1. Have a plan

2. Competing for buyers

3. Disclosure laws
4. Set the asking Price
5. Install a quality sign
6. Preparing a brochure
7. Use the Internet
8. Classified ads
9. Set up the answering machine
10. Negotiating
11. Working with brokers
12. Open Houses

• Selling a home is a tedious and stressful job.
• You would be more successful as a FSBO if you have a marketing plan and worked that plan for a specified period of time – just like brokers do. Brokers know they need 90 to 180 days for some buyer to find the home through the usual sources available to brokers. This time needed to sell is known as "average market time" or "days on market" and is reported in all local MLS books.
• Set a specified period for selling your home yourself -- say 3 months. Within this time frame be certain to carry out a plan and meet certain objectives. You should know where you are going to advertise and how much money you plan to spend. You should know how long you intend to hang on to your asking price before you begin to reduce it.
• Failed FSBOs quit after 30 - 60 days frustrated and tired. Most haven’t a clue why the home didn’t sell though they assume they need the "promotion" of a big real estate firm. Hence they give up and pay 6% to a broker. Fearing another failure, the ex-FSBO permits the broker to reduce the asking price further. Subconsciously the owner begs, "just bring me an offer".
• 90% of the time the home does not sell because the asking price is set too high above market value. 10% of the time it's the physical or environmental condition of the property preventing a sale, e.g., power lines, highway noise, adjacent cemetery, animal smells, and a general poor appearance. See tips for selling.

• As a FSBO you compete with local real estate agents for buyers. Buyers use agents because agents charge nothing for their service. Real estate agents will drive buyers around for months showing them houses for free! Agents also have Realtor MLS providing countless homes to show and buyers like to see lots of houses.
• FSBOs must know the difference between a "prospect" and a "suspect". A broker defines a "prospect" as a buyer that provides both his name and phone number. A "suspect" is a person who only reveals his name or phone number but never both. Suspects are not buyers. Statistically brokers must find 10 prospects before they make 1 sale. The other 9 never buy a home. These statistics also apply to you the FSBO.

Some state laws require sellers to have a written disclosure statement available to any buyer. Disclosure forms help to eliminate controversy, and lawsuit. We have a sample for your perusal.

1. Set the asking price

• More homeowners would succeed as FSBOs if they understood attracting buyers and subsequently selling a home is more about setting the right asking price and not about finding a buyer willing to pay the asking price. Thinking you can induce someone to overpay for your home through some magical "merchandising" technique is unrealistic. Brokers perpetrate this myth and uneducated sellers pay them 6%.
• Knowing the current market value of your home is THE most important item needed to sell your home. Begin the selling process without knowing your home’s true value and you will languish without buyers for long periods of time. A dearth of buyers discourages all FSBOs and sends them looking for help from a Realtor.
• Call a couple of brokers and ask for their opinion of the value of your home. Keep in mind most brokers will tell you what you want to hear hoping you will call them when you give up and finally decide to list in Realtor MLS.
• The intelligent course of action is to pay a licensed appraiser $250. to $300. to prepare a "sidewalk" appraisal on a standard "Fannie Mae" (FNMA) form #1004. Listen to the appraiser. Learn as much as you can from the appraiser about what the average buyer would pay for your home. The fair market value is the price you should expect to get -- anything higher is just plain luck.
• Set your asking price at least 5% above fair market value because statistics show the average seller receives about 95% of asking price after negotiations. It is possible to get more depending on what kind of demand there is in the market.
• You must receive 1-3 showings per week. If you receive many calls but no showings for 30 days you must lower your price. The failure of FSBOs to recognize the market has rejected their price brings frustration and defeat.
• Lower the asking price 1% every 21 days until you find the "activity price". The activity price is the point where you have at least 1-3 showings per week. This means showings and not merely calls on your ad. Phone calls without corresponding appointments to show the home are meaningless.
• The procedure of setting the price a high and then dropping it in 1% increments also helps dismiss any fears you might have had about not pricing it high enough after your first offer arrives. Secondly it prevents you from keeping it overpriced for weeks and then foolishly reduce it $10,000 or so below market value.

1. Install a quality FOR SALE sign

• Avoid making it yourself. At least buy a pre-printed sign purchased from a hardware store. Better to have it professionally done at a sign shop. Be careful, this could cost $100. or more. You can also get one from HouseExpress.
• Be certain a buyer passing by in a car can easily read your phone number. The sign could even list a few highlights about the home like pool or spa. Don’t overdo it. Keep it simple. Signs account for 11% of all broker sales. Buyers buy location; hence they cruise areas they like looking for houses and For Sale signs. A smaller For Sale directional sign at selected intersections also helps.
• A FSBO from Salt Lake City phoned HouseExpress.com to confess he decided to list with a broker only after looking for homes with an agent. Since the broker only showed him Realtor listings, he began to take notice of the professionally made broker signs. In comparison, the poorly made FSBO signs gave the impression the sellers were not serious about selling.

1. Prepare a color property brochure.

• You must include a photo, list room sizes, and even the brand name of the appliances. You can include more than one photo. To make it fit ask the photo store for wallet size prints. Do not over do it. Leave something to the buyers' imagination. Make it all fit on one piece of paper. You must be able to easily mail it to interested buyers. Make no more than 25 copies as you will probably be making changes and will need to rework the brochure. If you got the dough, you may also have the brochure professionally printed. You could also download your brochure from the HouseExpress site and then make your copies.