During my life, I’ve listed and sold several homes using a real estate agency. Typically, the experience went as expected, and the final sales price was usually very close to or above my listing price. I’ll never forget the feeling I had when it came time to authorize upwards of 6% commission at every closing. It was substantial!

Some time ago, I was considering selling my next home. I inherited a Do-It-Yourself mentality and naturally embrace any challenge to do things on my own when I can, so in order to save as much of the 6% sales commission as I could, I decided to take on the For Sale By Owner approach.

Selling my home on my own provided the ability to control as much of the process and transaction as I could. I know that certain expenses are basic costs regardless of how you choose to sell the home in addition to costs associated with any repairs or renovations, inspections, and an appraisal. I knew of the possibility of Seller Concessions and the approximate 1% Closing Costs.

I was confident I could represent my property as well as anyone but was immediately tested with a couple of key issues. How would I strategically price my home and what could I do to market my property as professionally as possible? I did the best I could with taking pictures, creating a description of the home and bought a yard sign complete with a clear tube to hold my printed flyers and placed the sign in my yard. I mostly found myself dealing with curious neighbors, until I received an offer. That’s when I realized I was in over my head. What do I do with that offer? Do I have the proper documents or agreements to protect myself from any legal issues? Do I have a clear title for my home? How do I know the buyer is qualified to make the offer?

I was overwhelmed and decided not to sell my property. I simply was not prepared.

The answer came when I was visiting with a Real Estate Attorney I’ve known for years. I brought up the idea of a For Sale By Owner marketing service. We discussed the entire process at length. How could a property owner list, sell and legally close the transaction on their own? Could we partner with a team of Real Estate Attorney’s to help legalize the entire transaction? Why not create a company that provides a dual, full-service platform to help the For Sale By Owner client?

The idea of SMART Property Marketing was born.

SMART is inspired to provide a user-friendly, online platform that helps create an immensely detailed property profile, the legal backing all the way through closing and the seller gets to keep up to a mind-boggling 75% of the fee.

Born purely from the willingness to help the Do-It-Yourself, For Sale By Owner individual, we are proud to offer a unique option for those of the mindset and are confident enough to handle the transaction on their own and keep the years of hard-earned equity in their own pocket!