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Posted under For Sale By Owner, Houses for Sale

Okey dokey! You’re had your house on the market for sale and the price is right and your marketing machine is on fire and your phone is ringing off the hook! You’ve done your due diligence with potential buyers and now they are ready to come and see your home! Woohooo! Right?

It’s now time to take your marketing to the next level: house showings. How are you preparing for it? You’ve inspected, checked and cleaned your house thoroughly. You made sure everything’s in place, or if they’re not, in the most ideal place to be shown. Showings are, after all, the chance to impress the home buyers by flaunting everything your house has. And remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Ok, now relax. Showing your house to home buyers is especially easy when you’re trying to sell your own house by yourself. This is a good opportunity to get personal – homebuyers would want to see more than just the house they saw in the advertisement picture. As you move throughout the house, pay special attention to objects that created some memories during your stay. Things like “My father did this beautiful carving when he was 18” will add some personal note to your home. But remember, you should have decluttered and depersonalized your house as much as humanly possible prior to showing your home. Right? Did you remember reading that in our post “Reasons to Stage Your Home for Sale?” And while you’re on the business of using your family, don’t hesitate to let your family members take part. Assign jobs for them in advance for emergencies or short-notice showings, but try not to have the whole gang around when it comes to showing your home.

You want the home buyer’s full attention on your house. But at the same time you want some elements of your house to be insignificant enough to provide a comfortable environment. Make sure the house is well aired and lighted by opening windows (during possible weather) and positioning all the coverings to show maximum sunlight. A dark house, especially when it’s a big house, will create the effect of gloom and depression; not exactly the kind of house you’d buy.

During those times when you’re forced to keep all your windows shut, make sure the air inside your house is in good, clean condition. Some homeowners will bake cookies to keep that “fresh” air hanging, but if you’re not keen on taking it that far, just be sure to wipe out any pet / bathroom odors or smoke. In house showings, the air should do what it needs to do – allows human to breathe – and do nothing more.

Having a pet around is highly discouraged. No matter how well behaved they are, or how much you may love them (I know they are family too…trust me, I have 3 cats!), it’s not a good idea to bring out your animal. God knows what kind of behaviour they can suddenly break into in front of your guests!

Last of all, if an agent is showing your house to home buyers, try as hard as you can not to be at home. Homebuyers tend to feel like intruders when they’re checking details of a house with its owners watching.

And one final word of caution: If you are showing your house yourself, because you decided against using a real estate agent, please be very, very, very careful. You are letting strangers that you do NOT know into your home. Try to get their name and full address if you can and some form of valid i.d. BEFORE letting them into your home. It’s probably a good idea to have more than 1 adult present as well. I don’t say this to scare you, I just say it to make sure that you are prepared. It’s better to be safe then sorry.

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Posted under For Sale By Owner, Real Estate Agent/Realtor, Selling Your PA House

Yep, I know you’ve seen those before, right? They may have been a different color or said something a little different. Maybe it said: “Stop Your Pennsylvania Foreclosure!” or “Avoid Foreclosure” or “We Buy Houses Fast” or any combination of those. You’ve probably seen them in every color too, from white with blue letters to yellow with black letters to everything in between.

And if you’ve had a house for sale you know that those little signs at least piqued your curiousity, right? Well, today is the day where I let you know if those “We Buy Houses” sign people really do work.

Here’s the deal: the people that put out those signs are generally local area real estate investors who actually are looking for houses to “buy.” Now I put the word buy in quotes, because you get all kinds of investors on the phone after calling on these signs and different investors want to do different things.

First things first, let’s talk about the actual investor that is on the other end of the phone when you call. You may be talking to a brand spanking new investor. I mean this investor is so new that it’s still crying from the doctor spanking it’s rear end. Know what I mean? These are called newbies. Pretty much, they have no idea what they are doing. They’re winging it. Now this isn’t to say that they can’t actually buy your house and that they can’t actually get the deal done…..because we ALL were new at something at one point or another, right?

Next you’ll have the intermediate investor. This investor has done a few deals, may even have some rental properties and such. They know what they are doing, in that they know what they can and can’t do. There are still probably some situations that they can’t handle though be it where you owe too much than your house is worth or that you have major foundation issues or that you have a very emotional and messy divorce or estate situation going on.

Finally, you have the experienced investor. They pretty much can handle just about any situation you throw at them ALTHOUGH they generally are very picky in regards to which deals they want to deal with and which deals they don’t want to deal with. Why you might ask? Well they know their business and they know which types of properties and deals fit their business model best. Some experienced investors may only want to deal with foreclosures, some may only want to deal with estates, some may only want to deal with “pretty” houses that don’t need any work and some may only want to deal with houses that are paid for and are owned free and clear. Each investor has their own business model that they have created and improved over time and they run their real estate business with that business model in mind.

