INTERNATIONAL LAND & TITLE CORPORATION
How to Be Your Own Real Estate Agent Selling Your Home
INTERNATIONAL LAND &
TITLE CORPORATION
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1. Price Your Home to Sell
Before you list the property on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) or anywhere else, make sure you’ve priced the home competitively.
Use the Internet to get an idea of selling prices for comparable homes in your neighborhood, and then price your house accordingly.
It’s easy to get hung up on this step and, especially if you’ve lived in your home for some time, you may feel compelled to overprice the
home. Don’t fall into that trap. Remember, the goal of this process is to sell your home, so make sure the asking price is realistic.
2. Obtain a Flat Fee Listing on the MLS
The MLS is the most comprehensive list of real estate for sale in the U.S. It is available to Realtors, and in some areas, prospective
buyers can also search for homes using the MLS. There are services that allow you to list your property on the MLS for a few hundred
dollars. Search for “Flat Fee MLS” online to find similar services in your area.
3. Market Your Property
In addition to listing the home on the MLS, advertise by putting up “for sale” signs, creating brochures, putting ads on Craigslist;
include items like brochures and yard signs. There will be some costs involved in advertising the sale of your home, but they will be a
fraction of an agent’s commission. The real cost is the amount of time and energy you will need to put into selling your home.
4. Hold an Open House
You can also hold an open house to advertise the sale of your home. Advertise for the open house by posting signs in your
neighborhood. Have some light refreshments available and set out brochures about the home that visitors can take with them as they
leave.
5. Know Your Property’s Selling Points
When writing your ad copy for websites or brochures, make sure to include basic information about the house, including the price,
number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, lot size, location, and of course the specific details that make the house special to potential
buyers.
Take a look at other listings on Craigslist, Realtors’ websites, and Yahoo! Real Estate to get a sense of what sort of details sellers and
agents are including in their listings. You’ll quickly find out that features like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and
oversized windows entice buyers. Determine what’s special about your home and highlight those features in your marketing efforts.
6. Prepare to Show Your House
You will have to prepare your house for showings and open house events. Deep-clean the house, including scrubbing the kitchen
counters and the appliances, shampooing the carpets, cleaning the linoleum, and stashing your keepsakes in a closet. The final result
should be a home that’s squeaky clean and stripped bare of most personal items.
7. Show Your House
If you are at home during the day, you can show the house yourself. Otherwise, you can schedule a showing time that is convenient for
both you and your potential Buyer.
8. Perform Your Own Negotiations
Real estate negotiations take the form of a contract that is submitted to the seller. The seller can accept the offer, or revise the
Contract and submit it to the buyer. The process continues until both parties sign a Contract.
9. Contact a Closing Agent
Once you have a signed Contract, contact a well reputed Title Insurance Company (it is not necessary to use a Law Firm or an Attorney
to close on your sale and certainly less expensive!). Check with the Better Business Bureau and shop around for prices, but remember
cheaper is not always better. Even the more expensive Title Insurance Company is cheaper than an Attorney’s Office so choose wisely
in a company you can trust.
For further free information please contact:
INTERNATIONAL LAND & TITLE CORPORATION
2385 N.W. Executive Center Drive, Suite 100
Boca Raton, Florida 33431
Office: 561-981-2539
Fax: 561-353-0327
admin@internationalworldcorp.us
