Can I sell my home "By Owner" for FREE?

This question is constantly being presented to me. As a professional in the mortgage industry, and someone who acquired my real estate sales license some 20 plus years ago, and the founder of HomeForSaleAd.com have come to this conclusion. Its a simple answer, and all of you reading this article can frankly answer this yourself. Most people that would like to utilize their experience and knowledge and sell their home by owner are not seeing the big picture, which in this case, is the small amount of money that it will actually cost to market their home or property, in comparison to the large commissions paid to real estate agents and brokers. So the answer is NO, I don't know of anyone who has not spent some money advertising to sell their property. The solution is for sale by owners need to have a solid marketing plan. 

There are two major reasons that a property owner would like to sell their properties on their own.

1. They are aware of the large commission that most, if not all real estate brokers and sales people charge for their service. Usually 6 %. In some hot markets the fee is lower because the property inventory is moving at a rapid pace and buyers are plentiful. But is that is not the norm.
2. Property values have, what the industry professionals like to call, adjusted. Fact of the matter is that values have risen for a number of reasons over a period of time and have now dropped. Property owners may not have the equity in their property that will afford the 6 % commission and leave the owner short on final proceeds.

I strongly suggest that you use the FSBO Savings calculator to compare the standard real estate commission to using our service. Just follow the directions on that page to see your total savings.

Ok, so you have realized that there are huge savings available in selling your home by owner. Now is where you must get your mind around the fact that you must set a budget and put a plan of action in place to sell your property in a timely manor.  A good real estate agent will do just that, but most just list your property and wait until some other agent finds a buyer. This prolongs the time on the market and still costs you 6%.

My experience has proven that there is one simple rule to follow. Marketing Marketing Marketing.

THE OLD WAY - The following two ways are the most used "by owner" marketing tools.

1. Traditional ways of getting your home in the market and getting buyers to view your property are classified ads ran in your local newspaper. These ads are lifeless and do no justice to your property.
2. The FOR SALE SIGN. Over the years I cant tell you how many times I have heard the dismay of sellers that rely on just the for sale sign. Dont get me wrong, I think it is definitely a necessity, if utilized properly. We have developed the state-of-the-art for sale sign that will drive buyers to your ad 24/7.

THE NEW WAY - Now let me tell you why HomeForSaleAd.com has the solution.

Sellers using our service have the tools to use to gain maximum exposure to the buying public for a very small fee of $29.95. My suggestion is to develop a monthly budget and stick with it. Then execute your plan.

1. Purchase a clean online FSBO ad that has the internet tools to print professionally designed flyers, Open House scheduler, create electronic flyers to post across the internet for free, Unique web address, and For Sale signs that are designed to get potential buyers to view your home online.
2. Local newspaper classified ads ran consistently. Either weekly in the Sunday paper or at minimum, twice a month in the Sunday paper. Include the use of one of our tools called the QuickURL creator. This tool gives is a unique web address along with a short description to entice the buyers to call or visit the site. (e.g. 12345.homeforsalead.com or 12345Anywhere.homeforsalead.com)
3. Schedule Open House events regularly. The most effective way to sell your home is to get buyers into the home to see - touch - and feel. They want to imagine themselves living in your property. Emotion is the major factor in selling your home. Also an important side note, staging your home for the maximum experience is key to that emotion. Be sure that the property is clean and uncluttered. Yards manicured and neat. I have written many articles on this subject and it is a very important point. 
4. Printed flyers (color if you have a color printer) are a key to keeping your home on the buyers mind after they leave your open house or that they picked up at your yard sign. Always keep flyers stocked at your yard sign and on the counters in several locations in the home when you show your home.
5. This point is an easy one to do, and cost nothing but can be time consuming. POST POST POST. What I mean by this is that you post your electronic flyer (HTML code created for your home) to as many free community web sites as possible. A few examples that accept HTML code are craigslist.org, livedeal.com and many more. In addition to those type of sites, there are thousands of sites that will let you post text only, and maybe pictures of your property for free. The problem with those is that not a lot of functionality for the buyer or the seller. But I still suggest that you utilize them all.

This is a very effective marketing plan I think you will agree. It in turn, will take a fair amount of effort on your part to accomplish this as planned. But the reward is great in comparison. A $300,000.00 home at 6% equals $18,000.00 in commissions. If you were to list your home on our web site the fee is $49.95 and it includes the yard sign. From there a budget of $60.00 per week for classified ads (varies per area) and the cost of ink and paper for flyers, est. $30.00. If your home were to be on the market for 6 months, here is the FSBO cost $1,519.00 vs. Real Estate commission $18,000.00 for a savings of $16,481.00. Something to work for don't you think.