Ok now on to buying your house. Well, not everyone of the people that has these signs out want to buy YOUR house per se and quite frankly, not everyone of them may be capable of buying your house, either.

You should be able to get a feel for the type of investor you’re dealing with my talking to them. Do they seem nervous? Do you get the sense they know what they are doing? Does it feel like to you that they’ve been through this process before? You’ll get a feeling for the kind of investor you are dealing with by just talking to them.

Next, if they say they will pay you CASH for your house, do they have proof of funds to show that they have the cash available to buy your house? Ask them that question. That question will let you know who is a real deal investor and who is a newbie that’s just “winging it.” Now, keep in mind, even an experienced investor may not have all cash available to buy you’re home, but they may still be quite capable of buying your home. So don’t be intent on dealing with investors who just have cash. If they can’t prove that they have all cash, ask for a pre-approval letter from a bank or mortgage company. Any experinced investor will not have a problem giving you a pre-approval letter or showing you proof of funds. It’s generally the newer and intermediate investors that may have a problem with these and that’s usually because they don’t have it!

Ok so some mean they are actually going to buy your house in the real sense of buying, where you have a settlement, you get money and they get the keys to your house and you both go about your separate ways. (They may have bought your house with all cash or with a mortgage, either way, at settlement you are walking away with a CHECK. The title company/attorney will not let you walk out with a pile of cash in bags, etc.)

Next, there are folks that when they say buy your house they actually mean other things. Like they may want to wholesale your house. What that means is that you and they agree on a price for your house and you sign a contract together. They in turn, turn around and sell their right in the contract to someone else for a fee. They generally sell the contract to another investor. The other investor is the one who actually brings the cash (or mortgage) to the settlement, where you will get paid. (And you didn’t think houses could be wholesaled like other things in the world are, huh?)

Then there are the people who want to actally do a Lease Option with your house. This is where you sign a lease with someone along with an option to purchase the property. So they are basically paying you rent (and you in turn are paying your mortgage) and what they do is sub-lease it out on a nt to own basis. The person they sub-lease it to is, of course, paying them a higher rent then they are paying you and they have also sign a purchase agreement, along with the lease. What happens is that when the sub-leased tenants are able to get mortgage financing then the initial investor will execute his option with YOU and in turn the person they sub-leased to will purchase the home from them.

You also have folks that will just take ove your mortgage payments. Some folks that use the lease purchase method will say they are taking over payments (and they are for a period of time with the lease) but if the lease ends and they can’t find a buyer, they do NOT have to pay you anymore. Keep in mind this is when their lease and option expires. But there is something called “subject to.” This is when you deed your house to someone and they take over your house subject to the existing financing. So all of the financing on your house stays in place, it’s just that someone else is paying it.

There are soooo many ways that folks can “buy” your house and honestly, every single way that I’ve mentioned above is absolutely and 100% legal here in Pennsylvania. And if you don’t believe me, ask a competent real estate attorney and they will confirm this.

So, if you call on one of these signs and you hear out they investor and they sound “experienced” and capable, but they don’t want to buy your house for cash….just hear them out. One of the options they talk to you about, may actually work for you, even though it’s not the way you are use to doing a real estate transaction.

One word of caution: If you ever encoutner an investor that wants YOU to pay them some type of fee upfront in order to stop your Pennsylvania foreclsoure, please do me a favor and RUN QUICKLY AWAY FROM THEM! Stay away from any type of person who says they are a foreclosure rescue person or company and that requires you to pay them a fee. If you don’t take my word for it, you can research plenty of info on local and state government websites that will tell you the same thing I’m telling you here. Do not do business with these people.

But if you want to get an offer right now from an experienced investor and don’t want to have to wait for a “We Buy Houses” sign then you can call Real Home Solutions, Inc. at 610-999-6410 or you can fill out our form online here.

We are experienced,, local Pennsylvania investors who can pretty much handle any type of situation that you throw at us and best of all, we’re easy to deal with. Don’t take our word for it, check out our testimonials.

Got any questions? Maybe you’ve already called someone and you want to know what they were talking about? Post your question here. We’ll help ya out.

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Posted under For Sale By Owner, PA Real Estate Investing, Selling Your PA House

Unlike other things that you may own, you can never take selling your home lightly. A house is a big commodity, one that is worth a lot of money. Before you even think about selling your home, you should put a lot of thought and consideration into it. Although you may want to sell your home - you should make sure that you do it the right way.

The first thing you should do when you are thinking of selling your home is to hire yourself a qualified real estate agent who knows the neighborhood. An agent who knows your neighborhood will know the ideal price for your home, and help you sell it at the ideal price. If your home is priced right for the neighborhood, chances are it will sell. If it is priced too high, you might not get any offers or anyone interested in buying the home and your home will just sit there.

