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Fsbo

11K views 83 replies 10 participants last post by  BabsHoney 
#1 ·
Wasn't sure if this needed go here or off-topic, but here goes:

My mom is putting her house on the market.
She has told me that after the professional painting and carpet is finished, but before she "officially" lists it with a realtor I can sell it for her. As in, she wants to put a FSBO sign out front with my phone number so I field calls and showings. She told me if manage to sell it before she has to get a realtor the. I get a $5,000 commission. It's a ton of work but that money would be so great I'm willing to at least try. (I'm also realistic about my limitations an realize it probably won't happen.)

I've done quite a bit of reading about the FSBO process but I still have a couple of questions.

There is a ton of work she is finishing up before she gets a realtor. Do I tell people looking at the house about this or wait for them to ask? And, do I mention that the house isn't officially on the market yet but that it will be soon? Would this be motivation for a buyer? What would you think if you were a buyer?
 
#54 ·
Nope, but we still haven't put the sign out. :(

This house has ten years of not being maintained that well and LOTS of people and animals in and out of its doors. It's taking considerably longer to get it all ready than we thought it would. Not too mention there are a few quite messy non-helpers living here. It's an uphill battle for me and my mom.

But at this point my mom is pretty sick of waiting so she said we are putting it out Monday no matter what. Earlier this week I made a website and this weekend I hope to start getting pictures put on it. And today my mom took a flyer I made to hang in the doctor's lounge.

The good news though is her friend that is also selling her house is thiiiiisssss close to being ready and they close on the new house this coming week. :)
 
#55 ·
I have a few tips. When my mom passed away, she left the estate equally split among my brother, my sister, my aunt, and myself (excuse my grammar if incorrect). ;)

They agreed since I was the only one living in the same city as her home that I would take the responsibility of selling it. (I had previously helped mom with the sale and purchase of FSBO and I bought mine FSBO).

I found a great reference book (can't remember the name-I'll try to find it) and I read it cover to cover specifically with regard to realtors, contracts, and property item disclosure.

Tip one - To avoid wasting too much time on tire kickers, do not make individual showing appointments. Schedule an open house just like a realtor would. That way, the showing is on your schedule (especially helpful for a gated community).

Two - having read the book about contracts, prepare the letter detailing your FSBO position and have copies ready to give to the buyer's realtor. In my case, we advised that the buyer would be responsible for their own realtor fees and commission. There are many ways to write it. It depends on your situation.

Three - read up on disclosure. KNOW what you are supposed to disclose & don't assume that if they don't ask, you don't need to tell. We are a litigious society. It is better to CYA than to lose it in a lawsuit.

Four - this is optional (know disclosure before you proceed). Hire a good inspector before you list and find out any critical items that need attention. This makes negotiation easier down the road if you indicate "the house is priced accordingly factoring such and such."

Five - gather the utility bills and prepare averages for the coldest and warmest times of the year. Know how old the roof is and how many layers. Every buyer who walked through asked me this.

FSBO has worked for me both as buyer and seller. Mom's house sold in 2 months. Would have sold faster had the buyer worked out her credit stuff in advance but it all worked out in the end.

Last tip - require a deposit just like a professional realtor. We asked for $500 but the house was only $100K.

I'll see if I can dig up the name of that book. It was awesome and an easy read.
 
#56 ·
The book I read was 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask by Ilyce R. Glink. I read it as a buyer and reversed it as a seller but I think she has specific seller books too. Her writing style was clear and the answers were concise. Good luck! Keep us posted on the progress.
 
#57 · (Edited)
#58 ·
Creeper,

Well here is how I approached it. When I got calls to show it, I advised all callers that the house would be open for showing appointments from 3-7pm on such and such dates. Basically an open appointment for all comers. Worked really well for me and pretty flexible for potential buyers as well.
 
#59 ·
I can see the benefits to that approach. Especially since you have taken a call from a prospect (s). It would be better then just having an open house and hope some real potentials show up.

Also as mentioned somewhere in the articles, It could create more interest for the buyers because human nature is such that " if they want it then so do we"

Maybe if you are using this approach to showings it would be a good idea to tell the buyers that other interested parties have also been scheduled for this time
 
#60 ·
I think I may have read that book, although it was a few years ago. Back when my husband and I first started thinking about buying, I read just about every book our library had. :)

The website I made isn't searchable and only reachable by direct link. Part of why I did it is so if someone calls I can ask to email it to them first. That way they can get a virtual look first and it's one more piece of info I have to contact them (getting their email address).
Honestly I'm here every day now that I'm helping do this so as far as people coming to look the only requirement is that it doesn't interfere with my kiddo's nap time. :)

I've been trying to gather up quite a bit of documentation. Some of it is pdf's on the site, and some I just have in case the info is asked for.

I am already ready for this to be over though. It's never ending. Once this house is done there is a ton that the new house needs. Then maybe someday I'll be able to get back to all the work my house needs.

But... When we're estimating to be done with our house it will be time to move and we'll be starting all over again. :D
 
#63 ·
He does make messes, that's for sure!

Today I heard him flushing the toilet and walked in to find a bowl full of a whole roll of paper and a bar of soap. Fabulous.

And... We don't even know when or how it happened but there is a gorgeous red permanent marker drawing on the office wall. One of the rooms that didn't need painting.

