With rising home selling prices, home sellers are tempted to save money by selling their home on their own. But do they really save money? I like to think of the process as retaining my equity. If you're like the average home seller selling a home for around $300,000, a six percent sales commission costs you $18,000.

If you want to sell on your own, think of the selling process as making the money yourself.

Although many FSBO home sellers have saved thousands of dollars in commissions, many others have lost money, and current statistics show that 80% of FSBOs will eventually list their homes after unsuccessfully trying to sell their homes themselves. However, if you're thinking of trying to sell your home without the aid of a real estate agent, here are a few tips for getting the most from the experience:

Think about your house as an investment, not a home.

Selling your home often can be a painful experience, so it's important to emotionally detach yourself from your house and try to think of it as an investment in your future. Try not to be affected by unkind remarks you may hear from prospective buyers trying to get you to lower your price by attacking various features of your house. And although you should call your house a "home" to prospective buyers, think of it as just a "house."

Prepare your home for selling before you list or offer it for sale.

Don't get hasty and put your home on the market until it shines. Get ready for your eventual move and start packing things you don't need. Put the extras in storage. Your goal, creating a buyer's dream home, means that you need to take your personality out of the house so buyers can envision their things in their new home. The less the house says "you." and the more your house speaks to the buyer's emotions, the more money you get.

Redesign your home according to your eventual buyers' needs.

Think about ways you can make your buyers emotions connect to your home. This doesn't require a total home remodel; redesign means that you change the way spaces work. For instance, make your extra room into a home office or fantastic guest retreat. Take a look at other competing homes on the market and you'll get ideas for redesign. Also, research how to redesign your home by painting in new colors that make buyers feel at home.

Home Staging

Take your home to a higher level than the normal shine and sparkle home staging. Set up scenes that suggest life-style changes for you buyers, who buy not only a house ,but a new way of living. For instance, home shoppers think that because they choose your house, they will enjoy settings you offer like a secret garden off the main bedroom or a space for entertaining guests around a backyard barbeque. For summer home staging, set up a table outside with a cloth table covering. Just a suggestion conjures images in your buyers' minds of fun times to be had if they pick your home.

Understand the Sales Process

You need to understand the financial process. Just because someone wants to buy your home doesn't mean they have the ability to finance a mortgage. Also, you need to know about disclosures, the closing process and appraisal issues. The more you know, the more you protect your equity, and the more money you will make.

© Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All Rights Reserved.

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