Once you have a real estate agent, you and your agent will need to develop a strategy or plan if you will. You’ll need to decide on the price and how long you will leave it on the market before you think about a reduction. You’ll also need to discuss the agents commission as well, which will help to avoid any misunderstandings in the future. (By the wa, in Pennsylvania ALL real estate commissions are negotiable. Don’t ever let any real estate agent tell you any different. The average commission price is 6 percent of the sales price though.) If you talk about these types of things when you first start out selling your home, you’ll find the entire process to go much smoother.

In some cases, you may run out of time before you are able to sell your home. In this situation, your real estate agent may recommend renting your home out. This isn’t always the best option for most folks. Check out our article “ShouldYou Become a Landlord” before deciding to listen to this advice from your real estate agent. Remember, you can always contact a local, real estate investor who buys houses in your area quickly and for cash in order to get your place sold. You can fill out our Sell Your PA House Fast form here.

Keep in mind that selling your home will take you some time. You can also sell it yourself if you prefer, without a real estate agent. This can save you quite a bit of money as well, as you won’t have to pay a real estate agent any commission. If you are planning to go this route, you should make sure that you know the value of your home and you know the neighborhood. You can put a “for sale by owner” sign in the yard, and list your home in local newspapers, and on the Internet as well. This way, you’ll get your home out to the market of potential buyers. One thing to keep in mind is that when folks contact homes that are listed for sale by owner they sometimes automatically deduct 6% off of your sales price because they know you aren’t paying a real estate commission. So, you’re definitely going to have to put your negotiating hat on. Check out our article “How to Sell Your PA House Yourself Quickly and Keep Thousands in Your Pocket” in order to get our step by step approach to selling your house yourself.

Got any questions about your house? Need a tip about a particular situation your’e dealing with….ask us for help here. To keep up to date with all of the articles, tips and ideas that we post on here regularly don’t forget to subscribe to this blog here.

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Posted under For Sale By Owner, PA Foreclosure, PA Landlording, Real Estate Agent/Realtor, Selling Your PA House

When you sell your home, the process is almost like going to a job interview. Selling a home involves a presentation, which is one of the key factors that determine the outcome. Although this may sound a bit weird, a great presentation is a way of life in the world of real estate. Buyers in today’s market look for good presentations– many basing their final decisions on it. Remember that old saying “You only get one chance to make a first impression?” Well it’s never been more true than when you are trying to sell your home.

The very first part of your home presentation is your price. Your home absolutely, positively MUST be priced right, especially in this super tough market. If you over-price your home you are just doing yourself a disservice and wasting your real estate agents time if you have one. Over-pricing your house with the idea that “you’ll take less if someone makes you an offer for less” is the absolute worse strategy to use in any market let alone a buyer’s market. Figure out what comparable homes sold for, take the advice of your real estate professional, do your own due diligence and price your home PROPERLY. That can not be stressed enough.

Now make sure the rest of your presentation looks fabulous. If the property you are selling comes with a garage, you’ll need to go through your garage before you sell your home. Chances are that you store things in your garage, which can easily pile up over time before you realize it. If your garage is in a messy condition, you’ll obviously want to clean it up. Buyers look for homes that are in perfect condition, and anything less than perfect will look bad in the eyes of the buyer.

Most homes have some truly outstanding features inside of them. You should always do your best to highlight the best features of your home, instead of just hoping that the buyer understands what they are. The ideal way to bring out the best features of your home is to use the proper lighting. If your home is clean, you can use lighting to bring out the best features in your home, and ensure that they stand out to the buyer.

When a potential buyer first pulls up to your home; the first thing he will see is your lawn. If your lawn is trimmed and well taken care of, he will get a good impression right off the bat. If your lawn is a wreck, he may immediately pull away. To give the best impression to the buyer, you should put some thought into how things look. You can always plant flowers around the walkway and throughout the yard, which will look great to a potential buyer.

You should also make sure that the entrance into your home is a positive as well. The front door should be in great shape, as well as the entry area into the home. You can add some plants, paintings, and rugs to ensure that your buyer gets a good impression. When the buyer walks through the entry way into your home, you should make sure that the view he or she takes in is a good on. Your biggest goal when showing your home is to ensure that the buyer is pleased.

Now for the final part of your presentation…marketing. You have to make sure that you are doing everything you need to do to market your picture perfect home and let the world know it’s for sale. If you have a real estate agent they should be heavily marketing your house for you. For tips on marketing your home yourself check out our article: “How to Sell Your PA House Quickly and Keep Thousands in Your Pocket.”

Keep in mind though that it may take some time to sell your home, especially in a buyers market. These days, homes can sit on the market for months even up to a year at a time before they actually sell.

