Consider The For Sale By Owner Approach When Selling Your Property

What Is For Sale By Owner?

For Sale By Owner or Owner Assisted Real Estate is the process of selling your own home without the aid of a real estate agent. Whilst most may not have heard of the For Sale By Owner approach or believe that it is an allowed practice, you can be sure that it has been around for an extremely long time and it is 100% legal, despite what a real estate agent may tell you. Most people who use the For Sale By Owner Real Estate method are Property Investors and those who are looking to make an extra buck or two when selling their home or investment property.

How Does It Work?

Selling your own property is a multi-faceted process that only the brave normally take on but if you do your research, like reading this article, you will have no troubles. First, you need to think about how you are going to market the property such as writing listing copy, taking images for the property etc. This is something that doesn’t cost you a cent and can be done in little over an hour, all you need to do is sit down and write a description of your property and then walk through your house taking some nice photos that will appeal to potential buyers.

The next step is the negotiation and sales side of the process. You would be wise (if you have not had previous sales experience) to speak to someone who you know that knows about the art of sales and negotiation, like a friend. You would also be wise to speak to a lawyer or conveyancer about contracts and agreements for the sale of your property.

How Much Does It Cost?

When it comes to selling your own home, it will only cost as much as you would like it to cost. Below are some of the things you may need to consider purchasing when you are going down the For Sale By Owner path.

• Listing Your Property (Free & Paid Options)
• Photographer (Optional)
• For Sale Signage (Optional)
• Conveyancer / Lawyer (Essential)

Are There Any Hidden Surprises?

If you do your research, no. The whole For Sale By Owner concept is fairly transparent and you have full control over the process, the only catch is that you have to do most of the work yourself. Creating your advertisement or property listing, taking the images of your property, posting it online, erecting “For Sale” signage at the front of the property for sale, handling enquiries, negotiating with potential buyers, sealing the deal and having contracts or agreements written up.

It may sound like a lot to do but when you think of it, the bulk of the work goes into the advertising of the property which may only take you an hour depending on how quickly you can write a spiel on your property and how good you are with a digital camera, the rest is simply taking phone calls and having someone like a conveyancer draw up the contracts for your property sale.