Select Belen Duplexes  
 

Selling Real Estate FSBO (For Sale By Owner)

  
  By David B. Zwiefelhofer  
     
  Introduction

The trend towards “do it yourself,” as witnessed by the proliferation of home improvement stores, is well expressed in the home selling market. More and more homeowners are successfully selling their homes on their own and saving themselves, and their buyers, many thousands of dollars in sales commissions.

The biggest factor in driving this new trend is the Internet, or more specifically, the World Wide Web. The web has allowed home sellers to present their properties for sale on a pervasive and increasingly ubiquitous medium that's rapidly taking the middleman out of real estate sales.

Many people assume that they can easily sell their own house and save the six to seven percent commission a real estate broker would normally charge. Many are right and many are wrong. Those who are wrong generally have committed one or both of two cardinal home selling sins.

Over-pricing the property is the most common mistake in “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) home selling (and it’s hardly uncommon in agent sales). Homeowners don’t fail to sell their homes because closing is too difficult or complicated. They don’t fail because they lack the connections of a real estate agent. They don’t fail because they lack real estate marketing savvy. They fail because they haven’t accurately measured the value of their homes and they don’t want to share the commission savings with potential buyers.

Okay, some fail because they assumed buyers would look past the peeling paint, clutter and general shabbiness of their property. No matter what you think, most buyers won’t be able to picture themselves living in your mess.

So polish up your home, ask a fair price and you’ll successfully sell your home.

I. To FSBO or Not to FSBO?

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that selling your house is a simple procedure. While not particularly difficult, it is time consuming. You’ll need to do all the things a real estate agent does, on top of all the things you would normally have to do yourself.

You’ll have to spruce up, repair and clean your house as well as extensively research your neighborhood. You’ll need to find out at what price comparable houses (comparables) in your neighborhood are selling. What are their tax assessments? You might want to have your home appraised ($200 to $300) to help determine a fair asking price.

Where and how good are the local schools? What public facilities are near-by? How about shopping?

Are there potential problems with your property such as asbestos, radon or a buried oil tank? You’ll have to find out and disclose them. Don’t even think of trying to hide such things or you could end up in a world of legal trouble.

You’ll also have to pay for all the services a real estate agent would normally provide, such as listing your home in the local classifieds ($20 to $35 per week) and closing services (around $600 for a lawyer).

Can you distinguish a good prospect from someone who can’t afford your house or a window shopper? You should also pre-qualify potential buyers before accepting an offer. Imagine accepting an offer, taking your home off the market and then finding out your buyer can’t close.

If you don’t secure your valuables, you might find them missing after showing your house to that nice couple who kept wandering off through your house in different directions.

Another concern with selling your home yourself is your ability to sell. If you’ve never been able to sell or negotiate before, don’t think you’re suddenly going to acquire these abilities just because you want to sell you home. Be realistic. You don’t have to be PT Barnum to sell your house, but you can’t be a shrinking violet, either.

You’ll have to give up your weekends to open houses. You’ll have to endure strangers criticizing your decorating. You’ll have to drop everything to show your house at a moment’s notice.

Of course, the incentive for selling your house can be great. Seven percent of $150,000 is $10,500. Even assuming you spend $600 on a lawyer, $300 for an appraisal, $195 for a web site listing and sign, $400 on advertising and $50 miscellaneous items you’re still $9,000 ahead of the game! If your total For Sale By Owner (FSBO) expenses are $1,500 then anything sold for over $25,000 is money in your pocket.

II. Prepare Your Home for Sale

It is best to make the assumption that buyers believe what they see and have little ability to imagine what could be. For example, if your home is immaculate and very well kept inside, but the outside has not received adequate attention, most buyers will not bother to stop and inquire. They will assume that the inside is also not worth their time. Therefore, you would be well advised to take the time to fix up your home in certain areas, which will increase its “showability.”