If you are having trouble selling your home you should take a look at your overall presentation. Always start from the beginning of your presentation with the price and move on to each aspect from there. You’re going to have to adjust things. Speak to your real estate professional about it, if you have one. If you are selling your home yourself then go through everything step by step and be honest with yourself and adjust things accordingly. You can always reduce the price or simply go back to the basics. Eventually you will sell your home – although it may take more time than you think.

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Posted under For Sale By Owner, Real Estate Agent/Realtor, Selling Your PA House

If you’ve been thinking of selling your investment house or your home, you should make sure that you take full advantage of home staging trends. There are several advantages to home staging trends, which we will take a look at below.

One of the best things about staged homes is that they sell in less time. Which of course is awesome news for sellers. In most cases, you won’t have to worry about your home staying on the market for super long periods of time. Research has shown that staged homes sell nearly 40% faster than other homes on the market.

Staged homes also tend to sell for more money. Homes that have sat on the market for a long period of time will normally get lower offers due to the fact that home buyers will begin to think there is something wrong with the. Staged homes on the other hand look more attractive and therefore may very well sell quickly when they are listed becasue of the attention they draw to themelves.

A staged exterior will also draw viewers. When home buyers first arrive at a home that is up for sale, they instantly make up their mind whether they should get out and look around, or drive off. If the yard is staged with flowers and the yard is manicured and properly taken care of, chances are that buyers will want to see more. This is called curb appeal. It’s of the utmost importance. If you entice your buyers by showing them how nice the home is outside, they will surely want to know what the home is like on the inside as well.

Once a buyer has stepped inside of the home, they will know within a matter of seconds whether or not they like the home. To get the buyer’s attention, you’ll need to stage your home to the buyer’s liking. You don’t want the buyer to feel rushed or get the wrong impression, which is why you should always set the stage and entice the buyer to take their time and get a good look at the home.

Staging the living rooms and kitchens will also help to sell the home. Buyers love living rooms, which is why you should always make sure that the living room is the center piece of your home, and decorate it accordingly. Kitchens on the other hand, is where you should really go all out, decorating with fruit and such. You should always make sure that everything is in place as well. Buyers love to see homes that are ready to move into - and not ready to be worked on.

One thing to keep in mind though when staging and trying to make your home looking appealing to the buyer: your buyer doesn’t like clutter and your family pictures crammed into every space of your living space isn’t going to make your buyers feel warm and fuzzy. So always remember when staging to DE-CLUTTER and DE-PERSONALIZE your house first.

Staged homes will also attract more real estate agents and get more advertising as well. If a real estate agent loves your home, they will want to show it off. If you stage your home, chances are that real estate agents will eat it up. When they do, they will advertise your home more than others, just to get you some deserved attention. This way, you can benefit from a lot of exposure at absolutely no extra cost.

There’s no other way to look at it, other than staged homes sell. They attract more buyers, more real estate agents, and they give people the feeling of home. When you go out of your way to make the buyer feel that your home is their dream home, they will physically want to make it their dream home.

Homes that aren’t staged may sell, although staged homes sell much faster and for more money. If you’ve been looking to sell your home, you should look into staging it and get the ball rolling in the right direction.

I want to end this with one more word of caution and I can’t think of any other way to say this but like this: You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. Get it? So please be honest with yourself about your house before persuing staging, because if your house is an asbolute wreck which needs to be gutted, well after you stage it, guess what? It’s still an absolute wreck which needs to be gutted but hey, you could make a fee bucks buy selling the nice stuff you bought to stage your house with

Does that make sense? If you have any questions, feel free to post them here.

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Posted under For Sale By Owner, Selling Your PA House

Ok folks, here it is, the down and dirty on how to sell your PA house yourself quickly and keep thousands in your pocket (by not paying real estate commissions!)

First and foremost, you’re probably wondering how the heck do I know what I’m talking about, right? Well, if you haven’t read the about us section of the SellYourPaHouse.com website or of the SellYourPaHouse.com/blog then let me tell you a little about us or for this article a little about me!

I’ve been investing in Pennsylvania real estate for 9 years now and I’ve invested in all different facets of real estate from buying and financing mobile homes to buying bank-owned properties and fixing them up and renting them out to just helping folks get rid of an ugly, fixer-upper house that they didn’t want. I’ve been a landlord (still am,) I’ve fixed and flipped properties (still do,) I’ve fixed and kept properties (still do,) and I’ve wholesaled properties (still do.)

Also, I’m a licensed real estate agent with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and I’ve been licensed for 5 years plus now with Keller Williams Realty Group (now located in Limerick, PA.) And I’m also a member of the National Association of Realtors, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors and the Surban West Realtors Association. Sooooo that makes me, yep you guessed it, a Realtor as well (Didn’t know there was a difference between being a real estate agent and a Realtor, huh?)

