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For Sale by Owner...

Would you like to make more money from the sale of your house?

You are probably thinking, "If I could sell it myself, I could save that outrageous Realtor fee."

Good News! You probably can sell it yourself.

Bad News... Even though you will save the Realtor commission, you will likely not come away from the sale with as much money as you would have if you had used a Realtor®. Read on

The Cola industry spent billions of dollars on advertising last year. The leading sales belong to the two that spent the most money on advertising. (I'd bet that you could readily name them) They link their leading sales directly to marketing and advertising. With the FSBO mentality, they could have made much more money if they had not "wasted" all that money on advertising.

You can go to the store and buy a generic brand of Cola for much cheaper because they don't advertise. Their sales are much less, and their product is priced lower. Buyers think of your home as the "generic cola" of homes when/if they come to see a home that is not professionally marketed.

The sale of a home also depends on many other factors which include:

1. Title Insurance

2. Legal contracts and documentation

3. A qualified Buyer

4. Professional Inspection and appraisal

The cost of Title Insurance is usually triple if a Seller is not using a Realtor®. Base cost of Title Insurance for a $200,000 home is about $850-1000. FSBO Title Insurance cost would be about $2500-3000.

Contracts and documentation cost is approximately $500-1500 as a base fee. This cost can go up dramatically if any additional work is needed.

Many FSBOs will offer a Realtor "co-op." This means that they will market a home, but if a Realtor® brings a buyer, they will pay them 2.8-3% of the purchase price. You can see how the fees quickly ad up.

Professional marketing involves much more than putting a sign in your yard and some ads in the other forms of media such as Newspapers and Internet. Professional Marketing involves skillfully positioning your home in the Marketplace with regards to price and presentation as well as a whole array of marketing vehicles to expose your home to as many potential buyers as possible.

Companies exist which will provide some of the services needed to sell your home at a "discount" price, but the sale price of your home will depend largely on the level of marketing.

When you employ a Realtor® to market your home, you are also getting the services of a professional negotiator. Many people have some experience in sales, so they think they can negotiate for their own property. The intricacies of the Real Estate market dictate that you need someone experienced in negotiating Real Estate. In other words, just getting a contract is not enough. The transaction will progress much more smoothly, and have a much higher likelihood of proceeding to close if you have a Professional working for you.

Summary: You can go through the headaches and legal hassles of trying to sell your home yourself, and still be the "generic" brand of home on the market (which statistically will bring you less money), or you can hire an experienced, professional Real Estate marketing expert who will skillfully and aggressively negotiate for the best price for your home. SAVE A FEW THOUSAND, BUILD YOUR STRESS LEVEL AND SELL IT YOURSELF, OR HIRE ME AND STATISTICALLY MAKE MORE THAN YOU WOULD HAVE BY SELLING IT YOURSELF.

Please call 303-668-1711 or send an e-mail to find out more.

I can't guarantee that you will make more money in your pocket or that the transaction will be trouble free by using me, but your best chance for getting your home sold for the least amount of trouble and for the highest price possible is to utilize my services. Statistics are from the National Association of Realtors ®and the Colorado Association of Realtors®

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