Create “Curb Appeal”

What often gets buyers’ attention is the first impression. The first impression is most likely to occur when buyers first pull up to your house. Make sure that the front outside of your house looks inviting, and for very little money you can do just that. You should mow, water and fertilize your front lawn. Trim old, wild shrubs and plant new ones if needed. Plant blooming flowers near the entryway. If the walkway to the entry of the house is damaged or broken, consider replacing it with inexpensive stepping stones. Evaluate whether you need to repaint or simply wash/clean the front of your house. If there is paint peeling off or it looks old and weathered, repaint the front as well as the front door. When repainting any parts of your home for sale, always use calm, neutral colors. Personal preferences are so varied; you do not want to risk ruining the first impression of your home by painting it any wild or nontraditional colors that could offend buyers. If you have the time, all of this work can be done by yourself or with the help of friends and family members. The cost of materials is minimal.

Clean, Repair, Repaint

Repainting is one of the most cost-effective ways to get your home looking cleaner, newer and larger. You should carefully consider repainting the entire interior of your home. If this is not feasible, be sure to at least repaint the key rooms—entryway, master bedroom/bath, and kitchen. As stated earlier, use neutral colors—either white, beige, cream, or a light color of some sort. The use of strong colors tends to yield to personal preference and could detract from your home’s general appeal. It also makes it much more difficult for buyers to imagine their own belongings in the home. As you are repainting, you should also be repairing any cracks in the walls and along baseboards and molding as necessary.

Washing the inside and outside of your windows will make your home look cleaner, larger and much more cheery, dramatically improving the “feel” of the house.

In terms of repairs, begin repairing all the little, inexpensive things first, such as leaky faucets, broken light fixtures, broken cabinets and drawers, etc. The rule of thumb to follow: spend the lowest amount that will give you a good-looking result. Often times, cleaning, painting, and touching up can make things look very inviting at an economical cost.

Eliminate Clutter

Buyers like spacious rooms. Too much furniture, too many knick-knacks and other personal items in your house make the rooms look smaller and cluttered. Conversation items also tend to distract from the home. Remove such items, and place in storage, or at a friend or family member’s garage. When you are showing the home, you do not want such items to steal the attention of the buyer. You must help buyers be able to visualize how their furniture will look in your home. Crowded rooms make this more difficult. The best way to help the buyer visualize is to make the rooms look spacious and thinned out. It will no doubt look empty to you, but great to buyers.

Flooring

Take a good look at your floors. You may need only to hire a professional floor/carpet cleaner to get them looking clean and presentable. However, if the carpet/floor is just too old, worn-looking, or badly stained, consider re-carpeting. Instead of buying carpeting from one of the major flooring stores, try to find a “carpet broker.” Real estate professionals who also handle residential/property management will likely know of some carpet brokers. These individuals buy a limited selection of carpeting directly from the mill and can save you 50%. Once again, a lighter, neutral color will be more attractive to more buyers and will make the rooms look larger.


Things to Avoid Spending Money On

Since the backyard is not in view from the front of the house and buyers tend to have varied preferences for the use of a backyard, it is recommended to not spend a lot of money on landscaping, etc. Do the minimum—mow, pull weeds, in short, make it look presentable.

You may have “larger ticket” repair items that need to be dealt with—things that don’t have to do with appearance (heating, air conditioning, roofing systems to name a few.) Is it worth it to replace such items? Generally speaking, it is not. You need to tell the buyer of these problems, and then negotiate the cost of getting them repaired or replaced. Most of the time, it pays not to do the big-ticket items. You simply offer a reduction in sales price, which typically can be quite a bit less than making the actual repair yourself.


