Connecticut Real Estate

Trumbull, Monroe, Shelton, Stratford, Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Westport

For Sale By Owner Guide

Estimate Your Costs to Sell

* Real estate commission if you use an agency to sell.
* Advertising costs, signs, other fees if you plan to sell by owner.
* Attorney, closing agent and other professional fees.
* Excise tax for the sale.
* Prorated costs for your share of annual expenses, such as property taxes, home owner association fees, and fuel tank rentals.
* Any other fees typically paid by the seller in your area (surveys, inspections, etc.).

1. Market analysis and appraisal to determine a good asking price for the house.
2. Curb appeal
3. Spiff up the home's interior
4. Handled minor repairs.
5. Contact the agency that oversees real estate sales in your state and ask which disclosures you are required to make.
6. Lead Paint Disclosures
7. Fair Housing Laws - Individual sellers aren't subject to as many fair housing guidelines as real estate agents are, but it's smart to follow all fair housing laws, just to make sure you don't encounter legal problems later.
8. Showing the House - isn't difficult, but you'll have better results if you follow a few basic showing guidelines:

Be Ready to Show

Same-day and even last-minute requests for showings are not uncommon, so requiring a '24 hour notice to show' can cut you out of a good chunk of the home buying market. The only hefty lag time that should be required is when you must give ample showing notice to a tenant. If a house is considered difficult to show by agents, you won't receive as many calls to show it. Not good, because fewer potential buyers equals a decreased chance for offers.

Be Flexible

Don't get too excited if your buyers are a little late.
Don't Stay Home if an Agent is Showing
Open cabinet and closet doors yourself to make prospective buyers feel more at home. Answer their questions, but don't hover over them all the time they are in the house. Buyers will appreciate it if you give them some space to wander on their own.

Don't Get Too Personal

You never know when a buyer will be turned off by your mood or by a statement you make. Buyers are there to look at the house, not chit chat about hobbies or the weather or worse--politics and other controversial topics. Be pleasant and answer questions, but stay away from controversial topics.

Prepare a fact sheet about your property for viewers.
Facts included should include price, square footage, floor-by-floor listing of rooms, dimensions of major rooms, tax bills, utilities, broker's name, phone numbers to call, and an exterior photo of the home.

Safety Concerns

Safety steps sometimes include making photocopies of buyer driver's licenses, showing homes in teams. A for sale by owner seller should do everything possible to stay safe:

* Get as much info as possible about a buyer before the showing, then confirm the data (such as making a return call to the phone number or email address provided)

* Have at least one other person with you for showings

* Let buyers enter a room first, while you stay by the door to make a quick exit if necessary

Analyze your situation to determine which safety practices are best for you.

Getting it Sold

It's true that some buyers can be rude and intrusive. You do not have to deal with people like that and you don't have to let showings dictate your life--but you do want to sell the house, so try to be as flexible and accommodating as possible when potential buyers knock on the door.

Pre-Qualifying Home Buyers

Ask these questions to get a better feel for someone's buying power:

1. Have you been pre-approved by a lender for an amount in this price range?
2. Can you buy a house now, or do you have to sell your current home first?

It's a good idea to require home buyers to submit written proof of pre-approval with any offer. If your buyer can't buy until he sells, you'll have to decide whether or not you want to wait for that to happen. If you do decide to wait, be sure to insert a "kick out clause" in your contract with the buyer. "kick out clause" refers to a real estate contract contingency that's often used when a home buyer places a house under contract with the understanding that he must sell his current house before finalizing the new purchase.

Sellers holding a contract with a "kick out clause" continue to market the home. If they receive another offer the buyer has a specific amount of time as stipulated in the clause to remove the contingency and move forward to buy the house, whether his existing house is sold or not. If the buyer cannot move forward, the seller can back out of the original contract and sell to the new buyers.

Contract Forms

Who will provide the contract forms that will be used for an offer to purchase your house, you or the buyer? You can write a contract yourself on a piece of paper, but it wouldn't offer much protection for either of you. The forms you use should be written specifically for your state's real estate laws and cover all issues that are important for your location.

If you aren't contract savvy, have a real estate attorney review any offer before you sign it. Don't cut corners here, neglecting to get advice from an attorney or other knowledgeable person will cost you money, not save it.

The Buyer's Deposit

The contract should spell out what happens to the buyer's deposit money, called earnest money, if the deal falls through:

* Under what conditions would the buyer get it back? (unable to get financing, too many repair issues, etc.)
* Under what conditions would you expect to keep it? (buyer backs out with no cause)

The deposit money is not yours until the house sells or the buyer breaks the contract in such a way that it becomes yours by prior agreement. It must be credited to the buyer's funds on closing day and ideally should be held in someone's trust account until then.

Real estate laws and customs differ in nearly every state in the US, so it's essential that you do some research on a state and local level to be sure you are complying with all laws associated with the sale of your home.

Richard S. Rocco
A Connecticut Licensee
Keller Williams® Realty
4021 Main Street
Stratford, CT 06614
(866) 456-KWCT (5928) Ext 276