Zillow Advice: FSBO - Are FSBOS selling these days?

Can you Sell your home "For ...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:01:00 GMT

Can you Sell your home "For Sale By Owner", of course you can and some folks have had good success with it. I find generalizations though to be innaccurate. Some of my best seasons have been when every agent in my area is crying because it's so slow,.. of course it's slow,.. they expect it to be and check out till after the first of the year.

To sell today, regardless of whether you are selling By Owner, or have it listed there are several items to consider.

One: Your home has to be priced right for it's condition. This can be tough as your subjectivity is likely compromised. This is your home,.. and it's special to you,.. but to a buyer,.. it's just another piece of property.

Two: Your home likely has some repair to do on it,.. this is often overlooked by a Home Owner because those maintenance items,.. dirty door,.. paint,.. carpet etc. did not happen all at once and Sellers tend to get used to it and don't see the need,.. the Buyers however have not and will amplify any obvious repair by 3.

Three: Staging, I know you still live in your house, but look at the model homes in your area,.. each one is staged. There is a reason for this,.. a well staged home offers a feeling of invitation. Look at a new home and consider how that home looks compared to yours.

Four: Updating,.. just like maintenance,.. it is tough to justify replacements when the older stuff isn't broken. The updating does not have to be expensive and can be as simple as paint and some newer, inexpensive fixtures.

Five: Marketing, todays buyer is researching on the internet. The cost to adequately market your home will likely be more than Free on Craigslist. If buyers can not find your home on-line,.. there is no way that they can buy it. Most buyers now days do NOT spend hours driving neighborhoods looking for yard signs.

Six: Protect yourself!!!!!!! When you show a Potential Buyer, you have no way of knowing that party's intentions. Are they a serious buyer? Have they been pre-qualified and more importantly pre-approved by a lender? Are they casing a property? Are they on the sexual predators list? Is the name they gave you,.. really their name??

Seven: Open Houses,.. refer to number six,.. during an open house, it is nearly impossible to keep on top of everyone, lookers tend to split up. In our area medicine often dissappears along with small valuables. The other downside is that more often than not the people coming in are simply checking your house out to get an idea what they think their house up the street might be worth,.. or to see your decorating idea's. The other negative point is that more often than not your home will not meet the individual needs of the buyers.

Eight: Showing your property, it is difficult not to provide too much information or over sell your property. Hold yourself back,.. don't hide material items,.. but don't make too much out of them. Give the Buyers some privacy,.. also be prepared for the lonely buyer,.. who discovers quickly that you will befriend them simply because of your desire to sell the house.

I encourage you to sell your home on your own if you are able and are willing to trade your life for the commissions saved,.. If you have specific questions,.. contact me,.. I will be more than happy to help with any advice I can provide you,.. free of charge,.. If in the end you decide FSBO isn't for you,.. check out the potential agents qualifications,.. what makes them stand out from the cookie cutters out there,.. look for honesty,.. the ability to tell you the truth,.. even if it is not what you "want" to hear,.. after all,.. your agent is there to achieve results and it is a partnership.

Best of Luck

Ok, here is A NON AGENT ...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:28:00 GMT

Ok, here is A NON AGENT REPLY!

I am a mortgage professional, but I AM NOT, AND HAVE NEVER BEEN A REALTOR. From my personal experience, in both Boise Idaho and Northern California. The right agent makes all of the difference.

The first time we tried to sell our home in Boise Idaho, it was a disaster. We had a great home, that was only 1 yr old, and previous it was a builder's spring home show listing. So it had tons of extra stuff, that set it apart, and we were sorry to have to relocate, but we did.

We first listed it with a friend, at a bigger reatlor firm, but with a reduced commision. It didn't sell in 90 days, and it was never shown. We finally figured out the realtor wasn't marketing real agressively, even though we told him that he could bill us separately for any out of pocket expenses for advertising.

We moved it to another realtor, asked her to charge us the full 3%, and advertise an open house, and film it and put it on television. The realtor held it open, and had advertised it, 40 people showed up to the open house, and it went into contract the following week.

The other after 90 days again, of little showings and no offer, listed with a big realtor who was a large listing agent, and sold a good number of her own listings. We had the same price, changed few things(NOTHING BIG), but it sold and closed within 30 days of putting it back on the market with the right realtor.