III. Price Your Home Appropriately

One of the most difficult things of all is to be realistic about price. Sellers have numerous ways of justifying what their house is worth, but in the end your house is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it. This is the most important decision you have to make when you sell FSBO. It may be good for you to know that most FSBOs are priced at higher prices than competing homes listed with agents. This will keep the house from selling. For this reason, real estate agents love to see FSBOs. To them, an FSBO represents a possible future listing. Agents also will send over clients to see the FSBO comparable to help justify prices of listed homes. Always remember that when buyers are drawn to FSBO homes, they are assuming that the savings in real estate commissions will be reflected in the price of the house. If the price of your house does not reflect this savings, you will not get offers, you will not sell your house, and you will probably end up listing with an agent and paying the commission.

There are a variety of methods to determine at what price you should set your house. The method most mortgage appraisers, agents, and others in the business use, is the analysis of comparable houses. If you can determine how much a comparable property sold for, that’s the most likely value of yours. There are a number of ways to find sales prices of comparables. Perhaps the easiest and least expensive way to get pricing information on comparables, is to call a real estate agent and tell them that you are interested in selling your house FSBO and would like some information on comparables. Most agents will recognize that you represent a potential future client, and give you the help you need. They will have a computer system that will quickly pull up the recent sales in your area. Keep in mind that comparables are those houses that have sold in the last six months. Since the homes are likely to be different in a number of ways, and have various pros and cons, you will need to carefully figure how much to add and subtract to come up with a price for your house. The average of all the comparables after adjusting for differences should be your asking price before discounting for commission savings. Remember that the sold prices are the true value, not the asking prices. You can also hire an appraiser to complete an official appraisal which is the same process but much more detailed. These appraisals can range from $200-$400.

Following is a list of characteristics for comparison purposes:

1. Is the comparable in the same part of town or same neighborhood?
2. Does it have the same number of bedrooms and baths?
3. Does it have about the same square footage?
4. Is it about the same style?
5. Does it have roughly the same amenities (fireplace, pool, garage, etc)?

Remember that the biggest mistake most FSBOs make is thinking that they can keep the entire commission savings for themselves. Consider the following illustration:

You’ve done your homework and determined that homes like yours are usually listed for $100,000. You also know that three of such properties have sold in the past six months for $95,000, meaning that buyers are buying these homes for 5% less than listed price. If the average commission is 6%, then the sellers of these homes are actually receiving $89,300 (not including closing costs) because the commission is $5700. If you choose to also ask $100,000, you will have difficulty selling it at that price. At the same price, buyers will chose to make offers on listed houses for a number of reasons. Buyers will be more interested in FSBO properties if they see savings sharing.

If you list your house at $92,500 you are much more likely to get offers, and you will still be saving $3,200 in commission charges when compared with listed sellers who sold at $95,000 and netted $89,300.

For the exact same price, why do buyers prefer to deal with agent listed properties? The main reason is because of confrontation. There are things about the home that buyers will say to agents that they feel uncomfortable saying to a seller. When these things come up, you’ll need to be “thick-skinned.” Also, many buyers will see you as an adversary and may distrust you. Again, establishing trust by being honest is the only way to go.

IV. Make a Sales Strategy and Marketing Plan

How do you find those individuals who are most interested in purchasing your home? You must advertise in as many forms of media as possible. Here, we will focus on the most cost-effective forms of advertising.

Display a Yard Sign

Displaying a professional yard sign is one of the most effective things you can do to sell your home. Your sign will catch attention and let passers-by know that you are a serious and committed seller. A web site address on the sign will direct interested individuals to your site where they will find all the necessary specifications about your home. When your telephone rings and they mention the web site, you will know that you are speaking with a comparatively serious buyer.

You may be thinking that all the other properties listed on your FSBO site may distract the prospect from your home. This is true, however it works both ways. Buyers directed to the site from sources other than your sign will see your home as well.

You should also invest in “teaser signs”. They can be very effective in directing nearby passing traffic to your home.

Information Box

By purchasing an information box and placing in it copies of the home’s “fact sheet”, prospects can immediately satisfy their interest in your home. For those few individuals who do not have Internet access, this is an excellent way to give them immediate information. Do not include financial information (your mortgage information or what you paid for the house) other than the asking price.

