Best Ideas For Advertising Your House For Sale

When you begin the process of selling your house one of the first things you will consider is whether or not to list your house with a real estate agent. After you make that decision, and whether or not you choose to list it, you will need to consider the possibilities for advertising your house. I am always amazed when sellers start looking at their calendars and at their watches expecting their phone to ring. The reality is not that simple. Your phone is probably not going to start ringing unless you personally do something to make it happen. I am talking about you, yourself, not your agent. You are going to have to take steps to market your own house in the present market place.

I'm often surprised to hear sellers express doubt when I suggest they get busy and advertise their own house for sale. It seems that most people think they have no right to advertise their own house if it's listed with an agent. Trust me, it's still your house and you are not constrained from advertising or talking to prospective buyers or anything else on your own behalf. The listing agreement you signed probably obligates you to pay a real estate commission on a sale no matter who finds the buyer, but you can certainly set about to find a buyer for yourself.

Finding buyers is only a fraction of what your real estate agent does for you and it's going to become obvious the moment you find a buyer because you probably won't be so confident about what to do next. Assisting your buyer obtain financing and moving the transaction through the closing process is really where an agent earns his or her commission. So, finding a buyer is just the first part of a long process.

From my experience, the first and most valuable place to post an ad when you are selling your house is craigslist.com. Some people actually make their living selling houses on craigslist, and I know dozens who sell houses on their local craigslist page regularly. I'm saying that posting your house online is not a "nice to do it if I have time" activity, it's an absolute necessity. And you need to know that your real estate agent is just not in the right position to do what only you can do for yourself. Here's a little secret - one of the features of craigslist is that sellers must to identify themselves as owner or broker. Brokers cannot list as an owner, it's against the rules on craigslist.

That little secret has been important to me and other people I know who list their own houses for sale because it appears as though buyers would rather deal with the homeowner than with a broker. So, whether you're selling your house through an agent or by owner, be sure to post it on craigslist yourself.