You have worked hard to sell your property as For Sale By Owner and have an offer in hand…now what? It is important to understand how the negotiating process works and how to protect yourself and your assets (especially when selling your home For Sale By Owner). Here are tips to navigate your way through to signatures on the dotted line.

1. Reply in writing.
   Take time to review the offer you have in hand and always reply in writing. Whereas mere handshakes worked in days past, having everything spelled out in writing is the only way to avoid misunderstandings and legal headaches further down the road. You have a number of options after receiving the offer. You can accept the offer as is, make a counteroffer or reject the offer outright. If the buyer is not being represented by a Realtor, ensure they are using legal binding contracts. You can find real estate contracts on FSBOmarketplace.com’s Real Estate Forms page. (more…)

There are many obstacles that can kill a deal between the time you accept a contract and getting your money at the closing table. Below are the details that need to be taken care of during this critical period.

1. Home inspection.
   Your contract may allow the buyer to conduct a home inspection to determine the condition of the property and ensure there are no flaws to the property’s major systems. After the inspection, the buyer may ask for repairs to be completed for him to move forward with the sale. Repair requests are negotiable and can cause the deal to fall through if you and the buyer cannot agree. Keep possible repairs in mind when first accepting an offer.

   Any agreed upon repairs will need to be completed prior to closing with an additional inspection from the buyer to determine work has been done in a workman-like manner. Consult with your lawyer to see where your obligations are. Find a Home Inspector. (more…)

Whether you are selling your home as For Sale By Owner or using a Realtor, it is very common for home buyers to make a contract contingent upon a satisfactory Home Inspection so that they can determine the condition of the property’s major systems and structure. Usually the inspection is conducted within a pre-determined time frame and if the time constraint is not met, the home inspection contingency is automatically removed. The inspection is usually at the buyer’s expense and can range anywhere from $200 – $500. Find a Home Inspector here.

After the inspection, the buyer has a number of options… he can (1) remove the contingency clause. Or if he is not satisfied with the condition of the property he can (2) ask for repairs to be completed by the seller or (3) merely walk away from the contract and have his earnest money deposit returned to him. Bottom line, the home inspection is a re-negotiating tool for the buyer.
(more…)

Every day, we receive dozens of requests for a house value report for homes across the country. The vast majority of the house value requests are for home owners thinking about selling their home. They want to see what their home would potentially sell for compared to what they owe for it. Did you know that this is only one of many examples of how a free house value report (aka CMA) can be used?

Here Are 5 Ways To Use a House Value Report aka CMA

1. Selling Your Home- The first and most obvious way to use a comparative market analysis is to compare your home against other homes that have sold in your neighborhood. I wont go into too much detail here since this one is pretty obvious. What I would like to add here is that it is important to take your time in analyzing the data or you may get a false sense of value and be too high or too low by thousands of dollars. Price too high and people will not bother looking at your home, too low and people will think something is wrong with your home and try to negotiate you even lower or again, not even visit. (more…)