Spread the Word

Since you already have the fact sheet on your home, tack it on to as many bulletin boards as you can—grocery stores, libraries, and health clubs. Check with the housing offices of military institutions, schools, government and private sector corporations that may have housing offices for their enrollees/personnel.

Let everyone you come into contact with know that you are selling your home. Talk to your coworkers, friends, neighbors, people you meet at parties, acquaintances at your kid’s school and anyone else you can. Even if they themselves are not in the market for a new home, they may know of someone who is.

Newspaper Ads

Although this method is more costly, it will reach large numbers of prospects. Each Sunday local papers publish a real estate section. Somewhere in this section all the classified ads are listed. Try running an ad for one or two weeks and see what happens. Vary the wording in future ads so that it doesn’t look like the same ad running over and over.

If you wish to point readers directly to your web page you should make note of the URL when you've navigated to it and then include it in your advertising. If the URL is long and confusing, go to Tiny URL to make it into a short and sweet one.

Make sure your ad conveys the basic information:

1. FSBO—Start the ad with this, or the words “By Owner”
2. Price
3. Location—many papers list according to location (as does the Journal)
4. Size—number of bedrooms and baths; square footage
5. Best selling feature—large lot, pool, hot tub, newly remodeled, redecorated, etc.
6. Inducements—Give a reason to motivate a seller to call you (“eager to sell”, “a great bargain”, etc.)
7. Telephone number


Working with Agents and Brokers

If you are presented with an opportunity to save time by working with a broker or agent that may have a buyer, be prepared for how you want to handle it. For example, you may get calls from agents or brokers that tell you that they may have a serious buyer for your home. They want to know if you would be willing to pay a commission. A “selling commission” is generally half of a full commission (2% to 3%) and this is the most you should agree to pay under these circumstances. Be careful not to “price yourself out of the market” by increasing your asking price to accommodate this fee.

V. Showing Your House

There are several important guidelines that if followed, will greatly help you make the most out of the time you invest in showing your home.

However, before you show the house to a potential buyer, they typically will call you first and ask specific questions about the home. Of course the vast majority of the standard questions are addressed on the web site. Keep in mind that you may be speaking with someone who has not yet looked up your home on the site. Often, buyers with cell phones that are driving through a neighborhood that they like will simply call the number immediately to get basic information. At any rate, listen carefully to the caller and answer questions honestly and thoroughly. If you get past the basic questions and they remain interested, offer to show the home. If the caller agrees, ask them some questions: get their name and phone number minimally. It is a good idea to get an impression of whether this is a serious buyer or a “looker.” You may ask if they live in town, if they currently own a home, if it’s on the market, etc.

If you are not able to receive calls, be sure that you have some sort of answering machine or voice mail. Put a message on it that directs prospects on what to do: leave their name and phone number. Let them know when you may be returning or at least when they may expect to hear back from you.

Be careful about allowing children to handle prospects. You know more about presenting your home to prospects than your kids, so don’t risk losing a potential sale.

Your home needs to be ready for showing at a moment’s notice and you need to make yourself available at the convenience of buyers. It is suggested that you show the home by appointment only. This not only gives you a chance to get the house ready, but also to get names, phone numbers, and to determine if prospects are legitimate.

Even so, drop-ins will occur. Take caution here, because drop-ins are completely unscreened. Please follow these guidelines when handling drop-ins:
1. Have drop-ins write their name, address and telephone number down for you.
2. Ask to see an I.D. Serious buyers will not have an issue with this.
3. Ask the same questions that you ask callers on the telephone.
4. Do not let drop-ins into your house after dark.
5. Do not show your home to drop ins when you are alone.


