How to sell by owner?

[cohdane]

1. I personally know of two houses in my neighborhood that sold without an MLS listing. One for $450,000 and one for $380,000. They were on Craigslist.

2. They sold because they were priced well (meaning at or below what similar homes had SOLD for (ignore what people are listing at-- more than half of sellers and their realtors are delusional).

3. Not sure if you need to be on the MLS to get on Redfin.com (where they list for sale by owner), but if you can get on it without the MLS, I'd go that route plus Craigslist first and see if you get any nibbles. If you can't get on Redfin without the MLS, then check out one of those FSBO sites to "officially" be MLS listed without a realtor.

4. It will be a pain in the butt, but it's doable. Get a lawyer. Declutter, stage, paint, repair. Be prepared to lower your price. If you don't like the prospect of the hassle, look at Redfin or other flat-fee listing services.

Lastly, I don't believe in the necessity of newspaper ads, sell sheets or full color ads. They are relics of the pre-internet age. Why would any buyer care about a newspaper ad, when they can see 6-15 pictures plus full details on the internet? Even the National Association of Realtors admits that the vast majority of buyers house hunt on the internet.

The model of how real estate is bought and sold is rapidly changing. Realtors who cling to the old ways-- 3% commission, newspaper ads, and lies lies lies about their listings-- will be out of business in ten years. The internet tells me how long the house has been listed. It tells me how much it sold for last time it sold. It tells me what the house next door sold for. It also tells me-- honestly-- how high the tax bill is on the property, what condition the local schools and government are in, when the house was built, if permits were pulled for that HDTV remodel (they weren't....), etc., etc., etc. I am astonished at the lack of expertise, professionalism and ethics I've encountered among realtors I've met in the last few years (and no, they're not all like that, but too high a percentage are). Such "used house salesmen" are their industry's own worst enemy. Either they change their ways or the market will change their career.

We bought our last home directly from the owners with no realtors on either side. We and the sellers used real estate attorneys. It worked fine.

Good luck.

[chet everett]

When the listing price is down around where some folks in the upper brakets spend on a car, the rules change a lot. You get folks a lot less internetmsaavy, folks to home newspaper ads get passed from friend to family member to co-work,

Investors would MUCH RATHER deal with a reasonably motivated and STRAIGHTFORWARD owner selling their own home than some hopelessly non-comittal REO. Of course this will depend GREATLY upon just how large the complex is, what the resticive covenants say about renters, likelihood of demand for rentals and a mess of other factors.

Now I now that Willow Springs is a bit of a odd area -- it is adjacent to some very pricey real estate in Burr Ridge, had a bit of boom in town homes , so ages are not too bad, does not have huge employment base, but is far from the worst of towns along the Stevenson / greater SW corridor, so I would strongly advise to get input from at least three experienced real estate agents that have closed deals in the last 90 days. I know that there are such agents out there, and sometimes war worked for "the last sale" can work remarkably well for a motivated seller in the right circumstances.

Old school guys (like me) really do appreciate hearing from a trusted colleague when they say stuff like "real deal - these people can sell for a fair price and you can get tenants in as soon as it closes". Of course this is VERY dependent on price -- if the lenders that own somemof the neighboring units do not care that they are holding on to a "basket of fowling knives" the OP probably will need to play landlord until the situation stabilizes -- if they need to do some kind of owner financing or something that too might work.

I really do fell for them -- the lenders are flat out NOT being creative / responsive enough and that causes huge problems for legitimate sellers that need to get a new place. I know that lenders are not "seeing the foreset for the trees" -- if they would work with sellers like the OP to help them get a really qualified homeowner in the place the benefits to stabilizing the other units would be tremendous...

[Chuckity]

I'm going to be brutally honest: If you can't afford to bring $15K-$20K to closing to get your townhome sold, you most likely shouldn't be buying another house, carrying two mortgages and renting your townhome.

If that's your situation, one bad renter will be enough to send you tumbling off that very precarious financial preicipice that you're going to find yourself in.

Also, if you think that you'll tell your mortgage lender that they needn't count that townhome mortgage because you'll be renting it, think again. It's not that easy.

You also can't claim two homestead deductions on two separate properties ... so up up up goes your property taxes.

[nikitakolata]

In 2007 I sold my condo FSBO using Craig's List. I also had it on the MLS because my mom was a Realtor at the time (still is, as am I now), but the MLS did not generate much interest for me. I put ads on CL religiously, twice a week, with 4 pictures and links to a huge set of pictures. Spend the time to take GOOD pictures of every inch of your house and make them easily accessible to anyone looking at your ad. You have to make it as easy as possible for anyone who may be interested and for younger buyers that means putting a lot of pictures online that are clear and accurately show what the house looks like.

Spend time staging your house. It has to look perfect to sell in this market. If you think lighting candles before every showing is a waste of time, well, I think you're wrong. All those little details make a difference. I fully believe that is why my condo sold and no other units in my building did (there were at least 4 for sale).

Don't bother wasting your money on forsalebyowner.com. I never once got a single legitimate lead from that website. It was a complete waste and only led to me receiving a bunch of spam. I wasn't impressed with BuyOwner.com either, not at all.

Realtors are looking for new business now. I would find one who will give you an exclusive agency listing. That way, if the Realtor finds you a buyer, you pay them, and if you find the buyer you don't owe them anything. If I really thought I could find a buyer for a home I would have no problem entering such an agreement because I'd have nothing to lose if I secured the buyer, and you would have nothing to lose if you found the buyer. I see that as a potential win-win scenario.

Finally, the very most important thing is to price your home properly and to keep your emotions out of the equation. Selling a house is a business deal and no one can afford to be offended if a buyer talks about repainting the place or ripping out the flooring as they tour the house. Treat every single contact you receive as the one that may result in the sale. Be polite and accommodating and you'll be a lot closer to a sale than most people.

[majka]

thanks for reminding me about CL option. I put my ad there yesterday with the link to Zillow. I guess, I have to improve my photos there, but had to start somehow. Hope, I will get the luck like few other posters.

[nikitakolata]

I would also check out postlets | home. Postlets will let you set up a "pretty" ad for Craig's List and I think it also gets the ad onto a couple other sites as well. It's free, so it's worth the effort. Plus, it's a way to get 6 photos in a CL ad instead of just 4.