Many people try to sell a Hawaii house on their own, forgoing the traditional agent listing. While selling without an agent can save you upfront fees, trying to market and sell on your own can be a lengthy and costly process, especially if it’s not your area of expertise. In our latest post, learn more about the costs of an FSBO listing before you try to do it all on your own.
Preparation
Before putting your house out there for potential buyers to see and consider, you’ll want to make sure it’s presented in the most attractive and appealing way possible. This means different things to different people, but just understand that there is a lot of prep work involved before you open up the doors to the general public and home buyers.
Cleaning
It should go without saying that the house should be sparkling clean. Don’t miss some less obvious areas, either, like the insides of cabinets, the laundry room, and behind the toilets. The rule of thumb is to assume that potential buyers will look everywhere. Give strong consideration to hiring professional cleaners if your budget allows.
Staging
Many people will choose to stage the home in order to appeal to the most buyers possible. You can choose to add a few pieces yourself or hire a pro to come in and set things up. Some people will focus on only a few areas instead of trying to stage the whole house – again, your budget will largely determine how extensive your stager will perform. Also, know that not every bedroom and bathroom needs staging – depending on the property and area, it may be more customary just to stage the kitchen, living area, dining area, master bedroom, and one bathroom.
Storage
If you are going to stage your home with new or borrowed items, you’ll need a place for your belongings. It may make sense to rent space in a storage facility while your home is on the market.
Repairs
Before listing the property, you’ll want to attend to any necessary repairs. Seeing even one or two things broken can leave a bad impression with your potential buyers. They might wonder what else is wrong with the house and lose overall confidence and excitement. You also may have to ultimately pay for deferred repair costs once theit inspection has been done in order to satisfy the buyer and their lender.
Marketing
There are all kinds of tasks that go into successfully marketing your Hawaii home for sale. You’ll need to take a look at the many marketing avenues available to you, and then choose which ones will be the most cost-effective. You don’t want to find that you spent so much on marketing, that you completely negate your savings of avoiding agent fees, i.e. if you’re going to spend a ton on marketing, you might be better off hiring an agent instead who will put in the man-hours in addition to the marketing costs.
Signage
To get the attention of people driving by and to let potential buyers know they have found the right house, you’ll need to add some signage out front. You’ll want to choose something eye-catching, yet not obnoxious, ex. “For Sale By Owner, 3BR 2.5BA, CALL 808-xxx-xxxx!”.
Printed Materials
You’ll use printed materials like flyers during open houses, for people who come to see the home and to be left out front so people passing by can quickly get the property’s information (flyer boxes). You can also leave some flyers with local businesses or put up in laundromats, on school or community billboards, or by the local supermarket. This kind of advertising still works!
Photography
We’ve all seen those listings where the photos were taken with a cell phone, maybe out of a car window or without any hint of skill behind the lens. These aren’t going to get the job done if you want your home to stand out. The use of a professional photographer can help you sell your house faster!
Open House Supplies
Holding an open house is a bit like throwing a party for your house. You’ll want to have some snacks and some beverages available for your guests (hint: the pricier your asking price, the more you should spend on drinks/snacks). You’ll also have to deal with the clean-up afterward, although your average open house is a bit tamer than those parties you remember from your college days.
Online Advertisements & Premium Listings
There are a number of websites out there you will want to list your home on. Many of the sites require a fee to place your ad. Some are free, however, your listing will drop to the bottom of the list as others are added. To keep your property at the top of the list, you’ll need to shell out for those premium listings or re-post it every day (which might put it at risk of being flagged as spam). These sites include Craigslist, Zillow, FSBO sites, etc.
Your Time
Your time has incredible value. When selling your home on your own, you’ll be spending a good amount of time advertising the property, answering questions about the property and neighborhood from every Tom, Dick and Harry, showing the house when people want to see it, and managing the escrow process once a buyer has been found. Be prepared – the amount of time required can often catch people off guard and capsize what was intended to be a fun process.
Holding Costs
In addition to the costs of your time mentioned above, you’ll have even more costs that are dependent on how long the process ends up taking. Utility costs, homeowners insurance, tax liability, a mortgage, landscaping, and other regular maintenance will all add up faster than you may think, especially if you’re not too efficient with all of the above matters in this article. If the property takes several months to sell, you could be looking at thousands of dollars in holding costs you didn’t budget for.
The Risks
When selling your property on your own, there are some risks to be aware of. Not having things done legally, not selling for what the home is worth in your eyes, and not having any guarantees can be huge risks when you take matters into your own hands.
Your Options
Aside from selling on your own, you could choose to hire an agent to help. However, just like an FSBO listing, there are no guarantees with an agent, either. Some can do a fantastic job while others will need to work your listing duties around their other jobs. Your other option is to avoid all the costs altogether and sell your property to [compnay]! We always pay fair prices while handling all of the details without any public open houses! Learn more about how we can help!