Staging

When you are setting up appointments allow yourself at least one hour to prepare for the arrival of the potential buyer. It is recommended that you do the following:
ins:
1. Vacuum and/or sweep
2. Wash bathroom and kitchen floors
3. Scrub sinks, counter tops, toilets, tubs and showers
4. Wash and put away all dirty dishes
5. Be sure counter tops are nearly empty—clear all clutter
6. Put away all laundry and other loose clothing
7. Make all the beds
8. Turn all lights on in every room and open all curtains and shades, making the home appear brighter
9. Deal with any odors that may be present—spray freshener in the bathrooms, have potpourri simmering on the stove, or better yet, have some cookies baking in the oven. There are also available some scented oils that you simply drop on to light bulbs that help create a pleasant atmosphere
10. Consider playing some low-volume, soft music
11. Light a fire in the fireplace if appropriate
12. Check the temperature of your house to be sure it is neither too hot nor too cold—you want buyers to be comfortable


Security

It is advisable to be overly careful in terms of security. Check to be sure that there are no valuables left lying around your home. Place them in a secure area, preferably outside your home, perhaps in a safe deposit box. If possible, have a second person with you when showing the home. As stated earlier, get the buyer’s name and phone number if you have not already done so earlier, as well as a photo I.D. and ask them to “sign in.” Keeping a guest log/book is a good idea. All visitors see that it’s not just them that you are requesting this information from — it is your standard procedure. Lastly, try to keep all visitors with you. A standard scam is for two individuals posing as potential buyers to work together. One occupies the seller, while the other rummages through the house looking for valuables. Keep in mind, this can happen just as easily to agents as to FSBOs.

Welcoming the Potential Buyer

When the buyer arrives, invite him/her in and welcome them. Establish rapport by asking some questions—Were the directions O.K.? Did you have a hard time finding us?, Have you ever purchased a home from a FSBO before? This is a great question because you now can launch into the advantage of doing so. As a FSBO you are interested in a fast sale and are saving the agent’s commission so the house is priced to reflect both of those points (make sure it is!).

The general rule of thumb next is to get out of the buyer’s way and let them view the house without continual verbal interruptions from you. This of course contradicts what we said about security. Use your judgement and stay nearby particularly if they could not produce an I.D. Many sellers are justifiably concerned that buyers will not see all the wonderful features of the home unless they point them out. To resolve this concern, have a handout of all the features of the home available and distribute upon entry to the home. Of course all of this information should also be on a web site.

After the buyers have looked around and appear to be finished, you can then point out special qualities that you feel they may have missed. Try to be helpful to the buyer. You may wish to point out any neighborhood qualities, schools, shopping, etc. that you believe are an asset.

VI. Negotiating

First and foremost you have to figure out what your goal is in selling your home. Are you relocating? Moving up to a bigger house? Perhaps you’re downsizing. Are you trying to avoid foreclosure? Knowing why you want to sell will help determine your lowest acceptable price, which is crucial in negotiation.

Once you know what your lowest net amount is you should figure what price you need to accept to net your target amount. Do this by adding up all of your projected expenses and adding them to your target net. Start thinking about selection of a title company/closing agent to conduct your closing. Call them to determine all associated costs with the closing of your home. They will also direct you to places that sell purchase agreements, addenda to purchase agreements (for counter offers) and other related forms. Next, add all closing-related costs with advertising costs and repair costs to your target net. Now that you have your bottom line price figured out, you need to find out what your house is worth. Read the section on pricing your house appropriately. No matter how good a negotiator you are, you’re not going to get much more than your house is worth and pricing your home too high is only going to drive away potential sales.

The Basics

Always be polite, courteous and pleasant and never argue. Your prospect might seem rude, but remember she/he is probably trying to negotiate a good price through their insensitive remarks about your house. They’re only trying to get the lowest possible cost, so don’t take these comments personally. If you want to get the highest possible return you’ll gently parry their comments.