But at the same time he can work a sponge or a broom with the best of 'em. Not to mention he helps with laundry an throws trash away. :)

Ok, I'll stop gushing now.
 
#64 ·
Welcome to motherhood. He's adorable. I'm guessing 27 mnths according to your description and not his photo.

Mine still don't understand the usefulness of a laundry basket. If a sock gets pulled off while watching tv, it will be flung somewhere in that room. I won't even begin to tell you how many lego and polly pocket pieces have been vacuumed up.
 
#66 ·
It is a lot of hard unappreciated work, but he sure looks like a happy little soul.

I think I surprised my parents as well. I'm the youngest of 5 in 7 years. Nobody plans that kind of chaos. We kids sure made alot of our own fun though.

Like the time we were jumping off the garage roof onto mattress's. I'm not sure where the mattress's came from though.
 
#69 ·
So...
Here's an update!

I've gotten lots of calls, but no one has called back yet to look. :( it's hard to tell from the road just how much house is here, and I think people are genuinely shocked when I tell them the price.

The inside work is coming along nicely, actually the painters are here today and will probably be here several days. We did all the rooms ourselves, but the living areas with 22' ceilings and the ceilings themselves? Yeah we're leaving that to the professionals. :)
I feel like a big part of the problem is the land itself. 20 acres and it looks like ****. needs mowed, and the landscaped areas look grown over and really it's just ugly. There is no way we could do all I it ourselves in a timely manner so I called a lawn guy to come give an estimate. Yeah, he never showed up. Grrr. So my exasperated mother called my very busy college brother to see if he knew any college boys that would be willing to make a little money this weekend. He said, "yeah, I know ten! My fraternities pledges!" Needless to say, they will be here this weekend. :D

Well, that's all the info I have for now. Thanks to those of you that are following and being so helpful.
 
#72 ·
I used to be an absolute perfectionist. Years of therapy has helped.

Just don't loose contact with those asking about the place. Offering to send them something, even if not perfect, gives you an excuse to grab their email addresses in a nice way. You can send a nice, hopefully non SPAM sort of follow up when all is finished.

Not to slap you but we warned you this was going to take time and it concerns me that you are already saying you do not have it?
 
#73 ·
Oh I'm aware this process takes time. I'm also aware the sign has only been up for maybe a month.
When I say I don't have much time I am referring to the fact that we still have lots we are working on so getting pictures and updating the website is still low on my list. Lots of great pictures isn't going to do that much good if they come over to look and the house is trashed.
Keep in mind I'm doing all of this with a 19 month old running around. Keeping him occupied while I am cleaning/doing projects is doable, sitting on a computer? Not so much.
 
#76 ·
Personally, I don't understand the point of listing the house before the fix-up work is done. Get all of the work done, and then determine a fair price for the house and list it at that. If the house is truly worth more, people will bid it up.

The point of listing before the work is complete is twofold.

The fall market is now. Everyday before the snow flies and the holidays creep closer counts.

More importantly, there could be a serious Buyer who wants the to be in the area. If they don't know the home is available, they could settle for a different location.

Sure its always better if the house shows well, but I'd rather see a work in progress then miss the opportunity entirely
 
#77 ·
Woo hoo!

The painters are finished and with the exception of a small wood trim project, most everything is done.

I think one or two more days of deep cleaning and I can say it's done. Keeping it clean is probably another battle, but oh well. Today I am choosing to be excited.

And honestly, I'm thinking about telling my mom to just call the realtor. That was the eventual plan the whole time and my excitement is dwindling. Maybe it's time to let the professional take over. :)
Not too mention my mom is already asking for me to do things at her new house. I'm not sure I want to be stretched this thin.

I did really want to earn the money but at this point I think just learning how to fix and do so much stuff was good enough. :)
 
#78 ·
I've been away from the site and am just catching up on this thread now. I think the big downside to FSBO is lack of advertising. When I was looking for houses, before even signing a realtor or selling my last house, I used a lot of sites like Realtor.com and others that rely on MLS listings. FSBO houses wouldn't show up on those sites. While there are some sites that you can list your FSBO house, they aren't nearly as popular or as friendly to use. For someone serious about FSBOing their home, advertising beyond "people driving by and seeing the for-sale sign" should probably be a very large portion of the work.
 
#79 ·
I think the big downside to FSBO is lack of advertising. When I was looking for houses, before even signing a realtor or selling my last house, I used a lot of sites like Realtor.com and others that rely on MLS listings. FSBO houses wouldn't show up on those sites.
If you're going to FSBO, you need to have an MLS listing. That's the key. If you do, then your listing will show up on any site that shows MLS listings. I found my current house on MLS that was a FSBO.
 
#80 ·
Come on don't give up yet. You need to let the Realtors know. They have a buyer pool. I know you are busy, but think about seeting aside an afternoon to email the Realtors to let them know what you've got. Even if its just the most popular ones, as they probably have the most buyers

Every time you see an open house in your general area, make sure you take advantage of the other persons advertising by having one too. It gives the buyer a chance to have a direct comparison and see how much superior your place is
 
#81 ·
Must disagree with you Jan. I think the poor girl is in over her head and just does not have time for open houses, the advertising, and especially the follow up. I would get on with listing it with a broker or, as mentioned, the thing will soon sit all winter which just doesn't look good come spring.
 
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