 Posted 8/15/2006 6:59:59 PM
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| I had a very "painless" experience. I figured it cost me (less than) $200 to sell the house on my own which was a lot less than the $20,000 Real Estate Commission I would have paid. Almost immediately after putting my house on-line with owners.com I got phone and email inquiries. I wasn't even ready to show the house yet and I had three groups come through. But not offers. Then at my first open house I had over 80 people come through. I got two offers, one was a bridge loan and the other a cash deal. I found my best advertising was owners.com, the local small newspaper with on-line access and the lawn signs. I did pay for one week of the Plain Dealer which was very costly. In hind sight, I would not use the Plain Dealer paper. I had a title company go over the paperwork with me, so it was simple. Now, all I have to do is sit back and let the Title Company finish the work, pay off my mortgage and hand me a check for the balance. Not too bad! I think people are fearful of the "whole" project. If they would just break it down into manageable segments it is very doable for most. Great service!
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Posted 10/30/2006 5:31:14 PM
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I really liked using Owners.com.
I used the internet to get as much information on the price of houses in the area. I also used your recommended appraiser for pricing my home.
Our home sat near the Hwy and we put the FSBO sign there which attracted a lot of people. My husband made up business type cards and put them on the sign in front of our house in a plastic holder for people to take when we were not home. We let people know the price of the home, square ft., # of bedrooms and contact info.This worked really well and I would recommend it to everyone. We showed the house by appointment only.
Once the potential buyer came by and brought me a contract, we simply countered the price to what we wanted. He was a first time buyer and we explained a lot of things to him about how things work, but he also did a lot of research on his own.
We used a lawyer to handle the legal paperwork and gave the contract to the Title company. Our attorney was very understanding and went through the contract with us. Once the inspections were done it was a simple deal to close. We saved a lot of money by not having an agent.
We had about 450 hits on our site at owners.com!
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Posted 12/20/2006 3:58:52 PM
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I did a total remodel before I listed the house for sale. Paint neutral colors and repair all minor or major blemishes. I installed new insulated windows and doors, ceramic tile in kitchen, bath with new counter tops. The solution to get potential buyers, is to make the property look as new, updated and fresh as possible.
The outside must have an appeal so the buyers will want to come inside. Do minor landscaping with colored mulch and power wash everything outside, including the house brick and concrete.
Did not have a chance to have a open house. I received an offer 3-1/2 weeks after putting the sign out.
The buyer did have a pre-approval letter and I would recommend this. I had a tremendous amount of lookers and interested buyers, after I had a contract, but I suspect the majority of them could not qualify. I would do nothing different,
Be familiar with the neighborhood and its pricing. List the house for what the market will allow and get comparables. I listed my house for $91,500.00 and it appraised after the sale for $92,000.00.
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Posted 1/3/2007 4:59:30 PM
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Small world! We are in the Cleveland area as well.
Question for you -- we have had 270 visits to our listing since 12/20. One couple visited and loved the house. Came a second time and still loved it. We are keeping fingers crossed and hope we hear something soon.
Other than that, no other e-mails or phone calls. Any suggestions??? Our home is priced competitively, if not lower than other homes in our area.
Thank you for any suggestions/advice you may have.
Amy
adcandles522@wowway.com
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Posted 1/4/2007 11:05:49 AM
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HI Amy,
A couple suggestions for you:
1) Call the people who really liked your home and ask them if you can answer any other questions for them. This will jog their memory and push them to get back to you with an offer.
2) Since 80% of people begin their home search on the web, you can expect a lot of visits. But, research has shown that those lookers spend more time researching before they begin their actual search so there will be a delay between views and calls.
3) The time between the holidays is traditionally slow. You'll probably see a big pick up in the next couple weeks.
And it's also good to remember that Cleveland is still going through a very slow period right now with lots of homes for buyers to choose from.
FSBO Guru
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Posted 1/4/2007 7:49:25 PM
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This couple had two visits to our home. One with the mom/mother in law and then the next day with a friend who "knows houses."
The first visit, the couple, plus the Mom, absolutely loved it. Comments like, "We can move right in and not have to worry about anything, the colors match our furniture, perfect room for a playroom, location is great, community center is great, etc." The Mom had just as many postitive comments, if not more. They were literally "gushing" over our home.
When they were leaving, they said "We are very interested and would like to come back tomorrow." The girl told the Mom, "You'll have to come and help me decorate outside next year for Christmas."
To us, it really appeared as if they were going to make an offer.
Next day, the girl showed up with some guy that she claimed was a "friend who knows houses." She asked if she could bring him to look at our house because they are first time home buyers and "he knows houses." She also said, "Not that there is anything wrong with your house."
The two of them were here for a very lengthy amount of time. When they left, the girl said, "Looks just as great. We'll be in touch." The guy said, "Nice house."
I followed up the next day. Her comments were, "This is one person's opinion, but Jeff felt it was overpriced." I asked her a few questions and explained that we are comparable (if not lower) than other houses around us and are right on target to what has sold in the last 6 months. She then said again, "We are still interested and trying to work things out. We'll be in touch."
(I wonder if this "friend" was actually a realtor trying to talk them out of our house, knowing he would not get any profit. )
So a few more days went by and I then called and left a message that I was doing follow-up calls and wondered if they had any querstions and were still interested or have decided to move on. We've not received a call back. That was early yesterday.
So.......your guess is as good as mine!!
Did the "friend" talk them out of it? Are they truly still interested and trying to work out finances? Are they not interested and just afraid to call and say so? Are they taking their time because they are first time home buyers?
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Posted 4/27/2007 10:25:46 AM
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I put my house on the market by putting a sign on my front yard and holding weekly open houses. the open houses were decently attended.
The first week, i put an ad in the paper for $136. i found that most people came following the signs, rather than the costly ad.
I put a take one holder out on my yard sign to hold informative flyers. at first, i had the color flyers run off at an office store. that is more costly than using your own printer ink.
Because i live on a quiet street, i decided i needed more exposure, so i put my house on the mls for $377 online. that was a cost effective decision, as it really brought realtors through. i had agreed to pay a 2 1/2 finder's fee to realtors, and feel it was a good investment.
After just two months we had two offers, settled on the one that was very close to our asking price, and we're now out of attorney review, and awaiting our closing date.
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