SSRE021: How to Sell Your Home “For Sale by Owner” without a Real Estate Agent

06/27/17 • -1 min

My cousin called me and asked the question every agent dreds, “How do I sell my home without an Agent.” I continued with a breakdown of how it works...

Conducting market research to value your home
What upgrades do you need to sell
How many days will you be on the market
Taking professional pictures on a budget
Creating a tour video
Drawing your own floor plan
Where to host your ad
What is a real estate search engine
Where to have title work done
And more...

Quick Tips from Matthew:

It only takes a few weeks of study and a test (at least in Arizona) to become an agent. Really anybody can do it. There are a lot of agents out there that do a minimal service. These agents are typically the ones who also brag about having the most sales as they have little time to do much more. We don’t call them top agents, we call them “minimum service” agents as a result. It’s quite easy to replicate at least the marketing side of the services. This along with a good title company can get you a long ways in the way of selling your own home. A good agent is a different story. They may thousands of hours of experience which you’re not going to be able to replicate selling your home on your own. And hiring a good agent is an investment that pays for itself.

Referenced Materials:

For Sale by Owner Checklist: what you need to do to get your home listed and on the market without a Real Estate Agent.
Residential Seller Disclosure Advisory: this is where selling on your own gets VERY tricky. This is only one of MANY disclosures you are REQUIRED by state and or fedral law to use. You have no way to know of which disclosures are needed without proper training. For instance you may also need a lead based paint disclosure, polypipe, airport, affidavit of dislosure recorded, well, septic, HOA, and more.
Minimum Camera Equipment: if using your cell phone you’ll need this clip HERE. No matter what you need a tripod to take the pictures. This is a lightweight tripod with 3 way head and bubble level HERE that allows you to capture straight lines.
Advertising: put your ad up on Zillow, Craigslist, and FSBO websites. FSBO offers syndication to other Real Estate Websites and upgraded services. They’re not necessary but can save you some time. Zillow is the most visited website by buyers.

More about Matthew:

Matthew is a licensed Real Estate Agent in Arizona. He works with a team cooperative team of agents to assemble the best real estate solutions possible. These are based off client needs and marketplace conditions. Make sure to give him a call if you are in Southern Arizona. You can reach him at (520) 344-3481 and or checkout his work at KeysToArizona.com

My cousin called me and asked the question every agent dreds, “How do I sell my home without an Agent.” I continued with a breakdown of how it works...

Conducting market research to value your home
What upgrades do you need to sell
How many days will you be on the market
Taking professional pictures on a budget
Creating a tour video
Drawing your own floor plan
Where to host your ad
What is a real estate search engine
Where to have title work done
And more...

Quick Tips from Matthew:

Referenced Materials:

For Sale by Owner Checklist: what you need to do to get your home listed and on the market without a Real Estate Agent.
Residential Seller Disclosure Advisory: this is where selling on your own gets VERY tricky. This is only one of MANY disclosures you are REQUIRED by state and or fedral law to use. You have no way to know of which disclosures are needed without proper training. For instance you may also need a lead based paint disclosure, polypipe, airport, affidavit of dislosure recorded, well, septic, HOA, and more.
Minimum Camera Equipment: if using your cell phone you’ll need this clip HERE. No matter what you need a tripod to take the pictures. This is a lightweight tripod with 3 way head and bubble level HERE that allows you to capture straight lines.
Advertising: put your ad up on Zillow, Craigslist, and FSBO websites. FSBO offers syndication to other Real Estate Websites and upgraded services. They’re not necessary but can save you some time. Zillow is the most visited website by buyers.

More about Matthew:

Previous Episode

SSRE020: Questions to Ask When Interviewing an Agent to Sell Your Home

When I was an engineer, I’d interview with people who didn’t know how to do my job. They had no idea how to qualify me for that which they did not know how to do themselves. Interviewing a Realtor has the same challenges. Learn a few questions to get off in the right direction...

Identify buyer myths
Be careful of agents who buy homes
Spot the wolves in sheep’s cloths
Top agent isn’t what you think it is
Don’t be dazzled by market place numbers
How to qualify agents using photos
Spot a true “Internet Marketing Plan”
Understand extraneous marketing
Marketing that sells your home versus sells your agent
How to spot the narcissist
Choosing an agent your comfortable with
What is their feedback system
Do they ask questions about you?
and more

Quick Tips from Matthew:

The biggest mistake sellers make is thinking their agent can control the market. Their agent can bring them a cash buyer in the first week, or pull a magic carrot out of their hat and sell home themselves. These are really bait and switch tactics to get you under listing contract with them. When interviewing an agent it’s important to understand that the agent cannot control the marketplace in any way shape or form. They are your LIAISON to the market place. There they guide you to make sure you do the right things and have the best chance to do well selling your home. This takes a solid marketing plan and lots of strategist. So a good agent will be asking you LOTS Of questions and developing a custom plan to get your home sold based off your needs. His tool kit should be well polished. Today most all the tools are on the internet as that is where virtually all the buyers go to find their home.

Referenced Materials:

Interview check-list: list of questions to interview listing agents with.
Matthew’s Portfolio: a link to Matthew’s Portfolio at KeysToArizona.com. Compare the pictures and marketing from the agents you interview to what you find on this website.
Matthew’s Client Questionnaire: a good agent is going to be asking you a lot of questions. This is our minimum list of questions for each listing appointment. It also includes our checklist and prescribed homework we assign each client.

More about Matthew:

Next Episode

SSRE022: Buying a Bank Owned Home

We recently closed out a Bank Owned property. There were quite a few surprises that we don’t want to catch you off guard. Luckily we have a manager that has done hundreds of these so he guided us through the process. Here’s what we learned:

What is bank owned property?
What role does investor play?
What is mortgage insurance?
How are bank properties negotiated?
Why should I pay extra for title insurance?
Do I pay the escrow fee?
Can I flip the property (remodel & sell)?
and more...

Quick Tips from Matthew:

There are some fantastic deals to be had buying repossessed homes aka Bank Owned Property. There is more work on your part to purchase them however, this leaves most buyers running for the hills. You really need to do more diligence up front. Specifically on their purchase contracts. You need to know exactly what terms they are communicating in ALL the fine print. Who pays escrow, TX fees, title fees, and any further restrictions they have. Most buyers are not willing to do this diligence so it leaves you with more leverage to negotiate on the property.

More about Matthew: