For Sale By Owner: The Inside Scoop On Selling Your Own Home

If you're thinking about selling your home perhaps the 'for sale by owner' signs posted on neighborhood lawns have intrigued you. When you browse the newspaper listings you see ad after ad boasting 'for sale by owner' as an added incentive for buyers and you envy the owners that are confident enough to try it.

There is plenty of money in real estate and who wants to split the profits with an agent? You have to ask yourself the question 'Should I try to sell my own home?'

Before you stick the black and orange 'for sale by owner' sign on your front lawn here's a few questions you need to answer?

"Do I have time to sell my own home?"

You guessed it - a lot of the money you are paying your real estate agent pays for their time. When a prospective client is motivated the real estate agent is available to take the call, show the home and follow up the interest. It is vitally important to be available when an interested buyer is ready to act.

If you want to keep your cash then be prepared to handle calls in the middle of supper or even the occasional drive-by visitor. Knowing you're saving a few thousand dollars can make this little more than a tolerable distraction.

"Do I have the skills to sell my home?"

Not everyone is a born salesperson, but that doesn't mean you can't learn. If you find the challenge exciting rather than overwhelming you've got what it takes to pick up a few pointers and sell your home.

You'll also have to develop a keen eye for creating appealing ads and learning where to advertise. With the increase in 'for sale by owner' websites you can have your listing made available to a wide audience along with your newspaper listing.

"What do I need to know about handling the sale?"

All the information you need can easily be found in a book or you might ask someone who has successfully sold their own home. Looking for appropriate legal advice is not only necessary but will also help make the process run smoothly.

If you have an interest in selling your own home be prepared for real estate agents to contact you and try to convince you that you're missing out on opportunities that only they can provide. Make it your aim to do a little research, know your market and strategy and you can handle this just fine - and keep your profits for your hard work!

Shannon Emmanuel is a freelance researcher and writer. Find out more about real estate investing and selling at http://ask-real-estate-listings.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Realtors Say Foreigners Hold Key to Real Estate Revival - FOXNews

Real Estate Market Slumps, Showhomes Soars - MarketWatch

Investment Regimes for Indian Real Estate Sector Explored - MarketWatch

Moody#39;s: Commercial real estate prices rise - CNNMoney.com

Architects see drop in real estate design contracts - Los Angeles Times

Research and Markets: Investor#39;s Suffrage: Real Estate Investment ... - MarketWatch

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Target shareholder revises real estate proposal - The Associated Press

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E-House Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results - MarketWatch

UPDATE 1-Dubai real estate suffers as distressed sales rise - Reuters

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/3489393/Dubais-Palm-Jumeirah-sees-prices-fall-as-crunch-moves-in.htmlcid=1272482869ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNG9WN7DtKjrW5cZxCiXW3RR4rWN8wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=bJ7NS7OHnQwJimgurl=www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01117/palm_1117796f.jpg width=80 height=50 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Telegraph.co.uk/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSLK52063320081120cid=1272482869ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNEPaFJkMjLECWkwtT34jMRz-z_khAUPDATE 1-Dubai breal estate/b suffers as distressed sales rise/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fReutersnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The once-booming breal estate/b sector of the emirate is showing signs of collapsing due to the global credit crisis, as prices fall sharply and buyers b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-1fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8045417cid=1272482869ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNHftecYYBKwD7nOLSks8DHOG4v0fgDubai#39;s Palm property prices fall 40 pct - brokers/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrguardian.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-2fd=Rurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/3489393/Dubais-Palm-Jumeirah-sees-prices-fall-as-crunch-moves-in.htmlcid=1272482869ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNG9WN7DtKjrW5cZxCiXW3RR4rWN8wDubai#39;s Palm Jumeirah sees prices fall as crunch moves in/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTelegraph.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-3fd=Rurl=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLK188420081120cid=1272482869ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNGwxuqbbDVIzECv82by8xjitg4gcQDubai distressed property sales rise as crisis bites/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReuters/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272482869hl=ennobrall 21 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Artis Real Estate Investment Trust announces monthly cash distribution - FOXBusiness

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/artis-real-estate-investment-trust-announces-monthly-cash-distribution-319904495/cid=1272287796ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNFiXnEMCRMKRG92pDCHBeWLv4hdRQArtis bReal Estate/b Investment Trust announces monthly cash distribution/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFOXBusinessnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Artis is a growth-oriented breal estate/b investment trust focused exclusively on commercial properties located in primary and growing secondary markets in b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-1fd=Rurl=http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D2192:amid-global-economic-slowdown-investors-are-well-advised-to-train-their-sights-on-real-estate-%26catid%3D47:propertiescid=1272287796ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNH7azqkK-jXdQ-jTq8_VqF4LwYglQ‘Amid global economic slowdown, investors are well-advised to b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBusiness Mirror/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-2fd=Rurl=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2008/19/c2246.htmlcid=1272287796ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNFVhzJ1r6LhSH77Keir11NDgBhhzQCrombie REIT announces monthly distribution/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCanada NewsWire (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-3fd=Rurl=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/investors-real-estate-trust-announces-increase-regular-quarterly-common-share-1154743513/cid=1272287796ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNGGToaSGKUZIaewER9FcEs4DrHFVgInvestors bReal Estate/b Trust Announces Increase in Regular b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrFOXBusiness/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-4fd=Rurl=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/holloway-lodging-real-estate-investment-trust-announces-monthly-distribution-1482787386/cid=1272287796ei=oH4lSZmFGo6CzgT3s6nFAQusg=AFQjCNFasXBUTUAE_gDNU4f6AsOw_reNDAnobrFOXBusiness/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272287796hl=ennobrall 24 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

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