Don’t appear over-eager. It makes people suspicious and takes away your negotiating leverage. On the other hand, don’t be too stubborn. Flexibility and a willingness to see the buyer’s point of view will go a long way towards winning trust and eliciting compromise.

The tour of your home is very important in the negotiating process. Generally you’ll encounter many of your prospect’s arguments in this venue. You should anticipate these arguments so you can acknowledge their validity (remember, we can see our buyer’s point of view) and then gently counter them without appearing defensive.

A prospective buyer might point out that the street you live on is rather busy. You should acknowledge that it is busier than many residential back streets, but it’s only busy between five and six in the evening. And besides, you’ve already reduced your asking price by several thousand dollars for this very reason.

While showing your home, don’t hesitate to point out the bright spots that your prospect might appear to miss. Being shy and quiet won’t sell your house.

Be aware that serious prospects might visit your home three or four times and even then decide not to make an offer. Be patient.

If your prospect wants to negotiate verbally, decline. You have nothing to gain and money to lose. A prospective buyer might ask, "will you take $5,000 less?" An appropriate response would be, "I’ll consider any reasonable written offer." Anything not in writing is not binding so insist that all offers be written.

You should have "purchase agreements" available to give to serious prospects. You can get these at any office supply store or other places recommended by your title company. If a prospect is serious about negotiating to purchase your home it only makes sense that you ascertain whether they can afford your home. Buyers can easily “pre-qualify” themselves for a mortgage. Many mortgage companies will pre-qualify buyers from their web site or with a quick phone call. They will then present the buyer with a letter indicating qualification for a given mortgage value. You don’t want to waste time, money and effort on someone who never had the ability to buy. You wouldn’t want to accept an offer, take your house off the market and then find out that your buyer can’t close. Insist on pre-qualification before negotiating.

Once the negotiations are underway work toward areas of agreement. If there are sticking points that you can’t seem to agree on put them aside and work on issues where agreement is closer. If you feel you must compromise on one or more points, nail down all the others first, in writing, before making your concession, so that the deal will be done once the concession is made.

Once you have an agreement, stop negotiating. Stop talking about the deal and move on to lighter topics. You don’t want any second guessing going on.


VII. The Closing Process

Gather Property Records

You’ll need to gather all the documents concerning your ownership of your property. They should include the following:

1. Deed
2. Closing Statement — an itemized statement from the title company/closing agent detailing the financial transactions relative to your purchase of your property
3. Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC & Rs) — document typical of condominiums, co-ops and time-shares detailing various restrictions on the property
4. Inspection Reports — environmental, pest control, etc.
5. Insurance Papers — fire, homeowner’s, mortgage, etc.
6. Loan Papers — mortgage contract or satisfaction of mortgage and reconveyance deed, promissory note, trust deed, mortgage payment statements, property tax statements, property tax assessment notices, improvement notices, etc.

Once you have an accepted offer to purchase in writing, you and the buyer should deliver it with the buyer’s earnest money to the title company/closing agent. Both you and the buyer need to be present to answer any questions regarding closing instructions that the title company/closing agent may have. The closing agent in New Mexico is typically a title company, however could also be an attorney, an abstract company, a lending institution or a real estate professional.

The title company/closing agent will handle all the final paperwork. This is the safest route in terms of making certain the paperwork is done properly. Three to six weeks after they have received the proper forms the sale will be complete. Once the final documents are signed and the sale is complete the transaction is said to be "perfected". But before the sale is perfected a good deal needs to happen. The vast majority of home sales go through a lender who will have numerous requirements: various inspections, property insurance, title insurance, and an appraisal. They will also want to see the fianl purchase agreement. It is customary (yet still negotiable) for the seller to provide they buyer with title insurance, which obviously will be handled by your selected title company. Encumbrances, liens, rights of way and other such matters need to be resolved and/or disclosed. Any agreed upon work and inspections must be completed. Both you and the buyer should monitor this process to insure timely completion. The title company/closing agent will insure that both you and your buyer are protected legally.

