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These days, people are trying to cut costs wherever they can and that is generally a good thing. When it comes to selling your home, however, you need to think twice before attempting to do so without the services of a license, professional Realtor. There’s a reason that Real Estate agents are fully licensed and insured by the brokers that they work for and it’s because selling homes can be tricky and you need to have some knowledge and experience behind you. There are so many things that happen with even the most basic real estate transaction and so many things can and will go wrong if you don’t have the knowledge and experience that is absolutely vital to have.

Think about the different aspects of a typical real estate transaction and what an agent’s function is and what their duties are and you will see that selling your own home is not the cakewalk that you were told it was going to be. Fist off you need to find out what your home is worth and that means either your agent knows the market so well that he or she can tell what that home will go for or you will need to pay for an appraisal. Then you need to advertise that the home is for sale and this can involve anything from ads in local papers and newsletters to online listings and banners, etc. You then have to be prepared for showing the house at Open House events that you will have to create, plan, advertise, and carry out yourself.

Even if you have a buyer all lined up, who is going to prepare the offers, counter offers, and the actual purchase contract? You need to know about contingencies and clauses that need to be inserted into standard contracts that will protect you from claims by the buyer. You need to fill out a long Disclosure Statement and it has to be an honest, no holds barred detailed description of the home or else you could get sued for omission. By the way, all Real Estate Brokers in California need to carry extensive Errors & Omission Insurance by the Department of Real Estate for this very same reason. You don’t want some sue-happy buyer coming back to you in six months because you forgot to mention that the basement walls had minute cracks in them.

Which brings me to my next topic which is the home inspection itself. Normally a good Real Estate agent who knows his territory will also know of a reliable Home Inspector. In fact, a good agent will also recommend the services of an appraiser, a loan officer, moving companies, title companies, escrow, etc. That set of services alone makes it worth your while to forego the notion of selling your own home and seriously consider employing one of the very talented and reliable Realtors in your area.

This could be one of the biggest deals you ever make in your life. Do you really want to run the risk of messing it all up?

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DONOTCHANGE More people today are interested in how to sell a house by owner. This is not an impossible task, although it does take no small amount of work on the part of the owner. To make it a successful venture, there are some steps you will need to take.

Your most important step is to have the house evaluated by experts in order to gain insight into the price you can ask and reasonably expect to receive. Real estate agents are commonly asked to do this, though you may need to pay a fee in order to receive their consultation. Do not let them distract you from selling on your own. You are learning how to sell a house by owner, after all. Do not over price, thinking you will come down later. In this market, buyers will skip you and move onto the next more sensible listing.

Get your for sale signs at the local hardware store. Do not stick up homemade signs or signs that are tattered or worn. Write your phone number, including your area code, in permanent marker. You never know when someone driving cross country will take an interest in your house, either for relocation or investment property. Take care that the information is legible and complete. How to sell a house by owner is basically common sense.

Advertising is very important and can be done on a decent budget. First of all, utilize Craigslist. Create something catchy and then turn it loose there. Every day there are for sale by owner sites going up like mad. Some are free while others are not. Study and research these sites. Some may be worth the fee. Others may be greater resources in providing information as to what is going on in your corner of the world and help you sell your property quicker. Free classifieds are everywhere. Make use of these, especially the ones that are found nationwide. How to sell a house by owner requires doing the leg work that normally the agent does. However, this will save you thousands in the long run.

Research your neighborhood. Find out who is having the open house next weekend and what time? Capitalize on the work their agent has done to bring buyers to that home to tour. Have your own tour sign out and bring attention to it with some bright balloons. Buyers in the neighborhood are going to take the time to check you out also. Many buyers will see the wisdom behind purchasing directly from the owner. How to sell a house by owner is perhaps the best kept secret in the market today.

Be prepared with your sellers disclosure form. List honestly any defects in your home that you are not going to address. It will protect you from going into the deal, only to find out at the end of the deal that the buyer considers you responsible for fixing the defects.

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