Selling a home by owner can be a great DIY project. It can also save you tens of thousands of dollars in closing costs. It is true that it will still cost you money to sell your own home. However, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and put in some work, it can be a very rewarding process. Like any other project, being a successful For Sale by Owner will require resources…
Below are 5 Resources For Selling a Home By Owner in Raleigh NC:
Zillow.com
Zillow is a great resource for consumers and professionals alike. Having been founded with the idea of empowering people with free access to market data, it is now one of the most authoritative real estate websites.
I absolutely recommend you post a free listing on the Zillow website. This domain gets millions of views per day so you cannot ignore this type of exposure. It is also a good resource to pull comps when pricing your property. In 2015 Zillow aquired Trulia and other competing websites which will give your listing maximum exposure on these sites as well.
The Zestimate
One caveat, don’t become overly influenced by the Zestimate, as it is notoriously inaccurate. There has been a lot of debate about the Zestimate, and how it affects the perception of buyers. especially in the Raleigh NC area.
If you haven’t already, read one of the articles on how the CEO of Zillow sold his home for substantially less than the Zestimate had predicted.
Craigslist.org
I have witnessed the popularity of this website dwindle with over the past several years, but it is still relevant. I found a buyer for one of my houses in the fall of 2014 by using Craigslist. Remember that you are better off having multiple ways to find one buyer, than one way of finding multiple buyers.
In general, the more marketing channels you use the more likely you are to be successful, but don’t over do it.
The following are paid options that are worth researching
ForSaleByOwner.com
This is a paid site so it will cost you money to post a listing. They offer several packages that have various tools that you can use to create a professional ad for your property. Some of their plans will allow your listing to feed into the larger websites like Realtor.com, and even the Triangle Multiple Listing Service.
They also have great tutorials about the process of selling a home yourself, so this resource cannot be ignored.
Decide upfront if you are willing to work with, and pay, a buyer’s agent. As of this writing, with the lack of inventory in the Triangle area of North Carolina, a FSBO can sell a home directly to a buyer without involving an agent. However markets change, so be sure that you understand local market conditions before making this decision.
A buyer’s agent will have access to pre-qualified buyers and can facilitate the process. Selling a house costs money so you have to be prepared to spend some money to complete the transaction.
Owners.com
This resource is most comparable to ForSaleByOwner, and has a free listing option. There are also paid listing packages that will allow access to the MLS. All free resources should be taken advantage of for maximum exposure. Just keep track of the listings you create, so you can go back and edit them all when you make changes.
One advantage of using one of the paid listing plans of these sites is that it will automatically feed into the larger sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. And when you make a change to your listing, the other listings will be updated automatically.
DirtCheapSigns.com
I would recommend that you use signage to advertise your home for sale. A for sale sign, and flyer box in the lawn will drive a lot of local traffic. Remember that you want to drive as many buyers to your house for sale as possible. Many buyers will drive the areas they are most interested in.
ForSaleByOwner.com does sell FSBO signage on their website, but DirtCheapSigns.com has the best prices for this type of material. I would recommend a for sale sign , and flyer box in the front lawn, as well as some directional signs to direct traffic to your home.