Ok so now that all of that is out of the way, let me tell you how you can sell your Pennsylvania house yourself quickly and keep thousands of money in your pocket. I’m going to give you an outline to follow and if you follow it to the T, you should be alright!

Do Your Research About Your Homes Value
You need to find out what your house is worth so you can put a price tag on it. How can you find this out?

-Interview a handful of real estate agents (at least 3) and get Comps (Comparables of houses that have sold like yours) from them. Do not tell them what YOU think your house is worth, just let them do their thing and present you with their evidence of what they feel your house is worth.

-Check public records if you have online access or if you know how to do this at the courthouse yourself (or if you have a real estate agent friend that will allow you to look over their shoulder as they access their public records on the MLS.)

-Drive around your neighborhood and call on ALL of the for sale signs that you see. If they are having open houses too then GO TO THEM.

-Research your local papers classified section for houses for sale in your area. Call the numbers and get the facts on the house (remember, you’re comparing all of these houses to yours.)
-Hop on Craigslist and reseach the real estate for sale ads there that are in your area. Alot of times folks will have pictures and even videos in here, so you can actually see the houses. If there isn’t much info then email or call the person who is selling their house.

-Go to Realtor.com and research houses that are for sale in your area. Again, if there isn’t much info, then call the agent up and ask for some info about the house.

-Check out zillow and cyberhomes and see what they come up with as values for your house. Also, the comps that they list, drive past the houses to compare at least the outside of your house and the sold house. (I wouldn’t put as much weight on these 2 sites, but there is definitely more information here for you.)

Now, you should have a good idea of what you could sell your house for. By the way, when looking at public records, comps from agents and places like zillow and cyberhomes you only really want to look at sold houses within the past 6 months. Some folks will tell you to go back a year, but I think that’s even too far. Honestly, in this market, I’d say look at them in the past 3 months!

Ok so you have a value in mind. Well I need you to be honest with yourself about the value and how you came up with it, ok? Does the value indicate a house that is in pristine condition and your house isn’t that pristine? Does the value indicate a fixer-upper price and your house doesn’t need any work? Those are the things you have to think about when getting the comps from all of your resources above.

Make note of the condition and location of all of the comps that you get from your resources above then you have to HONESTLY compare it to your house. Honestly being the keyword here. If your house smells like dog, well admit that to yourself and know that it’s going to lower the price of your house. If your house is right next to an active railroad track, well don’t ignore the obvious and know that it will lower the price of your house as well. If your house is totally trashed and needs a lot of work, please, please, please don’t think that you are going to get maybe a couple thousand less than what a pristine house sold for. That is UNREALISTIC!

And always keep in mind the type of real estate market we are in. Right now at the writing of this blog posting, here in Pennsylvania we are in a BUYERS MARKET. Please recognize that and adjust your gameplan (and more importantly) your thinking accordingly. If you don’t adjust your gameplan and thinking accordingly, believe me your house will sit there and it will NOT sell (until you come to your senses.)

Market Your House Like Crazy
Your house being for sale at the prefect price doesn’t mean anything if nobody in the world knows that it’s for sale, does it?

So here’s what you need to do to market your house and to tell the entire world (or at least folks in the Pennsylvania area) that it’s for sale.

- Break out your digital camera, cell phone, disposable camera or what you have and take pics of your house. Outside front, back, side, yard, living room, dining room, kitchen, etc. you get the picture. If you have a video camera, you can do a walk-thru of your place with a video camera too. The pictures are a NECESSITY but the video is not. Upload them to your computer and resize them because you’re going to need them in future steps.

- Place a for sale sign in your front yard and rear and side yards if you have them. Here’s where I get mine. Make sure you get the 18 x 24’s and make sure you pick up some metal stakes (get extra to use in the next step) so you can stick them into the ground. By the way, please do not under any circumstances forget to put your phone number on your signs when you get them home. (Sounds silly to say that doesn’t it? But some folks have done it.)

- Now here is a tactic that will get your phone to ring off the hook of potential buyers. You need to buy anywhere from 10 to 50 blank corrugated plastic signs. They should be 18 x 12 in size and they can be any color you want, but white probably works the best and is the cheapest. After you get them home you’ll need to get a thick, black, permanent marker. When you have that you want to write in your own handwriting with the marker on the signs the following:

3 bed/2 bath House Must Sell! Pottstown Area, $150k 610-555-1212

Of course, you’re going to change out the information above with your appropriate information for your home. If you house is a fixer upper try something like this:

3 bed/2 bath Needs Work! Must Sell Quickly. Area, Price, Phone Number

You can use any combination of wording, but make it seem URGENT that you need to sell. Now you need to place these signs all around your neighborhood. Put them at popular intersections, at popular stores (like Walmart, WaWa, etc.) and just put them in heavy traffic locations. You want extras because some of these will get taken down, some will blow away and some will just become dirty and ugly so you’ll want to replace them with fresh ones. I promise you that you will get calls.

