So you want to sell your house.  You feel confident in your sales abilities.  You have an attorney friend to help you with the contracts and disclosures.  How hard can it be to stick a "For Sale" sign in the ground, put an ad on Craig's List, and hold a few open houses?  After all, that's what your real estate agent does for you, right?

Hold it right there.  Because you forgot the main thing you need.  You are a seller.  The ONLY thing you need is BUYERS.

What about your open house and internet ads?  Won't that you get you BUYERS?  Statistics prove that only about 2% of buyers come from an open house.  So what about Craig's List?  Well, how are you going to ensure that the buyers are prequalified?

So then -- how to get BUYERS?

Don't worry, as a FSBO, you'll probably get plenty of buyers.  They'll most likely fit into one of these categories:

1. Looky-loos (not serious buyers but will waste a lot of your time)
2. Unqualified buyers (you won't know that they're unqualified until too late)
3. Bargain hunters (investors who offer you low-ball prices)
4. Wheeler-dealers (people who want YOU to carry their loan or other creative techniques)

So how do you avoid these types of buyers?  How do you find BUYERS who are QUALIFIED, SERIOUS, AND MOTIVATED?

Did you know that up to 99% of the qualified, serious, and motivated buyers are shopping for a home with their real estate agent?  And they are NOT looking at FSBO's. 

So that's what happened to the good buyers!  Now, how do you get them to come and view your home?  The best way to get a real estate agent to show your home to buyers is to LIST YOUR HOUSE FOR SALE WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT.

Yes, it's really that simple.

Afraid you'll spend too much money on Realtor® commissions?  The National Association of Realtors® recently conducted a study that showed agent-sold homes sold for 5 to 8% MORE than a FSBO home.  So that blows the "saving money" theory, doesn't it.

The formula is:

1. Hire a Realtor® to help you sell your house.
2. Attract the RIGHT type of buyers.
3. Attract a LOT of buyers!

After all, that's the only thing you need, right -- BUYERS!

Regina P. Brown
Broker, Realtor®, e-Pro
Author of eBook "Stop Foreclosure Fast: Solutions to Save your House"
Author of forthcoming book, "Virtual Office Guide for Business Professionals:  Work & Profit from Home"

Text copyright © 2009 R.P. Brown, All Rights Reserved