Selling Your Home Yourself? 5 Ways To Avoid Sabotaging The Sale

You've gotten your house completed fixed up and ready to sell. You've started your FSBO marketing, you've listed on flat fee MLS . Now you have to make sure that you don't sabotage the sale or your house by making these common mistakes.

HAVE THE RIGHT FSBO MINDSET
Your mindset is the key to accomplishing anything, including selling your own house. As Henry Ford said, "Whether you believe you can, or you can't, you are right."

Stop listening to bad news and naysayers. People will say you're crazy. Don't argue with them and don't let them bring you down.

Absolutely refuse to listen to people's "house selling horror stories".

Once you've gotten your home ready for sale, many people say to themselves, "Ugh. Now I have to sell my home and I don't like selling! I don't know how to sell anything!"

You must come across as sincere, professional, competent, and serious about selling your house. A buyer without an agent will be looking to you for guidance.

If you are dealing with buyers with an agent, you don't want the agent to take control. If you are already totally comfortable with selling your house, that's fantastic. If not, you'll have to "act as if" you are. Here are some pointers.

DRESS THE PART
You, just like your house, have to make a good first impression. You need to instill in your buyers that you are confident and professional, someone with integrity that they would want to deal with. So you need to look the part.

Whenever you are showing your house your attire should be "dressy casual". Don't answer the door looking like you just got back from the gym!

THINK THE PART
I personally dislike what I consider "hard selling" and you may, too. So, I don't think of myself as a sales person. I think of myself as a trusted advisor. So should you!

I remind myself that I am there to answer questions potential buyers may have. If a question comes up that I don't know the answer to, that's OK. I know I can find the answer. And relax and know "if not them, then someone else".

ACT THE PART
When showing your house, greet people at the door, shake hands, and tell them you are happy to meet them. Build rapport

Show them around. Let them look and take in what they see. No need to be talking every second. Don't hover. Be in the kitchen if they have any questions. This is where people usually feel most comfortable and will open up to talk.

Remember that you must come across as sincere, professional, competent, and serious about selling your house. If you are dealing with buyers that don't have a real estate agent, they'll be depending on you for guidance. If you are dealing with buyers with an agent, you don't want their agent to think he can take control because you're selling for sale by owner.

TALK THE PART
Do more listening than talking. Put the attention on the buyer, not on you. Here are some easy sales tips you can use when talking with buyers.

- Assume that they are going to buy the house. Tell them, "You'll will enjoy having family cookouts on the deck this summer." Help the buyers "see" themselves in your house.
- Listen for the "question behind the question". If someone asks, "Is there a high school nearby?" Ask, "Oh, do you have teenagers?" Don't assume they want the answer to that question to be "yes". They might say, "No, but our last house was by a high school. What a nightmare!" Knowing this will temper how you will answer that question.

Now you've got the right mindset and know how to present yourself and your home, in the best possible light to potential buyers. So you can proceed with selling your home yourself with poise and confidence.