For Sale By Owner - Some Honest Tips from a Real Estate agent

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to sell you Calgary property yourself. In fact, as Realtors® we encourage it. Give it a try, whether it works or not we hope you will see how much work and frustration it can be. With this short guide we will hopefully minimize the work, frustration and time it takes to sell.

The first thing is safety. Nothing is more important. A lot of people don’t understand that every time they show their home to a complete stranger their safety is at risk. Sellers know nothing about the buyers and let them into their home. You can do a few things to protect yourself. Always show with another person. Get their license plate or better yet their drivers license number. Have your cell phone in hand and a speed dial to 911 just in case. Always let the buyer lead the way. Give them a tour and never block yourself into a room. Follow these simple tips and you should be okay.

Signs work. Get as many signs as you can out there. Large, bold, bright. You want everyone to know you are selling your home. Do not be modest and never try to keep it a secret that your home is for sale.  Market like crazy. Plan on spending as much as you can on marketing. This could easily by 1-2% of your asking price. Market online, in magazines, with flyer's, whatever it takes. You cannot market too much.

Be patient and stage. It is not uncommon to wait 3-6 months to sell a home. If you want top dollar you will wait longer, 6 months or more. But if you price it right you might only wait a couple months at most. To speed up the process and get top dollar we recommend staging. Whether it is your furniture or not. Get a staging consultant to come out and give you tips. It costs 150-300 dollars to get consulting. It is 100% worth it. Just like safety and marketing we strongly believe that staging gets your home sold quicker and for more money.

Price your home right. This is the most important of the steps. Don’t over price your home and don’t under price it. Get a professional appraiser to appraise your home. Calgary property can be tricky to price. Get a professional to price it so you know that you are not losing money or pricing yourself out of any offers.

That’s it. Follow this guide to selling your Calgary property and you will be safe, less frustrated and most of all you will sell your property. Good luck!