Sell "For Sale by Owner" and save.
Selling FSBO (pronounced "fizzboh") isn't much different from
listing a home with a traditional real estate agent. Many homes
on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and Realtor.com are FSBOs,
and real estate agents routinely show FSBO homes to prospective
buyers. Indeed, failing to do so would be a breach of their
fiduciary duty to their clients and of the Realtor Code of
Ethics.
The difference is that FSBO sellers take over the job of the
listing agent. By overseeing the marketing of their own
properties, they believe they can get much more bang for their
marketing buck.
Does selling FSBO work? A
2007 study by two Northwestern University economists found
that FSBO sellers in Madison, Wisconsin, got roughly the same
price for their homes as agent-assisted sellers, giving them "a
significantly enhanced net sale price." Another clue is given
in the 2005 survey of US sellers by the National Association of
Realtors (summarized in the
Massachusetts Association of Realtors Profile of Buyers and
Sellers). The study found that FSBO sellers reported the
highest level of satisfaction with the selling process, with 80%
"very satisfied" and only 3% "very dissatisfied." Of those who
sold their homes through a real estate agent/broker, only 65%
were "very satisfied" while 5% were "very dissatisfied."
You do the marketing.
We'll do the rest.
We at Chalkboard Realty have partnered with local FSBO
businesses to help sellers market their homes and close deals.
Here's how we recommend you sell your home "for sale by owner":
Step 1:
Prepare your home.
Our sister
website,
FSBOPrimer.com, offers lots of advice on how to
prepare your home for sale. It's been recommended by
The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post,
and other publications.
Step 2:
Contact us at (707) 481-1776 or visit a FSBO website in
your county:
Bay Area
FSBOSonoma.com
FSBOSolano.com
FSBONapa.com
FSBOAlameda.com
FSBOContraCosta.com
FSBOSanFran.com
FSBOSanMateo.com
FSBOSantaClara.com
Central Valley
FSBOSac.com
FSBOElDorado.com
FSBOYolo.com
FSBOFresno.com
We'll answer your questions and, for $300 plus a
refundable sign deposit of $50, provide all of these
products and services:
- A comparative
market analysis (CMA) to help you come up with a
price for your property.
- Six professional
still photos of your home
- Custom flyer
design
- 100 color flyers
to get you started
- A CD of your flyer
(in color and grayscale) so you can print more as
you need them
- A custom web page
on one of our FSBO websites
- Six-month rental
of a yardarm with a steel sign, two custom riders,
two pre-printed riders and brochure box, installed,
plus four A-frame open house signs, and two
directional signs with open house riders.
- 100 copies of
How to
Buy “For Sale by Owner”
Step 3:
Get on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
We'll list your home on the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS), Realtor.com®, and other sites for a flat fee of
$199. For an additional $70, we'll rent you an electronic
lockbox so buyers’ agents can show your home more
easily. Click here to
learn why we think we offer the best value.
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Step 4:
Show your home to buyers.
If you’ve listed your home on the MLS, buyers’ agents
will contact you directly about showing your home to
prospective buyers. You may also want to look for your
own buyers, perhaps by advertising outside of the MLS or
hosting frequent open houses.
Step 5:
Respond to offers.
Contact us as soon as you get an offer or find an
interested buyer and we’ll tell you about your various
options. We offer, for example, full-service broker
representation from contract to close of escrow for a
flat fee of $3,400—payable only if the deal goes
through. (Click here
to learn why we think this is money well spent.) For an
additional $1,600, we’ll handle both sides of
transaction. If you want to handle the transaction
yourself, we’ll tell you where you can get real estate
forms for under $20.
Step 6:
Pack up and move.
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