If you are thinking of selling your own home, you will have a lot of learning to do. Without the proper information, you might make mistakes that can toss you into tax conundrums, give you dissatisfied buyers, and possibly pull you into court. George Healy, the Vice President of Operations for Forsalebyowner.com says that when you sell your home, you will be taking on multiple jobs. As both the seller and the agent, you have double the responsibility of a typical homeowner.

Most of the time, for sale by owner sellers will start their search for a buyer online. There are a variety of websites which list homes in your area that are for sale, and you can normally join and list a home after applying and possible paying a fee. If you have a real estate agent, mention that you are selling your home and ask if you can post on their website. If that doesn’t work, you can check into sites like the International Real Estate Directory to get a list of the for-sale-be-owner sites available for your use.

If you decide to sell your own home, then you will first want to focus on the price that you set. You need to price your property strategically, and be aware that all potential buyers will be “shopping around.” If they can find a better deal for a house of your caliber in a close neighborhood, chances are that they will pass up your estate in order to purchase another, cheaper house. Most buyers start their search looking at a specific price range of homes in a specific market. You will want to keep this in mind as you market and promote the home. Remember that your buyer will want to negotiate, so you will want to be ready to bargain down to the right price that fits both your needs and the affordability that the buyer has available.

Also, if you are going to set your home up online, then you will want great photographs. It might be worth it to hire a professional photographer or ask a friend with a nice camera to come and take your photos. Make sure that your house is clean and organized when the photo shoot takes place. Mow the lawn, remove toys from the living room, and clean the dishes in the sink. Photos of a dirty house, no matter how nice, are not appealing and you will turn many potential buyers away. The photos are an essential when marketing your house online so you will need to stage your home appropriately to this end. For online browsers, your photos are like a virtual open house tour. You will want them to be impressed. For sale by owner sites recommend that you add as many pictures as possible to really convey every aspect of the home.

In addition to photos, your website will probably have an online form that you need to fill out with details of your home included. These are usually things such as the size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, features, and asking price. Do not inflate any of the information on this sheet, as it could get you into trouble later on. You want your form to be as reflective of the actual home as possible. Trying to exaggerate good qualities of the home will probably turn away buyers when they arrive at the property and realize it doesn’t live up to the hype. Make sure that when you are selling online you have a list of expiration and renewal dates ready. Keep careful track of these dates when you are listing online to avoid complications. Make sure that you are shrewd when it comes to potential buyers, and avoid any scams. If you get into trouble, then hire a real estate attorney to work alongside you and short out any disagreements.