In Connecticut, the only thing more prevalent than snow shovels is “For Sale” signs. There are many reasons that the state sees a lot of one-way traffic: cost of living, taxes, businesses leaving the state, weather, I’m sure there are more. We’re inching closer and closer to re-instituting tolls now too as if the gas tax weren’t high enough. Sorry, I got off on a tangent (as usual). Recently, I was asked to create a website for a home owner looking to sell her home without an agent. If the rant I went off on earlier wasn’t enough to deter you from buying a house in Connecticut, well, this is a beautiful cape-cod home in a lake community in New Fairfield! Check out KnollcrestHome.com for more information. In addition to the website, she asked for help in listing the home on Zillow. If you find yourself in a similar situation of going it alone, we’ll show you how to use this free website to market your home to just the right buyer.
If you’ve ever “Googled” your home, you’ve probably heard of Zillow.com. Zillow has information on over 110 million homes, for sale or otherwise. It’s interesting to look at your home, because Zillow offers an estimate of the home’s value based on publicly available information. It tracks trends in a house’s value over a period of ten years, and compares the home’s value with those in the same zip code. It isn’t totally accurate, as Zillow can’t be aware of renovations and home improvements (though you can create a free account and update the information) completed, but it’s interesting nonetheless, and a good feeling if you’re seeing an upswing. A sales history of the home is given, along with yearly property taxes, tax assessment, and school district. Often, aerial views of a home will appear as well. As you can see, there’s a ton of information that can be gleaned from Zillow. If you’re thinking about moving, just about everything you’d need to know is at your fingertips.
Back to selling. More and more people are looking to sell their home on their own. The easiest way to get the ball rolling is to set up a “virtual” open house on Zillow. First, visit Zillow.com. In the top right, you’ll see “Sign In”. Click on “Sign In”, and create your new account by providing your e-mail address and entering a password. Next, go to your e-mail inbox and look for an e-mail from Zillow to confirm your account. Return to Zillow.com and hover the mouse over “Sell” at the top of the screen. Under the “Post a home for sale” header, click “For sale by owner”. Enter your address, then click “Continue”. From there, you’ll confirm your location on the map, or, if it’s incorrect, drag the orange dot to the correct property, then click “Save and Continue”. Scroll to the bottom of the page, check the box to agree to Zillow’s terms and verify that you are the home’s actual owner (kind of important), and, finally, click “Post for sale by owner”. Don’t expect your listing to be “live” immediately, as it can take up to 72 hours for Zillow to review and actually post your home as “for sale”.
When the listing is live, it’s time to get down to business. Head over to Zillow, and make sure you’re signed in. If you are, hover the mouse over “My Zillow”, and click on the address that’s for sale, which is conveniently placed under, “My Homes”. Click “Edit Listing” to get started. Here you can add a description of the property, set your asking price, update your home details and features, upload photos and video, set an open house date, and tweak anything else you may desire. By the way, if the thought of uploading causes you concern, be sure to read “Going Up(Load)” for more information. When you’re satisfied with your changes, click “Update for sale by owner” at the bottom of the screen. If after doing this you’ve realized that your pictures could be arranged in a different order or if you’ve added one zero too many to your asking price, you can edit your listing as many times as you want and at any time by clicking “Edit Listing”. While you had to wait for your home to be posted for sale, any changes you make to your listing are immediate.
All there is to do now is sit back and wait for your check to arrive! Wouldn’t it be great if it were that easy? You’ll still want to share your link on social media, consider building a website, put a sign in your yard, an ad in the paper, and other traditional forms of advertising. Zillow is a great start though, especially since when you post on Zillow, your listing will automatically appear on Trulia.com as well. Thanks to Zillow, it’s never been easier to “Sell Yourself!”