For Sale by Owners nearly always get more initial activity than homes listed with an agent. Why? Because realtors will only bring qualified buyers to a seller’s home. A qualified buyer is one who is ready, willing and able to buy your home. Qualified buyers often are already pre-approved by a lender to purchase a home in a certain price range.
Many people who look at For Sale By Owner properties are just starting to think about moving. They may be good buyers, but they are usually six to nine months away from being ready to make an offer. They may not want to ask an agent for help yet, so they call the “by Owner” ads to get a feel for what’s available. And, if they have a house to sell first, certain repairs may have to be completed, they may need to save some more money, or they may have credit problems that needs fixing. When everything is in place, they will ask an agent for help in identifying a home.
An agent will ask buyers how much they want to spend, how much they can really pay for a home, and how much they will contribute for the down payment. A buyer's agent will recommend one or more lenders who will evaluate the buyer's credit worthiness, and identify a realistic monthly payment. Also, it’s necessary to find out how much will be realized (realistically!) when their current home closes—if they must sell before they buy again, and what the market is like where they now live. Numerous other questions will be asked and answered as well.
When selling your home on your own, you want more than a parade of wandering Sunday afternoon lookers with a dream of owning a house someday. Are these people at your personal “Open House" curious about your decorating scheme, how you remodeled the kitchen, what paint combinations you used in the bedrooms—or are they seriously interested in purchasing your home? Frankly, the only way to know is to ask the buyer a few questions, the answers of which will tell you whether he is able to buy when he says he is willing to do so!
These questions include the following: