We are a military family so move quite often. We have sold 3 homes ourselves & found it pretty easy each time! Depending on the lender a buyer uses makes a big difference in what things will have to be done. We used a closing agent for each sale and didn't have any realtor commissions! They helped us draw up the contracts and then the buyers lender set up the home inspection (some lenders don't require this but WE insisted the buyers get one done), termite inspection etc. We made any necessary repairs or had them done as needed to satisfy the buyers. We gave each buyer the option to get a re-inspection or to just show them that all the repairs were made. Most of these were very small things since my husband is so handy! The first house was purchased by the first person who looked at the house. The house was a little older and the lender was pretty picky about very small things but we were able to get them all done in a week. The second home took two weeks to sell and the third one was again purchased by the first person who saw it. The things you have to be prepared to negotiate are appliances and that kind of thing. Remember when you do a FSBO you are saving everyone $$ so I suggest sticking with your asking price, depending on your motivation to sell!!

@isemartha - thanks we do have beautiful white towels in the baths and the reason we did not have a carpet down is we don't want anyone to think we are hiding any flooring damage. UPDATE to my previous post- we had a conditional offer 26 hours after activating our listing so hopeful it will proceed but you never know. The purchasers used the online offer to purchase and with the assistance of their lawyer drew it up and returned it to us. We then had our lawyer review and we accepted. Conditions to be removed in 10 days so we will see how it goes.

Can I ask what color the beige is on the house in your original post? (And is the color on the roof area the same as on the garage?)

I've done it 3 times in the past 6 years and all have gone very smoothly. With respect to pricing, I watched the housing market in the neighbourhoods for several months prior to the sale, I checked with owners on FSBOs for the actual price that they sold the property for and most were willing to volunteer the info, I also asked realtors for the prices of the homes that they sold and the majority were forthcoming, I logged in all prices, home details features, lot sizes taxes ect, and was able to get a realistic price. I never really overpriced but did leave a bit of a buffer for negotiations, I never included the appliances but they were always negotiated in without the price going down, I did accept clients who had real estate agents at 1.5%, I had a great real estate lawyer, I staged the homes and used smaller scale furniture - usually just painting or borrowing items - I didn't put too much money into it, I neutralized, had a sign in sheet for everyone who viewed the properties, I requested feedback after viewings, I had a home inspection done prior to the sale and made it available to anyone who wanted to see it. In Ottawa, we have an excellent site called Grapevine.ca and for a small fee $100 they even allow us to post on the multiple listing sites, I also posted the properties on any free sites that were available such as kiijiji. I also viewed all open houses in the neighbourhood to ensure that I knew the competition and was prepared to explain how my properties compared, during viewings I pointed out all upgrades and unique features of the home and also told viewers about the neighbourhood including entertainment, shopping, restaurants entertainment, transit, schools ect. I have never had a bad experience. I always sold in late spring or early summer and received solid offers within a week of putting up for sale. It is a bit of work but really enjoyed it and it was well worth the money that I saved. However, I always use an agent when buying since it is the seller not the buyer that pays. On one of my sales, I was able to negotiate the realtor's fee down below the 1.5% when I agreed to use him as my agent for the purchasing of the next property. Sorry to ramble - best of luck

You did not ramble. I read your entire post. You offered insight into the process. Thank you.

We had great luck selling our West Hartford house ourselves. It was a small older cottage in a great neighborhood, two blocks from downtown shops and farmers market. We hated to leave, but it was easy to sell.

Yes, I've sold 2 FSBOs. Both were sold "As is where is with no warranties expressed or implied." You just go to a title company and they will take care of all the legal mumbo-jumbo for you for a couple hundred dollars.

Very easy. I've both bought and sold via owner. Currently buying land on contract, too, and building a house on it. Just need an attorney to go over your contract. And use common sense.

What a great article and comments. We are selling next spring and will be doing it ourselves. We also believed in using realtors, but our last three experiences with realtors were bad. The first fellow was so bad, he let our counter offer to a buyer lounge for two weeks while he went golfing! We fired him on his return and the next day he showed up with the sale and got us to re-sign with him under false pretences that we had to or lose the sale. The next realtor was a character with tons of experience and we used him to buy and then later to sell a home. Turned out he was a great buyer's agent but a terrible seller's agent, used wrong pictures, typos in the MLS listing, horrible presentation and no sale. The next realtor sold our house for $30K under comp, let the buyers' realtor whittle down the sale and didn't stand up for us in the negotiation. The buyer's agent said the wife was disabled (wrote it in the contract!) and our realtor didn't check and gave us the impression the family was in need. We fell for it and accepted. Turns out they were just fine, both financially and physically, but the whole ordeal exhausted us and we dropped it, accepted a huge loss and had to pay the realtor $13K on top of it. We consider ourselves reasonably intelligent people, but realtors operate in ways now that you just don't see coming and our trust in that industry is gone. So thanks for all the uplifting advice in this ideabook. It is refreshing, reassuring, and I have no hesitation doing the next sale ourselves.