- Next you’re going to want to create what’s called a Postlet. Go to Postlets.com and create an account. It is free. You’ll want to create a postlet about your house. Post your pictures, list all of the features, write up a nice description. People want to know about square footage, school districts, beds and baths, taxes, etc. You can upgrade to Postlets Plus and this will allow you to post more pictures on your postlet and also allow you to post a video, but honestly, I don’t think it’s necessary. But it can only help you market your house.

- Now, you want to go to Craigslist and post your house for sale there too. This is free also. You’re going to want to post in the portion of Craigslist that’s for your area. Most of you will be either posting in the Philadelphia section or the Reading section of craigslist. You then go to housing and real estate for sale. Follow the steps, it’s pretty easy. Also, there is a craigslist section in your Postlets, so you can merely click that link and copy and paste the code they give you into your craigslist post and a nice little ad will appear. Don’t forget that you’re craigslist ad is NOT posted until you get the email from them and publish it. That is the final step.

Those few things should get your phone ringing, but since you are saving thousands by not using a real estate agent you should really market even more. So here are some extra things you can do that will cost some money.

- Place a classified ad in your local paper. There are all kinds of papers that will work. You can place an ad in a daily paper, weekly paper, monthly paper, throw away papers like the Penny Pincher, etc. You can even try them all if you like. The smaller papers will be more cost effective. And keep in mind that you do not want to just run the ad for a day. That’s a waste of time and money. I suggest running it at least from Thursday to Monday for a month. See what kind of action you get and go from there. If you are under major budget constraints then you can work out a game plan that works with your pocket book. Generally, your ad will look something like this:

Downingtown, 3 bd/2 ba twin for sale by owner. New roof, central air. Must sell. 610-555-1212

Of course, insert the info that is appropriate to your home. You can even use the same type of ad that you handwrote on your blank corrugated plastic signs. Remember that with classified ads you are pretty much paying per word. One word of caution: don’t try to create crazy abbreviations for your ad so you can fit more words in. A lot of folks may not know what your abbreviation means so it may confuse them and keep them from calling. The classified ad rep from the paper will sometimes suggest abbreviations for words to make things fit, just be cautious that it is a standard abbreviation that most folks know what it means like br for bedrooms or ba for bathrooms. Don’t get fancy with abbreviations, trust me.

- Post an ad on ForSaleByOwner.com They have all different pricing levels starting at $89.95 (which I don’t like because it’s a monthly fee) all the way up to an $899 one time fee. The basic plan is pretty decent, it gets you an unlimited listing on their site until it’s sold and an awesome thing about their ads is that you get a private voicemail system (so you don’t have to give out your home phone number!) Just so you know, the Gold package for a $699 one time fee is definitely worth checking out. It’s the cheapest of the packages that gets you listed on the MLS (multiple listing service, which is what all real estate agents use to list properties and find properties for their buyers) and on realtor.com Please keep in mind though, if you got with an MLS option, you are going to have to pay a commission to the agent that brings you a buyer (typically between 2 to 3%, but commissions are negotiable and you state when you pick your package the commission you are willing to pay.) Keep in mind, if you make the commission for the agent with a potential buyer they may not even show your house. So, personally, I’d stay within the 2 to 3% mark.

If you’re wondering do you have to list your property on the MLS for sale, the answer is no. I just want to make you aware that the MLS is what over 32,000 real estate professionals in this area use to view properties for sale. That’s a HUGE market that you’d be missing. But it’s ok, the basic package will at least get you in front of folks who are searching for a house to buy for themselves.

- This marketing method may be a little more than most of you want to get in to, but you can send out postcards to either folks in your area or to renters in your area. Here You Can Get 50% Off All Postcards.

You’re going to most likely want to purchase a list of renters and homeowners in your area from a place like InfoUsa.com For homeowners in your area you can get their names and addresses from public records and that is free, especially if you go to the courthouse. Just get a simple House For Sale postcard or Why Rent When You Can Own Postcard? And send them out.

- A free alternative to use is the same kind of House for Sale or Why Rent When You Can Own ad for the postcard above but print it out and make flyers at home. (Btw, if you are savvy with your computer you can even print out postcards.) A flyer that I like to put together to hand out to the neighbors on the same block as a house I have for sale is the “Pick Your Own Neighbor” flyer. Folks love that and you never know? They could have a friend or family member that is looking to move into the neigborhood. Your general flyers you can post in laundromats, grocery stores, around rental apartments, etc.

