The National Association of REALTORS estimates that nationwide thirteen percent of real estate sales are done without any involvement from an agent or broker.

When selling your own home, have open houses often. When you have open houses, invite friends, family, and neighbors over to check out your house. By doing this, it will inform them all that you are selling and they can assist by word of mouth to all of their friends and family. Many times they know of someone looking to buy a home or they may want to get someone they know into the neighborhood to live close to them. Talk to your mortgage broker for more ideas and tips on selling your own home.

Tips for your Open House:

• Clean up the inside of your home. Try and remove the clutter and make your home open and welcoming. People coming through will want to look behind every door. Turn on all the lights and replace any low watt bulbs with higher watt bulbs. You may want to consider a fresh coat of paint.
• Bake some cookies or get a sweet smelling candle (they do have cookie scented candles). Have fresh flowers in your kitchen and/or dining room.
• See if you can get some free flyers, recently sold properties in your area and the price, loan comparison forms based on your property and asking price. A mortgage broker can help you with some of these forms. Have your own flyers ready with your home’s information (look online at another home’s listing and make sure you covered all the bases). Check and see what your state required disclosures are and have them available: Home owners disclosure, lead based paint disclosure, property condition reports, etc.
• Freshen up any landscaping; a fresh layer of mulch can make a huge improvement in appearance. Sweep up walk ways and your drive way, and remove any eye sores or clutter.
• It is time for your best outfit, even if it is football Sunday. Sweat pants and your favorite team’s jersey are not appropriate. Put on your best smile and be friendly, pretend every person you meet just offered you 25% over your asking price as a cash offer.
• Ask questions. Some people will want the grand tour and some people will just want to be left alone to poke around. Be accommodating and help those who want it.

One creative way to draw attention to certain features of your home is to write a special feature(s) for each room down on an index card and post them in each area respectively. Make sure you post them where you are sure they are visible to each potential home buyer. This is a great way to focus on the positive characteristics of your home.

It is often helpful to have a loan officer help you with the open house. The loan officer can actually sit with you and talk to prospective buyers about financing options. Some people are more open with a loan officer than they would be with you, the home seller. It's a potentially good partnership for both parties.

Always answer any questions honestly. If there is an ugly patch of carpet where your dog chewed up a pen, let the prospective buyers know. If the roof leaks in the spring, but it's now summer and you've painted over the stain, tell the prospect. Anything you misrepresent can and probably will be used against you. And of course, you would want the same honesty if you were the buyer.

Probably the most critical component to the success or failure of a For Sale By Owner is the asking price. It must be high enough so the seller doesn't do all the work for nothing, yet pricing too high will make it hard to generate interest in the property. Many Realtors will perform a Comparative Market Analysis even though they are not going to be listing the home for sale. They do this because they feel the seller may let the Realtor represent them on the purchase of the seller's next home. The CMA can prove very valuable in helping the seller determine a proper asking price.

One way to prevent potential litigation for a problem you were unaware of is to hire an inspector to go through your home before you list it. That way, there will be no nasty surprises years later when the new owners discover something that began while you owned it--but didn't disclose.

You don't necessarily need to fix the problems, but you do have to disclose their existence.

If you've developed a relationship with a loan officer, you might consider asking him for a stack of his business cards. You can then hand them out to home viewers, and the loan officer can then speak with them regarding financing options. You will then have the benefit of knowing whether these potential buyers are truly capable of obtaining the financing necessary to purchase your home.

The kitchen is the single most important room that sells the house. Create a spacious feeling in the kitchen by putting away small appliances, such as microwave oven, toaster, and blender. Also be sure the kitchen counter is free of personal mail, magazines and newspapers.

A mortgage professional can often help you sell your home faster, by providing free marketing, and even potential qualified buyers.

You are attempting to sell your home yourself to avoid paying several thousand dollars in commissions. Be willing to spend some of that on advertising. Remember your home is competing for attention with those listed by real estate agents and they are putting ads in homes magazines, mailing out flyers, etc. A small 4 or 5 line ad once a week will most likely not get the job done. Establish a budget that will realistically promote the sale of your home.

Realize that buyers know you are saving a 6% realtor fee and expect you to at least split the difference. Spend some time learning how to "stage" your home. Let a mortgage professional provide financing information to potential buyers to relieve stress in this area. If you try yourself and decide it's not working, your mortgage professional can recommend a couple of real estate agents that are highly qualified to assist you.

Check with a title company for a FSBO kit. Many of them will provide them at no cost to encourage the seller to use them to close the loan. The kit will have a purchase agreement and other helpful information.

One of the primary concerns of the for sale by home owner is how much money it will cost them to sell their home, or how much they will be able to net after all is said and done. Realtors can take as much as 6% of the sale proceeds, and where the home owner does not have that kind of expendable equity in the home to be left over they may feel pressured to try and do it on their own. There are other ways however. Statistically, home owners often end up selling their home on their home at a higher price and still net the same when using real estate agents. There are many real estate agents who are willing to take a reduced commission or even a flat fee for their services. Talk to your mortgage broker about help regarding references of a reliable real estate agent that will assist you sell your home quickly without breaking you.

Work with a qualified mortgage professional. It cost you nothing, yet they will help you tremendously. A mortgage professional working for the seller should prequalify anyone who shows an interest in your home - even those who say they are already pre-qualified. This can save you countless hours of frustration dealing with people who are not qualified to purchase your home.

Finding a mortgage professional to work with in your for sale by owner listing can help you a lot. They can make flyers for your home giving different payments and scenarios for potential buyers.