We used a Realtor on our previous home as the market was taking a downturn and time was of the essence. This time, we were very comfortable selling FSBO, did all the careful prep, went on Zillow and set out an open house sign. We found that despite having multiple showings we couldn't reach our target market. Young families were more tech savvy, and our school district didn't suit them, our older market wanted the security of a broker. We decided to use a discount brokerage FlatFee.com but before we could list, a broker asked if we would work with her. She brought us a cash buyer who worked with our time frame, she did a ton of work and we were happy to pay three percent! So be flexible, know how to reach your market, clean, clean, clean, and do your research to price appropriately. My husband has always said if you can live with the first offer then you should seriously consider it. There are no guarantees there will be higher offers and no telling how long you will have to wait.

Nope

We have sold a couple of houses ourselves with no problems. We had the home appraised. We felt it was a fair price. So we just said. This is the appraised value and this is what a professional said it was worth so that is what we want for the house. If you have an appraisal, no one can argue with that. It works. Besides, you can list it yourself for a while and if you don't think it's working or you get tired of messing with it, then you can always call a realtor.

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Houzz is about helping people and supplying the information. There are hundreds of previous post of people that have FSBO and loved doing it. They mention the company they used so they can help others on this forum. If you are a real estate agent, nobody is trying to steal your job, we have just found a better way that works for us. This is not the forum to be negative and not provide help.

I will be putting my home up for sale in the near future. I will use the CommonSenseNetwork. They are a broker and my listing will show on the multiple listing service. No offense to real estate agents but I know this property better than any agent. I have done all the work getting it ready to sell. Maybe I am just cheap (I prefer frugal) but I do not want to pay 5% of the selling price to someone to put their sign in front of my house. I believe a house sells itself.

I sold my home "For Sale By Owner" in 2009. Everything went great. I took a lower price than I had hoped, but still made a good profit. 2009 was a horrible year to sell your home.

House prices going up is NOT a good thing. More interest paid on the loan, higher taxes paid on the home, higher commission to the realtor. It really is not a good thing. You have move somewhere-- So any profit you make, just goes into the next home.

When I moved to FL, I used a realtor because I was new to the area-- and didn't have time to research the zip code areas. Realtors are great! But home prices rising does not help the homeowner. Regardless of what people think--overall, it just costs more money

Haven't sold one FSBO, but seriously considering it. Had my home appraised by realtor last year who came in with a very low price and kept referring to a neighbor's recent sale and kept wanting to price my home at the same price. After explaining that the neighbor's home was much smaller and without the upgrades of my home, she was still " sure" that the suggested price was right. I think she knew she could get a fast sale and if one stands to make 60 grand quickly, who cares about 10 grand more.

This summer, I called another company and had one of their top agents appraise my home. She came " prepared" with her comps from the surrounding area. This time I was prepared, I "sold" her on the house by showing her the differences in my house and the comp houses. We live on waterfront, and there was no way she could evaluate the lot without seeing it. She was very professional and receptive and said "I think I've missed the mark on your property. Let me go back to the office and call you." A few hours later, she called and was on the mark, price came in at exactly what I thought it should be. If I don't FSBO, I will use this agent.

Two things I gained from my experience: agents don't always get the price right and comps sometimes are irrelevant.
.

Yes, although situation rather unique. Next door neighbors daughter really wanted to move by them....so even though our house wasn't on the market, they made us a great offer....after a few martinis ( and discussion) we decided to take offer!!

I'd sell FSBO... I know how to stage a home and it's easy to find comparables so pricing wouldn't be an issue. We have attorneys in family so no problem with contracts. Biggest pain I think would be having less than serious buyers waste my time but then again realtors have to deal with that all the time too.

Tara, make sure you tell the appraiser any upgrades you've made or anything else that might make it worth more. Look on Trulia for houses that have recently sold in your area and get an idea of the comparables. Share the good ones with the appraiser. You can influence how much your house appraises for.

