How to Sell Your Home Online in a Bad Economy

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Cell phone
Office phone
Computer
Internet access
Voicemail
For Sale sign
Credit or debit card

Step 1

Determine the Value of Your Home - The first step in selling your home is to figure out how much it is worth. There are three easy methods that you can use to find out your home’s value. The first method is hiring an experienced property appraiser. The advantage of using an appraisal service is that you will get the best possible price value from a professional who knows the real estate market, and can give you a detailed estimate of your home’s value. The disadvantage is that the cost of an appraisal can range between $300 and $400 depending on the appraiser and the size of the home. The second method is to have an experienced real estate broker perform a CMA or Comparative Market Analysis. A CMA is an estimated value of a home, which is based on the comparison of similar homes in the same area. Real estate brokers may charge for a CMA if it is part of the broker's general service fee. However, this option is usually unavailable to those homeowners who plan to sell their homes without a broker. Therefore, the third method involves retrieving the information through one of many free online real property databases on the web. The Yahoo Real Estate database is the best. The link is located in the resources section below.
Step 2

Get Your Home Ready to Sell - Before you even put your home on the market, you must prepare it for viewing. This is very important if you are serious about selling your home successfully. The preparation will consist of beautifying the exterior and interior, thoroughly cleaning all areas, making repairs, painting, and disposing useless items. The key factor in preparing your home is to make it highly impressive to buyers so that they will want to purchase it. Otherwise, you will lose prospective buyers, and ultimately lose out on the sale that could have been. For more information on this, you can refer to the eHow article entitled “How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell Quickly”, which is located in the “More by This Author” section of this page.
Step 3

Advertise on Various Websites - Although the main objective of this editorial is to sell your home online, it is still a good idea to advertise through traditional offline means. You should still post a for sale sign on your front lawn, place ads in the classifieds, post bandit signs near busy intersections, post colorful flyers on bulletin boards in stores and in other local businesses, and make announcements through word-of-mouth. Your marketing should contain a great deal of information about your home such as its location, physical description, type of neighborhood, home amenities, proximity to shopping centers, and sale price. It should also contain beautifully digitized color photos of both the exterior and interior. To advertise online, you will want place photo links to realty websites that exclusively provide for sale by owner services. These web-based companies are licensed realtors that do not charge a traditional 6% or 7% brokerage fee. Instead, they only charge upfront flat-fees that can range from $300 to $600 to list on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). The benefits are numerous. To begin, you get access to your own website. You don't have to leave the house vacant whenever a realtor brings a buyer, or clean your home every morning before leaving "just in case". You receive advanced notice whenever a home buyer plans to stop by, and can therefore prepare accordingly. And, there's no frustrating back-and-forth telephone tag with realtors. Lastly, transactions between you and the buyer are quick and easy. A list of very good online companies is provided for you in the resources section below.
Step 4

Set Up an Online Voicemail System - You might want to also consider setting up a voicemail system. If you are using an online real estate service, you will not have to be concerned with receiving calls from buyers, for those calls will often be handled by customer service representatives. However, your voicemail will benefit your offline marketing. When a buyer finds your ad in a newspaper classified or on a flyer, they will need to contact you by telephone. You can use your home land line or personal cell phone if you wish. However, this could present challenges with high volume phone calls disrupting you and your family during dinner. Therefore, it is recommended that you either use a separate outside office line strictly for buyer calls, or set up an online voicemail system that will operate 24 hours per day; even while you sleep.
Step 5

Have a Home Inspection - A home inspection is a good idea, if you plan to sell your home. Many buyers will request that they be permitted to do a home inspection as a personal safeguard. Their objective is generally to assure themselves that they are purchasing a home with no serious defects. If the home does have defects, the buyer may still make a contractual offer, but with a contingency that either the defects be repaired by the homeowner prior to purchase, or that the cost to the buyer to repair such defects be deducted from the sale price. The buyer will also insert a clause in the purchase agreement that she will be given the right to cancel the contract without penalty if the homeowner rejects either condition. Having your own home inspection is a great way to be aware of any existing problems. It will also help avoid unwelcome and embarrassing surprises during a buyer preview. Make sure to have your home inspection done prior to placing it on the market, and that it is performed by a company that holds a current membership in the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).
Step 6

Locate a Mortgage Company - A mortgage company may prove to be invaluable to you as a homeowner. A mortgage company can provide a 24 hour hotline for your home, and an online presence on its website. By aligning yourself with a local mortgage company, it can receive leads through your advertisement on its website, and as an exchange, provide qualified buyers with financing to purchase your home. This can produce a win-win-win situation for the buyer, the mortgage company, and for you, the homeowner. Also, the mortgage company can assist you with financing for a future home purchase.
Step 7

Close - A real estate purchase agreement must meet five important requirements of law in order for it to be a valid contract. 1. The parties involved in the sale and purchase must be legally competent. They have to be meet the legal age requirement (18 years or older), and be mentally capable. 2. The parties must have a mutual agreement, and that all conditions are met, and are satisfactory to both parties. 3. The agreement must be for a legal purpose only. 4. There must be consideration or cause. The exchange of goods or services for payment. 5. The contract must be in writing. All of these requirements must be met in order for the contract to be valid, and thus enforceable in the court of law. If one is them is not present, then the contract becomes void, meaning that it is useless and invalid. This can cause serious financial repercussions for either the homeowner, the buyer, or both. Therefore, it is important that you, as the homeowner, are aware of these contract requirements. Lastly, once you have successfully sold your home, it would be a great idea to celebrate your great achievement.

Comments

DUSTYMILLS said

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on 11/14/2008 You see "for sale by owner" more and more often these days, it can really hurt to give a realtor 6 or 7% of your profits. Realtors use online marketing, and your article shows with the proper research, so can any homeowner. Thanks for another terrific article.....

StacyP said

on 11/14/2008 Nice advice on selling a home online. I bet most people don't think of online venues for selling their home.

Limowreck said

on 11/12/2008 Great article. Selling your own home is the way to go in this market, but only if you have solid information to guide you. This article is a great guide to the steps involved. *****