that you care how your house compares to the others on the market. It proves you have maintained it and that you want top dollar for it. When it comes to the offer/counter offer portion of the selling process, you’ll have a huge bargaining chip in your pocket. Giving the buyer and their real estate agent those details about its condition will put your house ahead of all the others because they will know it is in top notch condition and future repairs will be minimal. It makes the house more turn-key, and most buyers in today’s economy want that. Giving great value justifies a top price and leaves very little room for argument.

A pre-listing home inspection shows a tremendous good-faith factor. Showing the buyer the detailed home inspection up front proves you are not trying to hide anything from them and will gain you respect with them. They will respect you and will be more comfortable dealing with you. It will make their decision to buy from you seem like the best thing for them to do over your competition.

Finally, there will be no surprises when their home inspector walks in the door. You have enough stress in your life when it comes to selling your home.Why add to it? Having total knowledge of your home will help you and your agent get a better picture of what a fair market price for your home is. You can decide which repairs will add value and you can have peace of mind when the buyers walk through your house, it will stand out from all the others.

No surprises means more money in your pocket.

www.get.fsbopowersellingsystem.com Discover the Secrets of Selling Your Home That Allows You to Get Full Market Value in as Little as 28 Hours – Without an Auctioneer or a Realtor! http

Housemaxx 10 Tips to Sell Your Home by Owner

We’ve tried to summarize the most important aspects of selling a home by yourself. We hope you find the information helpful. If you have any questions you may always contact us on our contact page.

SELL For Sale By Owner via HouseMAXX™ The key is to be properly prepared. If you are not, your home could remain on the market longer than you expect because you are not attracting and getting offers from qualified buyers. The Online Digital Picture Tours will help you screen and pre-qualify serious buyers. When they phone off your classified ad, just send them to the website and if they are serious, they will call you back for personal viewing appointment.

The information below has been specially prepared to help FSBO’s, such as yourself, understand the elements involved so you, on your own, can sell your home quickly and for the most amount of profit and keep your hard earned equity. To help you prepare, here are 10 tips that will help you sell your property in a fast, effective and professional manner.

HouseMAXX™ 10 TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME

1. Price it Right. Correctly setting your asking price is critical. Setting your price too high can be as costly as setting it too low. Home prices are determined by fluctuations in the marketplace, not by your emotional attachment or by what you feel your home is worth. In order to establish a realistic price for your home, objectively compare the price, features and condition of all similar homes in both your neighbourhood and other similar ones, which have sold in recent months. You can do this by checking out your local, regional or national Real Estate MLS Listings. It is also important for you to be familiar with the terms of each potential sale. Terms are often as important as price in today’s market. Carefully budget your selling costs and prepare a net proceeds sheet to calculate your best estimate of what you will take away from your home sale. Prospective buyers may also request this kind of analysis of buying costs.

2. Prepare Your Home for Sale. First impression is crucial. Keep your home clean. Remember with the Online Digital Picture Virtual Tour you don’t have to waste your time with all day Saturday and Sunday Open Houses anymore! Make sure your home makes a positive statement by carefully inspecting all details and viewing it through the objective eyes of a buyer. Don’t gloss over needed repairs and fix-ups, as your prospective buyers won’t. Your job is to ensure that your home stands out favourably from the competition.

3. Prepare Yourself With All Necessary Legal Documentation. Its really very simple and you can do it yourself. You should get all your pertinent documents together….but all you really need is a Offer to Purchase agreement in which you and prospective buyers negotiate the price and conditions…you both sign the agreement and each party takes a copy to their respective lawyers to finalize and close the sale. It’s really that easy as a FSBO and with the professional Advertising Services of HouseMAXX™ you get to keep your hard earned equity! Some forms that you might need (Lawyer takes care of most of this):

Seller Disclosure,  Purchase and Sale Contract , Mortgage Verification,  Loan Application,  Deposit Receipt,  Property Profile Fact Sheet , Buyer’s Cost Sheet,  Closing & Settlement , Personal Property Exclusion List,  Real Property Report , Seller’s Statement of Representation

4. Market Your Home Effectively. Once you put the Professional HouseMAXX™ sign on your lawn with the Premier Listing Package, you should find other local effective ways to spread the word about your home. Local buyers can be reached through the newspaper, but this is only a small part of the market you are after. Be sure you include the many buyers who could already be working with a Realtor®. You may want to cooperate with a Realtor® and offer them 00 – 00 for their few hours work…its up to you to negotiate a reasonable commission fee? But remember, most realtors will tell you they have serious buyers just to lock you into a 30-90 day contract. If you do sign a contract, make sure that you get in writing an unconditional release clause. Also, because out-of town buyers are an important target, the HouseMAXX™ website will offer you increased exposure to reach these people as well. You can print off as many high quality feature sheets off the website as you wish and you can email your listing to possibly buyers via your listing page. You should also be very service-minded and make it easy for pre-qualified buyers to view your home. Ensure there is always someone available to answer the phone, pick up messages promptly, and be ready to give qualified prospects a tour of your home as soon as possible.

5. Remain Objective During a Showing of Your Home. Don’t let your personal attachment or emotion get in the way of successfully selling your property. The best way to do this during a showing is to remain physically in the background. If a prospective buyer says something negative about your home, it is better to counter-balance this point of view by illustrating the positives rather than becoming defensive.

6. Pre-Qualify Your Prospects. Don’t waste your time entertaining buyers who could never afford your home. Research their finances with respect to job security, salary, debts, liabilities and credit standing. Possibly ask them for a copy of Pre-Approval Docs from their bank.

