ForSaleByOwner.com Offers Tips on What to Do before Putting a Home on the Market This Spring

CHICAGO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--With the spring home selling season quickly approaching, ForSaleByOwner.com wants home sellers to know what they should be doing in the weeks and months ahead of putting their home on the market. As the nation’s leading real estate website for “by owner” home sellers, ForSaleByOwner.com today offers its “Five Things to Do Before Putting a Home on the Market” to help home sellers.

“Sellers typically know months ahead of time that they will be selling their home and they should utilize this time to ensure a successful sale. Doing things now like painting and researching the local market will pay huge dividends in getting a home sold later this year.”

“The Internet has made selling a home ‘by owner’ much easier, but sellers still need to do work before putting a home on the market,” explains Greg Healy, Vice President of Operations for ForSaleByOwner.com. “Sellers typically know months ahead of time that they will be selling their home and they should utilize this time to ensure a successful sale. Doing things now like painting and researching the local market will pay huge dividends in getting a home sold later this year.”

“Five Things to Do Before Putting a Home on the Market”

1. Decide On a Home Selling Strategy: Sellers can either hire a real estate agent or decide to sell their home “by owner.” Agents do offer some convenience but their commission rates, which average close to 6%, make them expensive for too many sellers. It has become easier to become a “by owner” seller because the Internet offers the same types of advertising, marketing and pricing tools used by agents. The National Association of Realtors found that, on average, a “by owner” seller actually sells quicker and for closer to asking price than an agent-represented seller.

2. Start Researching Your Local Home Market: Any home seller can use Internet-based resources to compare their home to recently sold homes and homes that are currently on the market. This research will be invaluable to help a seller correctly price their home. ForSaleByOwner.com also offers an online appraisal service that provides a suggested listing price range.

3. Schedule a Home Inspection: A professional home inspection will provide a seller with a comprehensive report on the home’s condition. Not only will the report serve as a guide to help the seller determine what repairs to make, but prospective buyers will have more confidence making an offer because the report will tell them the condition of the house.

4. Get Your Home Ready: Now is the time to paint rooms in the house that need a fresh coat of paint and replace worn out carpets to give the home a fresh look. Sellers should also replace old or dated light fixtures and bathroom faucets, as well as rid the home of clutter to make it appear more spacious. Doing all of these things will help sellers get a jump on staging their home once it goes on the market.

5. Consult a Real Estate Lawyer: Real estate agents don’t handle the legal paperwork, only a real estate attorney or title company can. Consulting a real estate lawyer now will help “by owner” sellers navigate through any state or local real estate laws. ForSaleByOwner.com also offers state-specific real estate legal forms.

About ForSaleByOwner.com

ForSaleByOwner.com is the nation’s leading “by owner” real estate website. Since 1999, ForSaleByOwner.com has saved home sellers more than one billion dollars by providing premium Internet marketing services, MLS listing services, property pricing reports, real estate guidance and information, downloadable legal forms, as well as live customer support, to help customers independently sell their own homes. The company charges a modest fee for its wide range of advertising and real estate resources, priced from $89 to $899. In contrast, a person selling a $300,000 home through a real estate agent would be charged a 6% commission fee and pay approximately $18,000. Prospective homebuyers can browse property database, available at http://www.forsalebyowner.com, at no charge.