For Sale by Owner Tips to Selling Your Home   

Virtual Tours - Circlepix.com is a good provider of virtual tours in Utah County. You can call them at 1-877-390-6630. They usually take about three days. Their price is $99.99 for five 360 degree virtuals, five still shots, plus a tour that can be sent via e-mail. The higher plan is ten virtuals and ten stills for $129.99. You can then promote your URL on your brochures and in newspaper and magazine ads. When I build virtual tours on my own listings, I upload 50-100 stills and the plot plan. These are done within 24 hours of listing your home.

Signs  - Make sure your sign is visible from the road. Hardware stores carry “For Sale by Owner” signs. Home Depot would be one store to find them. Depending on availability, I may be able to loan you a “For Sale by Owner” sign. Write one phone number big and bold on it, and make sure you can read it from your car. A red or yellow sign is the best.

Brochures - Hardware stores carry brochure boxes too. I have seen them at Home Depot for about $15. Also, I would be happy to loan you one for free. Be sure to include on your brochures: your price, address, photos, URL for your virtual tour, and a list of features. Many “For Sale by Owners” neglect having brochures. Some Realtors are even too lazy to make brochures. A brochure is important to the buyer, because it will serve as a reminder of your wonderful home. It is also a great opportunity to direct your traffic into your online virtual tour.

Internet Ads - Use your Internet ad as a reference ad, putting the URL in your classified ads, on your answering machine, and on your brochures, as a way to get more information out there about your home. This will enable you to show your home to more prospective buyers. Remember that Internet ads provide more than just exposure. In today’s market, buyers consistently prefer the convenience of being able to see a property without having to drive to it.

KSL.Com Classified Ads are Free! The public can place an ad in the KSL Classifieds at absolutely no charge. This is a very popular for sale by owner database. Take the time and upload a photo. If you are having problems uploading your photo it is because it must be 400 x 400 dpi or smaller. 

Re-Evaluate your Marketing Plan - Re-evaluate your marketing plan every month. You need to make intuitive changes based on current marketing conditions. Evaluate which advertising is working and which isn’t. Newspaper and Magazine Ads: Does anyone advertise in the newspaper anymore? Buyers search and find homes on the internet. The real estate magazine readership has gone down over the years. This was once a great place to put a home for sale. It is no longer popular amongst the buyers. Keep your focus on the internet if you want to sell your home in today's market.

Phone calls are part of your marketing strategy—they are your strongest form of communication with buyers. So make a plan for handling them, and don’t forget to instruct all household members on how you want them to handle the phone messages, too (especially teens). (I actually have no sound advice on how to successfully accomplish that!)

Have information sheets ready and available by the phone. Keep a short list of the most important points you want to make or features you want to emphasize. Your goal is to convey enthusiasm about your home, get appointments set up, and make buyers excited about seeing your home. One of the most important parts of selling your home is following up with EVERY potential buyer who looks at your home. Follow-up cannot be overemphasized and is so vital to the sale of your home. Many sales are lost because sellers don’t follow-up, resolve concerns, and, essentially, close the deal. Don’t wait for someone to drive-up to your home and write you a check. It won’t happen!