- One last free marketing tip that I forgot to mention is word of mouth. Don’t forget to tell everyone you know that your house is for sale. You never know who knows someone that is looking to buy.

When You Get The Calls Coming In
A lot of folks are just gonna wanna know the price at first if you don’t have it listed already. Then they may want to set up an appointment to check the house out. If you’re not careful you could be wasting ALOT of time. Here’s what I do:

- First I tell interested folks to do a drive-by of the house. If they like it after driving by I tell them to call me back to set up an appointment.

- If they call me back to set up an appointment I ask them if they are pre-approved for a mortgage. If they say yes, I inform them that they must send me their pre-approval letter before I will set up an appointment to show them the inside of the home (be nice about this, not rude.) If they say no, then I tell them that they must be pre-approved before I will set up an appointment to show the inside of the home. I generally will refer them to a mortgage person or a small, local bank that I use. (You should do the same. Hook yourself up with a small, local bank in your area that will get people pre-approved to buy your house. You can do this with a mortgage person too, if you have one in mind.)

- If they pass all of the above then I will set up an appointment. PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS. These are strangers that you are letting into your home. Always have more than one adult home when having showings and it’s a good idea to have a sign-in sheet for folks to sign and you should make them even show their driver’s license or some form of i.d. I know that you may feel uneasy asking this stuff, but it’s for your own protection.

Word of Caution: If you ever, ever feel uneasy about someone that you are talking to on the phone, do not, under any circumstances let them into your home, especially when you are alone. Women..use that women’s intuition that you have. Fellas, use that gut feeling that you can get.
(This is probably the scariest part about selling your house yourself, in my opinion.)

- If folks are interested in your house then write up an agreement with them! (we’ll get into that in a few.)

- If they aren’t interested, ask them if they could give you some feedback so that you can improve your chances of selling your home. Tell them to be honest as you won’t be upset or take anything personally (and hold true to that!)

When You Find A Qualified Buyer
After you find a qualified buyer you want to write up an agreement of sale. I’m going to assume that you don’t know anything about an agreement of sale or about how to fill one out. With that in mind, my advice is to then NOT DO IT.
- You should have a competent real estate attorney that you use to help you draw up an agreement of sale and that helps you with all of the rules and laws associated with selling your house (like fair housing laws, seller disclosure forms, etc.) The real estate attorney can even do the closing for you and your buyer (they will take care of EVERYTHING associated with getting your transaction done and getting you your check in your hand.)

- If you know how to fill out an agreement of sale then you should have a title company that you want to work with to get your transaction to the closing table and get your check in your hand. They can help you with any questions that you may have, but they may not be permitted to give you legal advice in regards to rules and laws regarding selling your house, but ask, because a lot of them have real estate lawyers within their company that will be happy to help.

Now take you big check to the bank baby and you can now say “I can save tons of money on commissions because I can sell my house myself in Pennsylvania!”

By the way, if you think you need more information on ways to sell your PA house yourself you can purchase the For Sale By Owner Guide called Home Selling Secrets Revealed!

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Posted under For Sale By Owner, Selling Your PA House

When it comes to buying a home, most potential buyers will use the listing price as the number one factor to determine the homes that they look at. Even though you and a realtor may determine the asking price, the buyer will determine the selling price. If the price is too high, most buyers won’t give it a second thought - which is why you want to determine the listing price extremely carefully.

If you set the correct price, you’ll notice a much faster sale. Setting the right listing price will also attract more potential buyers to your property as well. You’ll also notice an increase in response from realtors, and receive more calls about the property. The listing price is very important - and it can ultimately determine whether or not you sell your property.

A home can be overpriced due to several reasons. Overpricing is something you want to avoid, as buyers tend to steer clear of homes that have been overpriced. Normally, this happens when a seller asks a lot more than the home is worth or valued at. Some sellers ask a lot more than the value of the home due to location. Although the location is very important, most potential buyers won’t give the home a second look if they think the price is too high - and more importantly out of their price range.

When you put your home up for sale, most activity will happen within the first couple of weeks. If you put the right price on your home, you’ll notice immediate interest. There are always buyers looking for homes in their price range, waiting for new homes to be listed or homes to be reduced in price. Buyers who are waiting to purchase may miss seeing your home completely if the price is too high.

To determine the listing price of your home, you could always have it appraised before you put it on the market. This way, you’ll know the full value of your home. You can sell it for market value or go a little under, although you should never attempt to go way over the value. In doing so, you’ll miss out on a lot of potential buyers.

Keep in mind that realtors really have no control at all over the real estate market, only the plan behind marketing. Realtors don’t determine the asking price - the seller does. You can ask a realtor for advice, although you are the decider of your listing price. If you do things right and take each thing step by step, you’ll set the listing price in the right area and have no problems selling your property.

