Are You Thinking About Selling Your Home Yourself? 

This page is designed to give you some information to consider when selling your home without professional assistance.

Selling “By Owner” is not as easy as you may imagine. Before you run out & buy that FOR SALE BY OWNER sign, ask yourself the following questions:

1.      Do you know how much your home is really worth in today’s market? Price it too high   & your home will sit on the market indefinitely. Price it too low & you’re throwing your money out the window.

2.      Are you able to verify a buyer's pre-approval status before you show them your property? When you sell by owner you will deal with many people, including those who are qualified to buy a home and those who don't have a chance of getting a home financed.

People who know they cannot buy sometimes think that for sale by owner homes offer a better opportunity, because they're hoping to find a seller who will finance the transaction.

3.      Are you familiar with the Illinois state laws which require that you give potential buyers the appropriate property disclosure forms when you sell a home? Disclosures typically deal with the condition of the property or facts about its location.

Don't assume that disclosures are only necessary for homes listed with real estate agents, because ALL SELLERS, even those selling their property by owner must furnish them.

4.      Who will provide the contract forms that will be used for an offer to purchase your house, you or the buyer? You can write a contract yourself on a piece of paper, but it wouldn't offer much protection for either the seller or buyer. The forms you use should be written specifically for Illinois real estate laws and cover all issues that are important for your location.

5.      Who will deposit & hold the buyer’s deposit/ earnest money? Do you know what to do with that check?

If you knew the answers to ALL the above questions then you are a real estate SUPERSTAR (have you thought about a career change?). However, if you experienced difficulty answering any of the above questions then you may not be ready to sell “By Owner.”  If you want to avoid potential problems and pitfalls during and after the sale of your property you have to consider and address ALL the above issues.

Although you may have considered all the issues that need to be considered when selling your home “By Owner,” there are still many reasons why people desire to sell their homes themselves.

1. You had a bad experience dealing with an agent or you do not know the value of   the service that an agent provides

2. You want to save money

Now let’s break those reasons down.

1. All agents are NOT created equal.  If you get a bad car, do you stop driving?   Do you never buy that kind of car again?  Everyone gets a bad deal at least once in their lifetime, and this can be especially devastating if that bad deal happens when undertaking such a critical endeavor as selling your home.  But if we all gave up on every professional every time we hit a bad representative, then we'd be back to wearing yak hide and trading shells for sticks.  Selling your home is one of the most important and difficult tasks you'll ever undertake.  Think carefully before you shut out the professional Real Estate agents available to you, and the invaluable services that they provide. 

2. The belief that you will NET more money by not having to pay a commission is a hard one to understand.  Let me start by saying that the types of buyers that look for For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes are bargain hunters.  They are savvy and know that they can reduce the price of your home by the cost of the commission, therefore they offer far less for your home then you are asking.  Also, you have to negotiate your price and terms for yourself.  An agent is not only trained to negotiate, but is an outsider that can negotiate objectively and without emotion.  Most buyers are moving into town and need a place to live.  The FSBO has no marketing tools to tap into this pool of buyers.  An agent, however, has the tools to market your home to these most valuable buyers (ones that need to buy now).  By reducing your pool of buyers to the bargain hunters, the odds of getting full price for your home is small. 

A Note On Commissions:  Like most other professionals, Real Estate agents don't get paid until the job is done.  Unlike other professionals, our job takes from 30 days to couple months to complete.  In the meantime, we provide not only the quality time and dedication that you deserve, but also a wide range of marketing and advertising tools designed to effect the best possible home selling experience; tools which you, the self-seller do not generally have access to.   All of this comes out of the Real Estate agent’s own pocket, because we don't get paid until your house is sold.  So, whether you call it a Commission or a Marketing Fee, it is a price well paid.

Can you sell your home yourself?  Yes you can.  If you are diligent and can dedicate the time, labor, and resources that will be required for the task, you most certainly can sell your home yourself. 

My question to you is, if you can NET as much by employing our services as you can by selling your home yourself, and you can save yourself the time, labor and stress involved, than why not let Schwind Realty & Development take care of the details?  We are trained and licensed professionals to serve you and help you maximize your profit margin.

If you have any questions or want to sell your home, please feel free to contact us.  We will be glad to assist you in any way we can.