7. Negotiate Effectively & Knowledgeably. There will be many details to resolve before a sale can be considered final: price, terms, financing conditions, home inspections, dealing with the home inspector, home inspection condition, survey pitfalls, inspections, possession date, buyer concerns and objections. Make sure you fully understand the contract you have drawn up so you can in turn explain details and ramifications to the buyer and make any amendments to the sale that are necessary. The contract you use should be thoroughly examined by your real estate attorney. Check out the buyer/seller resource section for help with appraisals, lawyers, inspections etc.

8. Know Your Buyer. Be objective during negotiations and remember you are in control, don’t get desperate. Try to determine what your buyer’s motivation is. Do they need to move quickly? Do they have enough money to pay your asking price? Have they been pre-qualified for a certain amount? Knowing this information will give you the advantage in the negotiation because you will know up front, what you will need to do in order to get what you want.

9. Don’t Move Out Before You Sell. Certain studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that is vacant. It looks forlorn, forgotten, simply not appealing. It could even cost you money. If you move, you’re also telling buyers that you have a new home and are motivated to sell fast which can, of course, give them an advantage at the negotiating table

10. Know Why You’re Selling and Keep it to yourself. You must understand your buyers’ motivation also besides your own motivation to sell. Your reasons for selling will affect everything from your list price to how much time and money you will invest in getting your home ready for sale. Your motivation will help you determine what is more important to you: the money you walk away with, the length of time your property is on the market, or both. Different goals will dictate different strategies.

As a property owner who wants to sell FSBO without using a real estate agent in an effort to save the commission, it is likely that money is one of your primary considerations. Whatever your reasons, however, it is very important to keep them to yourself so as not to place yourself at a disadvantage at the negotiation table. When asked, simply say your housing needs have changed Private sale can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to sell your home. Just make sure you’ve done your homework! HouseMAXX™ Quick Checklist

Choose a lawyer and review required paperwork - Obtain standard Offer to Purchase Forms (Buy at Office Depot or Staples for .00) -  Research market and set asking price accordingly. -  Review mortgage with bank. - Use HouseMAXX™ to your advantage for Maximum Exposure -  Distribute fact sheet flyer at local establishments (print off your listing) - Erect “for sale” sign -  Handle phone enquiries and/or emails -  Show the property.  Hold Open House if desired – Use HouseMAXX™ to screen & prequalify  - Negotiate offer with potential buyers.

If you are considering selling your home in Boulder, this FSBO Resource is a great guide. It will help you to choose whether to For Sale by Owner in Boulder area, or utilize the expertise of a Real Estate Professional. BoulderLoanRanger.com Founder Steve Higgins, a Boulder Mortgage and Real Estate expert, and founder of MyFSBO.Me offers this FSBO Resource to help Boulder Home Sellers make a critical decision. This video interviews a key expert: Home Inspector Bill Slade…
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Colorado For sale by owner home selling help FSBO Video Littleton Colo Denver area and C Springs homes for sale. Should I get a home inspection? How do I prepare my home to sell by myself? Check out Colorado-FSBO-Listings.com Broomfield and Westminster Colorado, Longmont to Highlands Ranch, Parker to Westminster need help selling my home! FSBO Help from MyFSBO.Me and real estate advice is ready for you.
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A snippet from a Home Inspection on a 1920′s Atlanta home regarding routine foundation cracks. www.duffyrealtyofatlanta.com
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5 Tips to help you Buy a FSBO Home

A home that is listed under the title of being FSBO is for sale by the original owner of the home. There are many of these listed in the markets across the country. Sometimes people may think that there is no way to purchase a home without needing to have a real estate agent but it is very possible and in a few select circumstances it is often better for people to buy homes without involving third parties. Real estate agents charge commissions which can end up being thousands of dollars in some circumstances.

Know how much you can afford. You don’t want to go searching for a home if you’re unsure of how much you will be able to afford on a monthly basis. It wouldn’t really be a good situation if you found your dream home and fell in love only to determine that it isn’t going to work out for you. You may want to utilize the tools online such as mortgage calculators which allow you to input how much money you make and extra debts to give you an estimate which gives you bigger insight to your personal financial situation.

Get pre-approval for the home through a reputable mortgage lender such as a bank. They will analyze how your credit status is along with how much of a down payment you have available and base their approval on these and a few other factors as well. Pre-approval gives any home sellers the extra push to know that as a buyer you are serious and actually will be able to buy the home if they choose you.

Obtain an accurate report of the home and its value. You will want to get the property’s value and compare it to other homes in the area that are currently being sold. The comparison can usually be done to include up to 20 other homes that are in the surrounding area. Be careful when looking at these numbers though because they don’t always encompass the most recent updates to the home.

Then you can make an offer on the home. Look at the home itself, the report that you have, and then if you happened to have hired an attorney to assist you with your process, place the actual offer in with the owner of the home for their consideration in the matter.

An inspection is absolutely critical of any home that you are considering for purchase. There are problems that may not be disclosed or the owner may not have knowledge of. An inspector is trained to look at every little detail from the foundation to the roof. They range in cost from about 0-0 depending on who you hire and you can estimate the time will be about 2 hours from start to finish. Once you have the report you may want to back out of the home offer or re-negotiate the price to a lower one due to necessary repairs that need to be made.

If you are considering selling your home in Boulder, this FSBO Resource is a great guide. It will help you to choose whether to For Sale by Owner in Boulder area, or utilize the expertise of a Real Estate Professional. BoulderLoanRanger.com Founder Steve Higgins, a Boulder Mortgage and Real Estate expert, and founder of MyFSBO.Me offers this FSBO Resource to help Boulder Home Sellers make a critical decision. This video interviews a key expert: Home Inspector Bill Slade… Part 2
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