Why sell your home yourself? Selling a home by yourself, without an expensive real estate broker, is easier than most people think, but it will take some work on your part. You will be doing a lot of things that a real estate agent might normally do. Follow the ForSaleByOwner step-by-step selling guide, and you ll not only save lots of money, but we ll help you make the house selling process as easy as possible.

1. Make Your Home Look Great

Presentation is everything. Home buyers are attracted to clean, spacious and attractive houses. Your goal is to dazzle buyers. Brighten-up the house and remove all clutter from counter tops, tables and rooms. Scrub-down your house from top to bottom. Make it sparkle. Simple aesthetic improvements such as trimming trees, planting flowers, fixing squeaking steps, broken tiles, shampooing rugs and even re-painting a faded bedroom will greatly enhance the appeal of your house. Also, make sure your house smells good. That s right, clean out the cat box and light mildly scented candles.

Invite a neighbor over to walk through your house like a buyer would. Get their opinion on how it shows. The stuffed donkey in the family room may have to go to your in-laws for a while.

2. Price Your Home Right

Careful not to over price your home. Over-pricing when you sell a home reduces buyer interest, makes competing homes look like better values, and can lead to mortgage rejections once the appraisal is in. Over-pricing when selling a home is the single biggest reason why many for sale by owner (FSBO) home sellers don t sell their homes successfully. The home selling market dictates the price (not what you think it should be worth).

One of the best ways to correctly price your house when selling is to find out how much other homes, similar to your own, recently sold for in your neighborhood. Talk to home sellers, buyers and check out the real estate listings in your local newspaper.

Typically, if you set the price of your home at 5 to 10 percent above the market price, you are likely to end up with an offer close to your home s true value. Also, you may try calculating the cost per square foot of your home compared to the house selling prices in your area (divide list price by square footage of livable space). If your house has more features or other desirable qualities, you may want to set a slightly higher house selling price.

The easiest way to accurately price your home is to contact your local home appraiser.

Finally, set your house selling price just under a whole number, such as $169,900 rather than $170,000.

3. Hire a Real Estate Lawyer

Even though it s an additional expense, it may be wise to hire a lawyer who will protect your interests throughout the entire transaction. An experienced real estate lawyer can help you evaluate complicated offers (those with a variety of conditions), act as an escrow agent to hold the down payment, evaluate complex mortgages and/or leases with options to buy, review contracts and handle your home s closing process. They can also tell you what things, by law, you must disclose to buyers prior to a sale and can also help you avoid inadvertently discriminating against any potential buyers.

In some areas, title companies will handle all aspects of the transaction and have in-house legal departments that can assist you with legal issues that may arise. To locate a title company in your area, visit our Find a Pro page.

Unless you re significantly experienced in the home selling process, having a real estate lawyer at your side provides peace-of-mind. You know you ve got someone looking out for your interests, not just the buyers. To locate a lawyer in your area, visit our Find a Pro section.

4. Market Your Home for Sale

Exposure, exposure, exposure. That s how sellers sell their home fast. ForSaleByOwner provides extensive listing exposure because hundreds of thousands visit the website every day. In fact, ForSaleByOwner is one of the top 25 most visited real estate websites in the U.S. getting millions of visitors looking to buy or sell a home every month.

Most home buyers quickly scan ads, so it is important that your house stands out. For example, you may want to add a theme-line such as Priced below market or Great schools. Stay away from industry jargon and use language that makes home buyers comfortable. Survey our web site and see how others have written their ads. You will quickly see which are buyer friendly. Copy their approach for your ad.