You’re interested in selling your home, but you don’t have a real estate agent. You’re not going to have someone else list it. Instead, you’re planning to put the house up as for sale by owner, or FSBO. You believe that this should be easy in the modern day because you can create an online listing that people in the local area can easily find.
That may be true, but how can you know what price you should set your home at? You don’t want to put the price too high, or you are not going to generate enough interest. You also don’t want to put it too low, however, and risk leaving money on the table when you make the sale. Below are some steps you can take to more effectively price a home when listing as FSBO.
Consider online estimates and comps
For one thing, there are many websites that will give you an estimate of your home’s value. This should never be taken as fact, but it could help give you a ballpark idea of what your home is worth.
Another thing that you can do is to look for comps in the area. These are comparable homes that have sold recently. Ideally, they should’ve sold within the last three months. You also want to look for homes that are no more than a half a mile from your house and that have roughly the same square footage. You may also want to consider things like the number of bathrooms or bedrooms. You’re simply trying to find a home that has already sold that is as close to yours as possible.
Remember that list and sale prices aren’t always the same
If you’re looking at comps, it can help to look at list prices. But remember that sales may be higher or lower than that listed price. This is why it can be helpful to look at homes that have recently been sold so that you can see what the trends in the area are. If many homes tend to be selling over their asking price, this means you may be able to inspire a bidding war. If homes are always selling under the asking price, then there may not be as much competition as you would’ve hoped for.
What do you do if any problems arise?
These are a few steps you can take to figure out how to price your home. But, especially since you’re not working with a real estate agent, certain issues could arise during the process. Seeking legal guidance proactively could be an effort to your benefit.