[PJ_Smiley]

Sold our designer home in The Villages 4 years ago "by owner" in 8 days for full price and all cash. We thought, what the heck do we have to lose. Let’s go for it. Here's a few things we did:
* Piggybacked off of The Villages open homes. Had our signs ready to go. Anyone stopping for a nearby “The Villages open home” would see our house.
* Placed open home signs that were large and easily readable at cross streets and intersections. Drive by and look at your signs. Can you read them while driving?
* House was decluttered and staged.
* Made signs for each room to highlight the main points and some things folks might not notice. This is great if talking to other visitors. Used plexiglass sign holders (much more professional looking).
* Highlighted special features of house with small signs.
* Curb appeal - neatly trimmed and mulch refreshed. Pressure washed driveway and curbing around house.
* Painted outside of house prior to showing.
* Black mold on roof? Ace Hardware has a spray that connects to hose to wash away the black streaks.
* Cleaned and touched up paint inside of house. Caulked any cracks. Cleaned shower.
* Changed all light bulbs to LED daylight so house was bright and well lit. Opened drapes and blinds and let all the light in.
* Took pictures with my iPhone. Open drapes and let in a lot of light when you take photos.
* Outside photos came out almost panoramic. Use your best photos. Did not need video.
* Posted on TOTV, Zillow, and other free FSBO websites.
* Made professional looking handout just like a realtor.
* Had a handout showing how we arrived at purchase price ready to discuss with serious buyer. Showed original purchase price and all improvements and payoff of bond. Total transparency is key when it comes to talking dollars. Don’t be afraid to talk dollars.
* Know the market and home values. Study recent comparable sales in the area. Make a schedule showing comparable sales for potential buyers. Don’t sell your home short (undervalue) or think too highly of your house (overvalue).
* Our sale handout was a duplicate of the TV flyer listing all the home and homesite features.
* Bond was paid so we made a big deal about it. Some will say bond does not matter, but $20,000 or $30,000 additional owed down the road is a big deal. That’s an extra monthly/annual payment.
* Contacted Peninsula Title (The Villages title company) regarding handling escrow funds and closing. I believe the fee was about $400 paid from closing funds. Peninsula Title is busy with The Villages sales, so you may want to check other local title companies.
* Downloaded FSBO contract (per Florida state statute) and made minor adjustments for our particular sale. I was able to compare several FSBO contracts (Florida) until I felt comfortable with the legal jargon and the handling of contingencies (if all cash deal, no contingency except possibly home inspection.
* A disclosure summary is required by Florida Statutes 720.401 to be provided to prospective buyer. This can be found online and downloaded.
* If selling furniture with house, attach a separate schedule of items included (reference schedule in contract).
* If you are uncomfortable with the contract or disclosures required, hire an attorney for the legal paperwork. Most attorneys will have a standard fee schedule.
* We did not use an attorney. We did not post listing on MLS. We did not give away any commission or use any agent. We wanted to sell to buyer, no realtor involved.
* Our first open house was basically for “nosey neighbors” and “looky-loos.” That’s good! That’s exactly what you want. Buyer was friend of neighbor who came to our first open house. Your "nosey neighbors" will help market your house and spread the word to friends that may be interested (friends who may still be up north). Our neighbors probably thought we overpriced the house, but the end result increased the value of their homes.
* Escrow deposit should be at least 5% of purchase price. Too little lets the potential buyer off cheaply if they decide to walk away.
* Try FSBO for 30 days. For a $500,000 sale, you would save $30,000 (6.0%) in realtor commission. You can always list with realtor if FSBO doesn’t work out. If you would kick the sale price up to $530,000 for realtor sale, make that a selling point.
* One last point. If there was ever the perfect place to sell a house by owner, The Villages is that place. People are looking for homes every day and they are visiting open homes every day. The Villages has open homes every day in all different villages, and they have pages of ads with directions to the open homes. MLS is doing the same thing. Allow TV and MLS to drive potential buyers to your door.