(for quick quote on price to list your home call me at 703-624-3270–call will be brief.  Must read article below first and my other Truth vs. Bullcrap About Selling Your Home!)

Back in Nov. 2006 for sale by owner homes for sale inWashington DC, Virginia made up about 3,500 of 67,000 homes on the market for sale.  Most of them will end up being listed and often for 6%.  Of course the focus of most FSBO Virginia home owners is to retain some control and to save money.  And realtors usually hound these owners seeking out their 6% listing when the DC FSBO ( gets sick and tired of the process after a month or so.  Unfortunately many real estate agents are condescending in their approach acting as if one has to be a realtor to know anything about selling a home in Virginia for sale by owner (general info real estate and FSBO history).  Perhaps the real estate community should intead consider offering the services the market (home owners) is demanding at the price they want, but do it in a way so that it can still be profitable to the real estate professional…even though the listing is very discounted.

So I’m the first to agree there are great reasons for a home owner to pursue a Virginia by owner home sale, but is it worth it?  Is there a better way to achieve your objective(s): 1) save money 2) retain control?  First, let’s look at the hard truths about FSBO in Northern Virginia and Washington DC (general tips) by owner home sales.

• Selling your home by owner is a major hassle.  You can do it, but you can also change your oil, do your own taxes, do your own financial planning, etc.  But do you have time or do you want to take the time to learn how to do these tasks well?  For most of us the answer is no.  Just having your home for sale by a realtor is a hassle, by yourself the inconvenience is compounded.  The people you will be dealing with are often nuts and will  waste large portions of your time.  How?  Often the “buyer” has a job he’s getting here or is already qualified to buy.  Then after you have taken time out of your schedule to meet him at your home you find out his “for sure” job offer is not coming through….
• Most owner have a lack of resources for selling a home effectively.  Do you have a high traffic website for home buyers to find you?  If a homebuyer is not working with a realtor how will they find your home by owner for sale in Virginia and Washington DC?  Do you have the html code for great online flyers on craigslist and numerous other websites buyers surf who are not using an agent?  Do you have all the contractors and professionals at your fingertips for every part of the transaction regardless of what the issue is?
• Buyers won’t find your home….If the buyer wants a home in a certain city or school district where your home by owner is located, how will they find it.  What if she/he/they google some of these terms to find your home, arlington va real estate, arlington virginia condos, washington dc condos, northern virginia mls, annandale virginia real estate, old town real estate alexandria townhouse, etc.  Are they going to find your home?  That’s how 85% of home buyers find homes….If you list at ANY FSBO site a buyer will never find your home with the searches they use to find real estate info.  A buyer would have to go out of their way to look for your home rather than vice versa.  That’s not how today’s internet generation X, Y work with the want info.  They want it fast…they want it now.
• Likely you’re going to have to pay a commission to a selling agent who brings a buyer to you anyway….

FSBO in Virginia, DC Homes by Owner for Sale in Fairfax, McLean, Arlington, Annandale, Woodbridge

If you’re seriously considering selling your home by owner in Woodbdrige real estate, Reston real estate, Fairfax real estate, Alexandria real estate, Washington DC, Arlington VA real estate, Annandale VA real estate, Clarendon, Rosslyn, etc., consider a better approach. A VA or DC FSBO holds many pitfalls that were listed above.  A more effective route is a discounted listing by a realtor who understands these truths:

• • Almost ALL buyers find & search for their homes on the internet…not the newspaper (close to 90%), usually before calling a realtor
  • Real estate ads in the newspapers that “high powered” listing agents use cost $300-500 a pop…yet that’s not how buyers search for homes–a waste of homeowners’ money

• Excellent selling agent with a high traffic website to market your home gets FAR more exposure for your condo than pricey ads in the paper and no 6% fee

Put a video of your home & clips of your neighbors saying why they like your neighborhood on its homepage visited by 300+ homebuyers day in addition to the MLS and countless other methods I know using the internet and social marketing….TONS of exposure for less $.

Call me for quick quote for a discounted listing instead of going 100% FSBO real estate.  703-624-3270.  Here are the advantages of discounted Virginia and DC real estate listings:

1. MLS–home is listed for buyers to find when they search for phrases such as “northern virginia mls”, “annandale virginia real estate”, “clarendon condos”, etc.
2. Selling agents with buyers are not afraid to bring by their clients to discounted listings when another realtor is on the other end so long as they are being offered their commission
3. Expertise–objective advice on how to price the home correctly based on the seasonal nuances of the marketplace.  Know-how when it comes to paperwork,  negotiating, and how to communicate with selling agents.  Read the real estate blog if you’d like to ascertain my level of “expertise” compared with other realtors.
4. Signage
5. Continual placement of your home for sale all over internet outside of the MLS so you still have chance of not having to pay a selling agent commission.
6. Video of your home on its regional webpage at JustNewListings.com which gets tons of traffic…no other realtors offer this level of exposure….