A New Orleans For Sale by Owner Tale

In an attempt to save time and money, I decided recently to color my own hair.  After all, they sell hair color in every drug and grocery store and I’ve watched my hairdresser do it time and time again.  How hard could it be, right?

Well, apparently there can be some unexpected results when you are a do-it-yourself hairdresser.  In my case, they included:

• The need to buy a replacement towel for the one that now has purple spots all over it (no, I did not dye my hair purple, that’s just the color of the stains)
• Buying a replacement for the ruined Tshirt I was wearing
• Buying more color to cover the places I missed since even my superpower mom eyes don’t allow me to see the back of my own head
• Buying paint to cover the stains on the baseboard – how the heck did it get there???
• A color job that was OK, but wasn’t anywhere near as good as a professional would have achieved
  

That’s just to cover a few grays.  What if I tackled something bigger?

If you are considering the DIY method of selling your home as a New Orleans For Sale by Owner, you should be prepared for a few surprises along the way as well. It’s easy to assume that it just can’t be that hard, but some of the unexpected things that might catch you off guard are:

• Lost time from work while showing your home (and waiting for the no-shows that scheduled an appointment to see it).  Buyers want to see homes when they want to see them and if your schedule conflicts with theirs it will mean making a choice between taking time from work to show the house or letting them move on to choose another.
• Lots of time spent on the phone explaining to potential buyers why they need to be preapproved for a mortgage and providing them contact information for local lenders.  Do you know at least 3 reputable lenders to refer them to?
• Time spent explaining to potential buyers why you will not carry their mortgage…or give them down payment assistance…or allow them to just rent the house for three years while they “fix” their credit.  Put on a pot of coffee and break out the tissues to deal with all of the sob stories you’ll hear once they’ve got you on the phone.
• Wasted afternoons when no one shows up for your open house except the neighbors who always wanted a peek at the kitchen remodel.

I learned my lesson the hard way.  You don’t have to.

We provide buyer and seller representation with a dash of fun thrown in.  Need more info? Call us at 504-327-5303 and we’ll show you how we can help with any of your real estate needs.  Just don’t ask us to color your hair.