Selling houses on the web

We have lot of websites that are designed to help sellers sell their own homes without getting the help of an agent. You can find many of them by simply going to a web search engine like Google or Yahoo and typing "for sale by owner websites" into the search box. To list your home on the web, you have to go through the local representative. Among those some of the local operations are running well, and others appear to be run by clumsy, pushy managers.

The general concept of listing your home for sale by owner on a website goes as follows:

You pay a flat fee to get a web listing. If you want to buy an ad in the websites magazine, it's an extra fee. Some of these FSBO websites offer local classes to teach you the tricks of selling by owner. It also will either give you or sell you signage, listing sheets and other tools you'll need. You can even pay a separate fee that will get your home listed in the local multiple listing service, which is where the vast majority of home buyers go to look for homes that are available.

Unlike a discount broker who might be more involved with your sale, when you sell by owner using a website, you'll be responsible for doing just about everything, including the showings, any negotiation and making sure all the details get done that will enable the house to close. As far as ethics go, I think it's perfectly fine to consult with several top real estate agents in your area about selling your home. You could ask them to prepare a Comparative Marketing Analysis for your home, which would tell you how they would market the home and their suggested list price.

While you might then go and list the home yourself, most savvy agents know that just 15 to 20 percent of homeowners are able to sell by owner. The rest wind up using agents - typically the agent they liked best from the initial round of Comparative Marketing Analysis. Today, more real estate firms are acquisition the real estate services they offer, with the hopes of giving sellers exactly what they need at a price they're willing to pay.

Preparing house to sell

Doing whatever you can to put your houses best face forward is very imperative if you want to get close to your asking price or sell as quickly as possible. Short of spending a lot of money, here are several ideas for making your home show better:

* Sweep the sidewalk, mow the lawn, prune the bushes, weed the garden and clean debris from the yard.

* Clean the windows and make sure the paint is not chipped or flaking. If your home was built before 1978, new federal law gives a buyer the right to request a lead inspection.

* Be sure that the doorbell works.

* Clean and spruce up all rooms, furnishings, floors, walls and ceilings. It's especially important that the bathroom and kitchen are spotless.

* Organize closets.

* Make sure the basic appliances and fixtures work. Get rid of leaky faucets and frayed cords.

* Make sure the house smells good: from an apple pie, cookies baking or spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove.

* Hide the kitty litter.

* Put vases of fresh flowers throughout the house.

* Having pleasant background music playing in the background also will help set your stage.