[villalobos]

and could give me some advice or pointers towards places with advices?

[hickey]

grammar

[faragbre967]

Ya, gonna need a little more clarification on what it is you're talking about.

[villalobos]

All right let me rephrase that. Has anybody here sold his own house (as a 'For Sale By Owner'), without using a real estate agent? I am looking for advices and books/website where I can find advices regarding a FSBO.

Sorry for poor phrasing. Me failed English.

[Spliffdaddy]

I haven't had much success selling a house without hiring a listing agent. Unless the house is in a very 'high-traffic' location - or the house is in one of the small handful of locations where home sales occur within days or weeks of listing the home - then you're almost certainly better off if you pay a real estate broker to sell your house.

My advice would be to check with a local real estate agent and ask a few basic questions about home sales in your area. You want to know, on average, how long a home is on the market before it sells. If the average time is 45 days or less, then there are quite a lot of potential buyers. If the average time exceeds 60 days, then finding a buyer won't be so easy. Ask if the agent will visit your home and help you determine its fair market value. Any decent agent would be more than happy to do so - with no obligation to you. They already know that, statistically, you won't sell your house on your own - and they want to leave a good impression so you'll list your house with them next month, after you give up on the FSBO thing.

Keep in mind that statistics show that homes sold by a real estate agent will sell for 16% more than homes sold without an agent. So, it makes the 7% commission seem very reasonable.

As a relatively frequent real estate buyer, I prefer homes that are being sold by the owner or sold at auction. Experience has taught me that homes listed by a real estate agent are generally priced at fair market value....making bargains a rarity. Occasionally, I'll ask local real estate agents if they have any "motivated sellers" or other bargain property. Agents are absolute experts in the local housing market. They know which homes are undervalued. The very best deals never make it to the public, because they're bought by real estate agents - and re-sold for profit. When a real estate agent offers for sale a property they own, then they are required to disclose that fact. Look for the term "owner agent" in real estate advertisements. You'll see it quite often.

When I buy directly from the owner (aka 'FSBO' - For Sale By Owner) I expect to pay less than fair market value. After all, the seller won't be paying a 7% commission to a broker. Usually, the seller can't afford to pay the cost of using a realtor/agent/broker. They often are suffering a financial crisis or some sort of personal emergency that creates the necessity of selling their house immediately. To me, a FSBO represents a likely "distress sale".

I've seen a hundred homes for sale by owner. I've seen maybe 6 that were actually sold by the owner.

Forget the whole FSBO idea. But you can still save some money. Try this:

1) offer a 3% or 4% commission to any licensed broker that sells your home. Doing this will increase your chances of a sale by a order of magnitude over selling it yourself.

2) check out some of the 'discount brokers' that don't often have local sales agents - meaning, you'll be showing the house to potential buyers instead of a real estate agent. Your home will still be entered into the MLS database and the details will be available to *every* real estate agent in the world. Being in MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is extremely important. It allows your home to be found by potential buyers. Even on the internet. These 'discount brokers' can offer their services for a reduced commission because they do not have to pay for local offices and staff. They simply advertise your home in magazines, newspapers and through MLS. You can't, as a typical Joe Homeseller, have your home listed in MLS. You must go through a licensed agent.

3) If you insist on attempting a true FSBO, then your best hope is to advertise in the local newspapers (according to real estate agents, the best advertising value is the local newspaper) and promote a "Open House" every weekend. Place signs on high-traffic roads and use more signs to direct people to your home. Prepare a one or two page information package that describes the home's amenities, local schools, square footage, and any other details commonly found on a standard MLS description sheet. Attach a 3x5 photo of the house, as well.



It's difficult, as a home seller, to reach outside of the local market. I'm guessing that not even one-third of homes are bought by local buyers. You can't afford to advertise statewide or nationwide, so you'll be excluding most of the potential buyers.

good luck.


as for your original question... I don't know where to send you, but there must be all sorts of information available on the internet.

[villalobos]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

snip.

Lots of good advices there. Thanks!!

[macroy]

I think in a buyers market (as we are in now... or at least moving in that direction).. doing a FSBO is really handicapping yourself (not saying it won't work).

In addition to the advice above (great - by theway) ... what you can do is simply so a quick calculation on what it take to do your own ads etc (you can still list it on the MLS too)..... It'll never be MORE than hiring an agent, but also keep in mind that you'll be doing everything yourself.

Another thing to look at... you're doing a FSBO, thus there is NO agent fees.... so as an buying agent, what is their incentive to show your house? As oppose to another that will pay them the 2.5%-3% that is listed by another agent? Outside of it being a 100% fit for their clients (which is remote).