Closing Items Checklist

1. Review the Commitment Letter (Buyer) — from the lending institution specifying the loan they are willing to make
2. Select a Title Company/Closing Agent (Buyer) — a title company, escrow company, attorney, lender or real estate professional to conduct the closing.
3. Set the Closing Date (Buyer, Seller, Closing Agent).
4. Select an Attorney (Buyer and/or Seller) — if you want personal representation in the closing process.
5. Secure Title Services (Buyer) — to conduct a title search and obtain title insurance and to find any liens on the property. You should get both a lender’s and buyer’s title insurance policy. You can probably get a break on the title search from the company that conducted the title search for the seller when he/she bought it.
6. Order a Property Survey (Buyer) — if the lender requires one.
7. Order a Termite Inspection (Seller) — if they are a problem in your region and/or the lender requires it. The report should be delivered to the lender at least several days before closing.
8. Purchase Homeowner’s Insurance (Buyer) — The lender will require a policy. It should cover at least replacement cost of the property.
9. Check on Mortgage Insurance (Buyer) — if buyer puts down less than 20% it may be required.
10. Check for Well and Septic Certificates (Buyer) — if the property doesn’t have water and sewer utility service you need to get local government certification of your water source and sewage disposal.
11. Final Walk-Through (Buyer) — conducted within one day of closing (be sure this is stated in your purchase agreement), this is an opportunity to see that all the agreed upon repairs and included items are satisfactorily met. If they aren’t you can delay closing.


VIII. Moving

Moving Checklist

1. Check Homeowner’s Insurance — coverage termination date on old residence, coverage on the move as well as the new house.
2. Change of Address Forms — obtain from your local post office, fill out send to all correspondents.
3. Transfer Records — request in writing transfer of records from current to new institutions.
4. Switch Utility Services — contact your current service providers and tell them the date on which to cease service and where to send the final bills.
5. Contact New Service Providers — tell them when to start service.
6. List Belongings Not Wanted — so you can donate, sell or dispose of them.
7. Inventory Belongings — so you can be certain you lose nothing in the move and obtain adequate homeowner’s insurance.

Plan your move ahead of time to insure a smooth transition. If you don’t mind spending the money, hiring a moving company will save you a lot of time, effort and maybe even injury.

When hiring a moving company, find the top four or five and ask them for estimates. When doing so, be sure to let them know you are getting estimates and will be comparing them before making a decision on which company to hire. When asking for an estimate, ask for an itemized list of services with the price for each broken out. When you get an estimate, make sure it is complete and accurate because it is only for the items listed. If your estimate is a guaranteed or “not-over” type ask if extra items can be added at move time without additional fees. Also be sure to find out for how long the price estimate will be in effect.

Moving during your moving company’s slow time might be a way to negotiate a lower price.

You should be aware that most moving companies do not accept credit cards.

If you want to save money and move by yourself you’ll need to research moving trucks. Ask the truck rental businesses what size and type of vehicle they recommend for your move. Some base this on the size of your house, others will estimate cubic feet based on your inventory of items.

Local moves give you more flexibility. You can rent a smaller truck and make several trips. For a long distance move, you’ll obviously want to fit all your goods into a single trip.

You should also consider renting a hand truck with straps and wrapping blankets. The hand truck makes moving large appliances and boxes far easier.

Local liquor stores, grocery stores and computer stores are good sources of packing boxes. Send out large items that need cleaning and repair and have them delivered to your new address.

You might want to consider having a moving company handle the more difficult items while you tackle the rest. Then you’ll have some assurance that your expensive furniture and appliances will be handled professionally without paying a large expense for the easy things.

Summary

Selling your home on your own can be an extremely rewarding experience both financially and emotionally. Instead of feeling gouged by a monopolistic insider’s industry you can take control of the sale of your house and eliminate the one unnecessary middleman who takes the biggest slice of your sale proceeds.