Guest Blogger #326, Entry #896, January 13, 2012

Selling homes privately has become increasingly popular, largely due to the potential for saving significant amounts of money. Using real estate agents is a large expense that can wind up costing you between 1.5 and 3.5 percent of the home’s sale value. Especially in today’s real estate climate, when many people are forced to sell in a state of negative equity, why pay more than necessary?

Selling your home privately has several advantages

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Pricing your Property

A great benefit to selling your home privately is that you can price your property to sell without having to worry about increasing the price so that you will be able to pay your agent. When pricing your property, look at similar homes in the area. Consider their price but also how long it took for the properties to sell. If you are still unsure, ask an appraiser to give you an honest estimate as to how much they believe your house to be worth. Pricing your home too low is something no one wants to do but pricing too high could result in you being stuck with the home for an inordinate amount of time, assuming it sells at all!

Making your home desirable

When preparing your home to be listed, make sure that you take plenty of great pictures. Ensure everything is as tidy as possible so that you will draw the most interest. Choose a day when the sun is out and the property is at its best. When taking pictures, make sure that you hit all the areas of interest to potential buyers. This would include both the front and back exterior as well as the main rooms such as all bedrooms, bathrooms, the living room, dining room, and basement if the house has one. Along with the pictures, draft a description of your home. Although you might be tempted to exaggerate the positive qualities of the house, make sure that you are being accurate. Although an overly optimistic review may attract more visitors, they will immediately be turned off from the purchase if you are not honest.

Advertising your home for sale is cheaper and easier than in the past

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Advertising is affordable

Another great benefit to privately selling is that you can take full advantage of inexpensive means of advertising. Newspapers can be a great resource, particularly ones that are devoted to real estate or have large real estate sections. Peruse different newspapers to get a feel of which ones would be the most effective.

The Internet is also a great location to post your property. Numerous websites list properties for a very small fee, often significantly less than a newspaper will charge. Posting property information along with numerous pictures on the Internet is a great way to get your home noticed by potential buyers as more and more people conduct home searches online. Online sites also have more room available for additional pictures whereas newspapers typically only permit a couple.

Although there is no question that using a real estate agent may make the process simpler, there is certainly no reason to assume that is your only option. Whether you are selling your first home or have completed the process several times, selling privately can be a great choice that could very well save you thousands of dollars.

Amber Tate is a flexible freelance writer who is passionate about the health insurance industry and informing consumers how to get cheap insurance quotes.

For more home selling tips on Stagetecture, click here.