You’ve decided to sell your home yourself and decide to have an open house to show off the property. Potential buyers come and you get an offer. What now?

Qualifying Buyers

Your home is looking sharp and you’ve got the word out telling people about the open house. Now you need to be prepared to take action if a qualified buyer attends, likes your home and wants to buy it.

Most qualified buyers will have a strong lender letter. If one of them wants to buy, you can move on to the next step. There may be people who come to your open house who would like to buy but don’t yet have a lender letter. Let me suggest a mutually helpful alliance for dealing with that situation.

Call several lenders before you schedule your open house. Tell them you’re planning an open house and you’d like to have a lender on hand to help buyers (even if they don’t want to buy your home) figure out what they can afford. Tell them you’d also like them to help you evaluate any lender letter you’re offered by a potential buyer. Choose the lender you feel most comfortable with and work out a mutually acceptable date for your open house.

You can introduce all attendees at your open house to the lender. This often proves to be helpful to you, some of the buyers who attend and can be a source of additional loans for the lender. Everybody wins.

Be Prepared for Action

You need to know how you want to handle a contract should someone want to make an offer. Do you have an attorney who will draw it? Are you going to suggest using a contract form? If so, have one on hand. Do you have a specific settlement company you’d like to use? Do your homework and think these things through in advance. Buyers may have ideas and connections of their own. You should consider any reasonable suggestion a potential buyer makes, but be prepared with your own approach if the buyer isn’t sure how to proceed. The point is to plan your course of action in advance.

In Closing

FSBO sellers often worry whether anyone will attend their open houses. They are then happily surprised when people arrive. Such happiness can turn to embarrassment when an offer is made and the FSBO seller isn’t sure how to handle it. If you think positively and prepare, this need not happen to you.

Raynor James is with FSBOAmerica.org - a FSBO homes for sale by owner site. Visit our "Sell My Home" page to list your FSBO Home or visit our home buying page to see homes for sale.

Raynor James may be contacted at http://www.fsboamerica.org

Once considered a bit of a backwater state, many Americans are reconsidering the virtues of living in the State of Wisconsin. Here’s a primer on Wisconsin real estate and living in the state.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin has stormed onto the scene as an ideal state to live in. From large cities such as Milwaukee to small towns and football Mecca’s such as Green Bay, the state invokes memories of a more traditional America. From an architectural perspective, Wisconsin is the birthplace of Frank Lloyd Wright. When discussing Wisconsin, one would be remiss not to mention Madison.

Madison has consistently been rated as on of the top 10 places to live by practically every rating service including Money Magazine. Madison is the home of the University of Wisconsin and is located on and around a "spit" of land between two lakes, Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The community is vibrant, high tech and generally considered an ideal place to raise kids. If you are looking for one of the best places to raise a family, the Madison will pop up in your research again and again.

One of the best FSBO markets in the United States is Wisconsin. Going FSBO in Wisconsin is nearly as popular as using a realtor. FSBO, by the way, means "for sale by owner" and indicates the seller is willing to forgo real estate agents to avoid paying commissions. This is an advantage for buyers as there is room to negotiated down prices with the seller. In short, homebuyers save money and sellers make more by saving on commissions. The FSBO market is strong throughout Wisconsin, but particularly mention has to be made of Madison. The FSBO Madison market is so popular, it is hard to imagine a real estate agent surviving. If you’re considering Madison, make sure to look for good FSBO home deals.

In Closing

Whether you are looking for a place to raise a family or a new, hip urban area, Madison and Wisconsin may be the place for you.

Raynor James is with FSBOAmerica.org - a FSBO homes for sale by owner site. Visit our "Sell My Home" page to list your FSBO Home or visit our home buying page to see homes for sale.

Raynor James may be contacted at http://www.fsboamerica.org