If i was selling today, I would ask my mortgage broker, or you can ask me, to have an appraiser pull on the sold listings in your market, and look for the realtor that is selling the most of her own reatlors.

I can tell you, that with this stragetgy, we found a realtor that sold it fast, and also one that when other realtors called us for information on the expired, and we told them her name, they said we had a great Realtor, and never asked us to change again.

I believe that in this market, it is necessary and absolutely money well spent. A good realtor, will tell you the truth, not just what you want to hear, but what you need to do in order to get your home sold in today's marketplace. MOST PEOPLE, want to hear good news, but a professional will also tell you what you HAVE TO HEAR.

FSBO's in Kansas City are ...

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:58:00 GMT

FSBO's in Kansas City are not selling. Most are renting or taking the home off of the market. A few are going with realtors. A lot are just sitting there letting the leaves cover up the sign in the yard.

Internet is killing agents. ...

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:27:00 GMT

Internet is killing agents. They are still resisting to believe in this, but in a couple years either the commisions will come down or real estate business will be the same as other parts of the world.

I worked with two agents, and I found more houses I like from longandfoster.com and realtor.com than they found, and we ended up with a house I found online and forwarded to my raltor.

Here is how I found my house :

My realtor put my criterias in his search engine and started to email me 4 bedroom, 2 car garage houses in the area I am shopping. We couldn't find anything we like in our price range.

One Saturday night, I sat in front of computer and looked at all 3 and 4 bedrooms from longandfoster.com . Finally I found what I wanted : motivated seller, bring all offers ! 3 bedroom but has a fully finished walkout basement. Forwarded the listing to my realtor and set a price. He said if we could get the house for this price, it would be a miracle. Seller answered in one hour, and without any counter offer, we got it.

I don't know if we did the right thing though, there are a lot of similar houses around listed at my miracle purchase price.

We are interested in buying ...

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:21:00 GMT

We are interested in buying a FSBO but are unsure where to start. I believe the house is slightly overpriced based on the few homes that have sold in that neighborhood ytd. (One home is same age, same upgrades, 400sf larger and sold in late April for 17% below the FSBO asking price.) Other current listings in that same neighborhood are overpriced as well. Yet 2 homes that were just listed in the past 30 days seem to be priced properly. The house 2 doors down from the FSBO (same builder, same age, slightly larger with similar upgrades) is listing with an REA for 7% less than the FSBO. I'm not sure what a fair offer is. I don't want to insult he seller by going to low but I also want to feel comforable with our offer. Any insight would be appreciated.

Everyone FSBO needs to get ...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:04:00 GMT

Everyone FSBO needs to get on the MLS. There are companies that will list your house on the MLS for $200-$400 so there is no excuse not too.

www.iggyshouse.com does a whole lot of areas for free. You have to double check the MLS they can list to.

FSBO's are very do-able in ...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:54:00 GMT

FSBO's are very do-able in a sellers market. Right now though, even Agents are having a hard time selling homes. FSBO's are not as visible as MLS listings. You can do it yourself, but make sure you're listed on every site that you can find to list on.

4jacks: - Which area of the ...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:47:00 GMT

4jacks:
- Which area of the country are you in?
- Did you get your full asking price; if not, what percentage of asking price?
Just curious..like I said, if you can do it yourself, go for it! Thanks for the info.

-Cecil County Maryland (queue the banjo)

-I recieved 93.54% of the asking price.

Which was pretty much what we expected, going into the sale knowing what kind of market it was. But we priced it right and it sold.

Here is a thought to. I ...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:46:00 GMT

Here is a thought to.

I have a friend who has a gorgeous custom home. It is 3900 sq feet. It is listed at 642k. It has been on the market for 2 years now and is vacant. He tried to sell it FSBO and now has a full service REA. I told him at this point he really needs to think outside the box and consider trades. He now has been offered a full price offer but he has to buy a smaller home for 300 or so that is overpriced. Now lets say he does this trade how should he feel giving $32,000 to a REA? Its been 2 years and in the end he has to do a trade. What service has he really received? His REA is a fine woman and I know her well but I would be a bit resentful about signing that kind of money over.

Metro, Not sure if I ...

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:39:00 GMT

Metro,

Not sure if I believe that. Price is king in this market. If I list a home for 3% less than I would with a realtor it should sell faster. When I listed FSBO I actually dropped my price 6% and was lucky enough to find a buyer who had no REA.