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How to Sell a Home

Should Joe and Mary Order an Appraisal?

How to sell a home for sale by owner seemed to be slipping away. Lets face it, Joe and Mary were depressed! They had lots of calls, had a buyer they thought for sure was going to make an offer, and nothing!

If you want to follow the Joe and Mary story in a sequence of events, each page is numbered from #1 to #13 at the bottom of each page. This page is #8.

How to sell a home Tip #1 When you are trying to sell for sale by owner, one of your biggest challenges, is the emotional up and down ride.

Let me explain. When it comes to how to sell a property, a Realtor® goes through this roller coaster ride every day.

People phone and say they will call back and never do.

They say they want to "Talk to my husband or wife first".

They view a home, say they want to go home and "think it over". You never here from them again. Buyers will show lots of interest, ask lots of questions and then make some excuse to escape.

Here's the difference. Realtors,® know and expect this to happen (except the new rookies who soon learn). For sale by owners, rarely understand what is going on when it comes to how to sell a home and give up far to easily. Private sellers start second guessing themselves and feel they are doing everything wrong. They....never mind, lets just continue with our story, OK?

Are Our Couple Going to Give Up?

M: Honey, I've just about had enough. Perhaps we should just phone an agent and list.

J: I've been thinking the same thing. I mean, neither one of us are salespeople. Realtors ® do this every day. What do we know anyway.

How to sell a home Tip #2 People don't sell houses, Houses sell houses Realtors ® don't sell houses. Realtors ® market and show houses. Buyers, buy houses that suit their needs and budget.

Can you market your own home? Of course!

Can you show your own home? Of course!

Can you force a buyer to buy your home? No!

Of course if you follow the free program on this website on how to sell a home for sale by owner, you have a much better chance of marketing your house correctly, Negotiating a Higher Price, and closing the sale.

There is enough information on this site to make you as successful selling for sale by owner, as you would be if you listed with a Realtor.®

I proved this in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada when I had my for sale by owner company and showed the sellers how to achieve the same results as being listed with a Realtor. ®

Back to our story.

Perhaps an Appraisal?

J: Before we throw in the towel Sweets, perhaps we should have an appraisal done on the property. What do you think?

M: Perhaps that might be a good idea. Maybe we are priced to high and need to come down a wee bit.

J: Let's go ahead. I'll call LMNOP Appraisers in the morning and get the ball rolling.

How to sell a home Tip#3 It is so important to have a Certified Appraisal on your house when you sell for sale by owner, I cover it several times on this website. It's not just to establish the price.

For more information on why to have an appraisal go From How to Sell a Home to Why a House Appraisal

The next morning they called LMNOP Appraisers and were lucky enough to get an appointment that very afternoon with Brian. Brian came over, looked over the property, took the photos and told our heros he would call as soon as the appraisal was ready.

The BIG Shocker!

It was just around 11:00 Tuesday morning when the phone rang and our couple were told the appraisal was ready to pick up at the office.

A few hours later, they were sitting side by side at the kitchen table with a big brown envelope. Nervously, they carefully opened the envelope.

M: Are you ready love?

J: Go for it!

They quickly scanned the first page of the appraisal looking for a price. They both spotted the number at exactly the same time.

J: WHAT!! You have to be joking!

This can't be right. It says here our home is worth $275,000!

If you read the section where our couple Priced Their House, you might remember they came up with a figure of $319,900.

The reason they came up with this figure was because they wrongly thought their house was superior to other homes like theirs. They also added far to much on the price to allow for "bargaining".

How to sell a home Tip #4 Not every for sale by owner prices to high. I have also seen sellers price their property to low. Others, right on target.

A certified appraisal should be very close to the actual value the house should sell for.

Just follow the guidelines on choosing and reading the appraisal Here

After the initial shock, they finally settled down and poured 2 more cups of hot tea.

M: Well Love, perhaps that's why we didn't get a lot of buyers over and no offers.

J: Maybe you're right. Let's lower the price to $277,900 and see what happens.

How to sell a home Tip #5 When you have a certified appraisal and you want top dollar, keep the price reasonably close to the market value price. In this case with an appraisal of $275,000, $277,900 is ideal. The maximum you would probably want to go is $279,900.

By the way, I'm not telling you what to do, just what I suggest you do for the best results. :) I don't want to appear like I'm trying to force you do anything, I suggest on this website.

Our FSBO Couple get back on Track

Our for sale by owner couple changed their ad copy for the Newspaper, with the new price. They also changed the price on the Websites they were listed on and Joe even put the price on their front yard sign.

When it comes to how to sell a home for sale by owner, our "by owner" couple might just be catching on!

J: Hon, Why don't we try an open house this week-end?

M: Why not. You better help me get everything ready though.

So our for sale by owner couple went to bed that night thinking about their new adventure ahead. After their "down in the dumps" moods, they were feeling quite good about things again.

An open house might just be the answer.

To be continued......

For More Information about the Joe and Mary Story

#1 The Joe and Mary Story Main Page

#2 Joe and Mary Select a Sign

#3 Joe and Mary Prepare Their House to Sell

#4 Our by Owner Couple Place a Newspaper Ad

#5 Joe and Mary Go Online

#6 Our Hero's Answer Ad Calls

#7 Joe and Mary Find a Hot Buyer!

#9 Joe and Mary Prepare for Open House

#10 Our for Sale by Owner's do their First Open House

#11 Joe and Mary get a 2nd House Showing

#12 Joe and Mary get an Offer

#13 Joe and Mary Close the Deal!

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