Advertising Your FSBO Property

If you home is selling for $300,000, how would you like to save as much as $18,000 by putting in some hard work? This is the premise behind the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) idea which involves selling your home without the aid of a real estate agent. The $18,000 is the standard 6% commission charged by these agents when it comes to selling your home. As you save by not paying agent’s fees, you can lower your asking price and be more aggressive in the sale. Selling your own home is not as difficult as you think and this new trend is causing great distress to real estate agents. Below are some tips when it comes to advertising your FSBO property.

Getting Exposure
Thanks to the advent of sites such as For Sale By Owner.com, those looking to advertise their property online have a huge ready-made audience. For the best chance of success, get your home advertised on these sites immediately. The aforementioned site brings in over 20,000 unique visitors each day. This site also has a mass-produced magazine which exposes your home to potential buyers lacking an internet connection.

Writing The Ad
Many of FSBO sites allow descriptions which are a couple of thousand words in length. In reality, you should only use a fraction of this amount because you need your ad copy to be short, concise and snappy. Describe your home’s features and avoid using real estate agent jargon as this makes people feel uncomfortable. Look at other adverts and place yourself in the position of buyer for a minute. Use the style of the copy that piqued your interest.

Photos
You are trying to get the best value for money when it comes to selling what is probably your most valuable asset. Therefore, don’t be lazy when it comes to taking pictures. All clutter must be removed from the exterior and interior of the home. Buyers don’t care about your possessions. They are only interested in your property so make sure it is showcased appropriately.

Avoid Open Houses
These are generally regarded as a waste of time and are far more useful to a real estate agent than a seller. Sales from open houses are lower than 10% so ask yourself: Is it really worth making such an effort for an ineffective advertising method? The answer of course is no.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
The MLS was once used exclusively by real estate agents and is a directory that allows you to tell other agents that you have a home for sale. FSBO sites tend to have this directory and it can greatly increase your chances of selling the home. The major downside is that if you sell your home because of the MLS, you are legally required to pay the agent in question a 3% commission fee. When added to the fee charged by the FSBO, this may not be a great deal better than using a real estate agent in the first place.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that only a real estate agent can sell your home. Thanks to the advent of FSBO real estate websites, you can avoid paying that 6% commission fee and perhaps sell the home faster than any real estate agent ever could. After all, who knows your house better than you?