Whatever you do, if a Realtor or real estate agent (remember there’s a difference comes in and tells you that this is what your home should be listed at based on the comps they presented to you, then do not under any circumstances say “well let’s list it at this higher price for a couple says or weeks first!”

Ladies and Gentlemen that is a sure-fire way to have your home SIT THERE and NOT BE SOLD!

If you decide to hire a real estate professional than please, please, please let that professional do their job! Part of their job is determining the proper listing price. And once they tell you what they think it is, if you decide that you KNOW better or that you just want to get a little bit more for your property well the only person you’re doing a diservice to is YOURSELF!

In closing let me ask you this:

If your heart surgeon told you that you needed to have your heart operated on and this is how he/she was going to do the surgery, would you then tell them “wait doc, let’s try it this way first to see how it goes!”

Your heart surgeon is a medical professional…let them do their job.

Your Realtor or real estate agent is a real estate professional…let them do their job, too!

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Posted under For Sale By Owner, Real Estate Agent/Realtor, Selling Your PA House

Here’s a video that I thought you’d enjoy. It’s Service Magic talking about some bathroom remodeling ideas (btw, this is in no way a plug for Service Magic, as I’ve never used their services. I just thought the video had some good info in it. Actually, now that I think of it, my mom used service magic for some things in her home and she was happy with them. I think I called on them a longgg time ago and found them to be a bit pricey. So use your own judgement when it comes to Service Magic or any company that you’re going to use for a remodel. It’s always best to get at least 5 quotes!)

Anyway, sorry about rambling…now on to the video:

I recenty re-did a bathroom in a house that I own and I painted the walls a nice baby blue type color and I really liked the way it came out. I believe the color was Clear Water from Home Depot.

Plus, I used peel and stick tiles on the floor and oh my God the floor looked awesome. It looked like a really expensive floor (stone? marble?) but it was inexpensive peel and stick tiles.

Just a few more ideas for ya because I know not everyone is made of money

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Posted under Remodeling Your PA House, Selling Your PA House

Are you are homeowner who wishes that your home was a little bit different, more exciting, or more attractive? Although a large number of homeowners are more than happy with their home, there are others who want more. If you are one of those homeowners, it may be time for a change. Despite what you may believe, that change doesn’t have to involve buying a new home, it can involve a simple remodeling project, such as a bathroom remodeling project.

When it comes to bathroom remodeling, there are many homeowners who wonder whether or not it is a good idea. If you are wondering that, it is advised that you take the time to familiarize yourself with some of the most common signs that your bathroom could use a remodeling. If any of the signs, which will be mentioned below, sound alto familiar then it may be time that you start thinking about remodeling your bathroom.

One of the most obvious signs that you should remodel your bathroom was mentioned above. That sign is unhappiness. Whether you are unhappy with the overall appearance of your home or just the bathroom, a bathroom remodeling project may be able to offer you assistance. If you do make the decision to remodel your bathroom, you will find that you have a number of different options. You could easily remodel a small portion of your bathroom, such as your bathroom toilet or sink, but you could also change everything around. In fact, the choices that you will have are just one of the many benefits to remodeling your bathroom; you have the complete freedom to do whatever you want.

In addition to just not liking the way that your bathroom looks, there is also a chance that it may be unsafe or in poor condition. Whether you have developed a mold problem or if your bathroom is falling apart, you may not only want to think about remodeling your bathroom, but you may actually need to. Since the bathroom is often considered one of the most used rooms in a home, there is a good chance that you, as well as anyone else who lives in your home, will use it multiple times a day. Loose bathroom floor tiles, mold, and other bathroom problems can not only look unattractive, but they can also be dangerous. Therefore, if your bathroom can be considered unsafe, you may want to think about having your bathroom remodeled.

Another sign that you may want to think about remodeling your bathroom is if you are looking to sell your home. In almost all cases, bathroom remodeling projects help to increase the overall value of a home, especially if the bathroom was previously in poor condition. Although you are not required to remodel your bathroom before you sell it, it may be a good idea. For more information on whether or not a bathroom remodeling project can increase the profits that you will see when selling your home, you may want to speak to a real estate agent. You will find that in some cases it is worth to remodel your bathroom before selling, but others times it isn’t.

The above mentioned bathroom remodeling signs are just a few of the many that exist. In all honestly, it doesn’t really matter whether you need to remodel your bathroom or not, all that matters is if you want to. If you want to remodel your bathroom, go right ahead; there are a fairly large number of benefits to doing so.

Don’t forget, if you do want to sell that the 2 rooms in your home that you want to look the best are the kitchen and the BATHROOM!

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Posted under Remodeling Your PA House, Selling Your PA House