Sell Your Home Without An Agent

All of us know that real estate commissions can work out to quite a bit of money – anything from a few thousand dollars with discount brokers to 6% in commissions with full-service agents. That’s a substantial sum of money to be paying for something you could very well do on your own.

Real estate agents are important and most home sales are still done through them. However, with the growing use of the Internet among home seekers, home selling has become a lot easier. These days when one has to look for a home, the first thing they do is connect to the internet and try searching online. The internet has made the task of searching for a home easy and convenient. In contrast to newspaper classifieds, online home listings provide more details (and also pictures) which help the buyer make an informed decision on whether to see the home. This saves the time of both home buyers and home sellers.

So how does one go about selling their home without paying any commissions? As is evident, you need to have an online home listing – your home details need to be easily accessible online. The key words out here are ‘easily accessible’. It’s no use having an online home listing if no one’s going to find it. If you’re going to sell your home without an agent, you’re going to need a lot of buyers enquiring about your home and coming to see your home. So it’s important to list your home on websites which are popular and are frequently visited by home buyers.

Listing your home details online is the first step. However, you cannot only depend on that to find a buyer. Other basic things you’ll need to do:

- Place a ‘For Sale’ yard sign.

- Print single-page flyers (brochures) about your home and have them put up in a box along with your ‘For Sale’ sign. You may also try distributing them.

- At least one newspaper classified ad. It could be used to supplement your online home listing, e.g. Details at ***.com – Listing Id ***.

You must note though that selling your home on your own may take a little time and you may also need to take time out of your schedule to show your home to buyers at their convenience. If you’re willing to put in a little effort, selling your home without an agent is very much a possibility and your efforts will be paid off by savings from the commissions.

Best of luck with your home sale!

Sell your home on your own by listing it on ChoiceOfHomes.com

Home Owners: Disclose the Facts!

One of the most common causes for disputes occurring after the sale of a home arise from the buyer finding defects in the property, defects which were not disclosed to him by the owner before the sale of the property. If you are the owner of a home that you are looking to sell, please be aware that you may be held liable for not disclosing any known defects in your home.

The statutes governing seller obligations vary with each state. Some states require a seller to complete a questionnaire about their property's condition; in other states, disclosures can be made verbally. In some states, seller disclosures are voluntary. The only sellers excluded from disclosure laws are banks and mortgage companies with foreclosure properties. In addition to the state laws, there are certain federal laws as well which govern what needs to be disclosed. For instance, federal law requires sellers of homes built before 1978 to disclose any known lead hazards. Some real estate companies may also ask you to disclose all known material facts about your home before they decide to take up your home listing.

Some facts may affect one buyer while it may not affect the other. If you’re confused about what you need to disclose, then consult your real estate agent or property attorney. To keep it simple, as an owner you should put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and decide what you would need to know about the house before you decided to make the purchase. If you have to make the sale, make sure it goes through smoothly. There have been many instances of lawsuits arising from owners not disclosing important material facts about their home.

Sameer S Panjwani Sell Your Home On Your Own.

Article may be republished as long as all links are included.

Things To Consider When Buying A Home

So you’ve decided you want to own a home and now you want to begin your search for one. Before jumping into a home search, there are a few things you should keep in mind when going about buying a home.

First things first, you cannot buy a home if you can’t afford it! Don’t assume how much you can afford, find out your loan eligibility. If you’re planning on purchasing a car or any other high-priced item on a loan, then please stall such purchase until after you get your home as your eligibility reduces with every other loan you hold at the time of a mortgage application.

Next, when you go in to see a home, don’t let an unkempt / untidy house put you off. Try and visualise the house in its best condition and see if it would suit you then. In fact, an unkempt house may put other buyers off and by some chance this may lead you into a better position when negotiating for the home, as the seller may find it difficult finding a buyer for his place.

If the home you decide to purchase is being sold by the home owner himself, don’t deposit any earnest money with him directly. Such earnest money should be deposited in a trust account as some owners mistake such money to be theirs and hesitate in refunding the same if the deal falls through for valid reasons, such as financing or repair issues.

Once you’ve finalised on a home and go to get an appraisal of the home done by a professional appraiser, do not panic if the appraisal value comes below the actual price you decide to pay for the home. There are options you can consider in this case. You would have to consult your agent or your mortgage broker for some advice.

Some other factors you may want to consider are listed below:

- Any signs of leakage in the house near the roofs and the foundation walls

- Problems with the sewer drainage system, if any

- Neighborhood by daylight and night. Drive by and see for yourself before making a decision.

- Natural light. Are the rooms dark without artifical light? Does that concern you?

- The amount of property taxes that has to be paid every year

- Any structure on the property which may overlap into an adjoining property.

- Is the home located in an airport's flight path?

- Any planned roadways, which may eat into the property's front yard.

So, don’t rush into buying a home without considering some of these factors. Wish you the best of luck in finding your new home!

Sameer S Panjwani is the CEO and Founder of ChoiceOfHomes.com - Find Homes For Sale / Rent.

Steps To Take Before Selling Your Home

Here are some important steps you should take before you put your house on the market:

1. Home Loan Approval for your next Home

You don’t want to be signing a contract to sell your house before knowing if you are qualified to buy another. Your financial circumstances may have changed since your last purchase and you may not qualify for the loan amount you seek. You’ll get a good idea of what you can afford by getting a pre-approval before selling your house. You may then take the decision of whether or not it would be reasonable to sell your house at this point of time or maybe consider renting something after selling the house instead of readily buying another.

2. Determine Fair Market Value of your House

You’d want to get the best price off your property and in the quickest time possible. However, over-pricing your home will only limit your chances of selling fast and under-pricing may speed up the process but you lose out in the bargain. An agent or an appraisal service (free home appraisal here) should be able to assist in determining the fair market value of your home. Another way is judging by how much other houses in your neighborhood sold for. Irrespective of the method, one must be used to determine the true and best value of your home to ensure it’s sold in quickest time possible.

3. Estimate Cost of Selling

• Advertising costs, if you plan to sell home yourself.
• Real estate commissions.
• Attorney, closing agent and other professional fees.
• Excise tax for the sale.
• Property taxes and home owner association fees, if applicable

4. Make Necessary Repairs
You don’t want to put off a buyer because of minor repairs which you haven’t attended to so far. If you’ve decided to sell your house, it’s time to finish with any pending repairs you may have felt minor and unnecessary to fix up till this point of time.
5. Get the House Ready to Show
Apart from repair work, you’ll also want to see that your house is sparkling clean and everything is organized and in it’s place when a buyer comes to see your place. A clutter-free environment is essential if you want the house to appeal to the buyer.

Author

Sameer S Panjwani is the CEO and Founder of ChoiceOfHomes.com - Find estate listings in the U.S. The website is a useful resource of Home Listings, Articles and Information related to real estate.

You may republish this article as long as all links are included.