There is a dirty little secret of the real estate industry in America. The agents suggest to buyers that, instead of asking for a lower up front price, they ask for closing costs. The seller than has to pay for commission on the full up front cost, not minus the closing costs. It is a new way to rip off the market. In addition, they tell you they get 6% commission, but they don't tell you they also get a fixed fee on top of that amounting to another $5,000 in sales price. If you don;t go along with them, your house is not shown.

I'm an agent and here's my .02:

1) The process of buying and selling a home isn't that complicated, and any title company can help you get paperwork drawn up based on terms you provide them.

2) For sellers, the biggest advantage of working with an agent is being a buffer between the buyer and seller, physically and in terms of liability. Almost all lawsuits stem from either the sellers disclosure or interpersonal conflict between the two parties. Surprisingly, a couple of hundred thousand dollar purchase can fray some emotional ends. A good listing agent is an advocate for your home who spends a fair amount of each day looking to connect with buyers. That isn't bad.

3) 10-20% of the transactions I do each year a monkey could get to the closing table. At least 10% of my transactions only get done because of the work I put in. Jackarse appraisals, out of town lenders, ridiculous bank addendums, less than satisfactory title companies, sellers who decide they want to play two days before closing chicken, buyers (and some of their agents) who lie through their teeth for whatever reason. The thing is an agent won't know which transaction is going to eat up 27 hours of 3 separate weeks and which one is only going to need a weekly call to talk about Dez Bryant's CATCH in Green Bay.

4) That amount you see on the hud1 gets chopped up like you wouldn't believe. Realtors have the worst union on the planet, and we get to pay our own taxes like a business owner.

5) For most buyers, I tend to be a marriage counselor more than anything. I'm tempering expectations, helping folks move past the occasional paralysis, and I try to get them to listen to the little warning voices that pop up on houses now and again. It's easy to get carried away in the euphoria of moving somewhere new; I've put at least 1000 folks into new living situations so it's hard to get me glassy eyed (houses with elevators and right on a marina excepted).

6) I've found most folks who had a bad experience with an agent didn't do the legwork to see who they were going to be working with in the process. Listing with the first agent they meet, going with the bottom dollar agent when you're guts telling you this guy just wants to put a little line on his transaction marker board.

Like I said, this is just my .02. I could be biased.

I wouldn't dream of trying to sell my own home. It's stressful enough when a realtor does it. I hire an agent to take care not just of the business, but of me. There's no way that I want to deal directly with a buyer or seller.

no! I have had 11 homes in my life and never sold one by owner!

It's a function of how many transactions your involved in. The more transactions, the more issues you face. The thing about real estate is there tends to be an underlying thought process which will lead to the best answer for right then. That was the problem with all the foreclosure properties out there; So many of the asset managers and HUD folks weren't real estate people. They didn't think real estate so they're way of handling a situation wouldn't line up with the agents, the title companies (that weren't asset manager cronies), and mortgage people. It's not that the foreclosure folks were negligent or incompetent (generally), it was that their answers just didn't click with the rest of the process. Their answer of course was to generate pages of addendums which basically pinned everything on the buyer, and identified the seller as the functional equivalent of anaerobic bacteria.

One of the worst ways to get started as an agent is to be one of those personality plus, 'execute a deal on day one' new agents who go like gang busters the first two years. They tend to fixate on the front end marketing aspects, and their clients pay for it with simple but not unreasonable (hopefully) mistakes. Thinking back, I doubt I've met more than 10 agents since 1995 who just absolutely could've cared less about their clients and it was all about executing contracts. Most of them were back in the 2005-2007 time frame, and they're working for pharmaceutical companies now.

I do it because it just feels right to do, and I love walking land. I also hate the cold so by default I like walls.

Listen to you head, double check with your gut, and go with the answer that shakes out.

Pl

No way. Too many things can come back and bite you. I've seen a lot of people get themselves in to very very expensive messes because they tried to save a buck, if you don't know 100% of the real estate laws in your state, Leave that responsibility with the professionals.

Many realtors don't even FISBO. It's best to hire a agent, get the best marketing and protect your butts.

There are exceptional Realtors out there, absolutely exceptional, they are the ones that will save you from the call in 5 years because the pool has a crack. Most of them know their stuff. But we deal with fsbo disasters and do it yourself evictions, on a regular basis, in the courtroom but hey, I've got a mortgage too.

Yes there are some very knowledgeable real estate agents but they a few and far between. Last week I received an email from a realtor about a house I am interested in. She said it is under "Power of Tourney". The T was capitalized so it was not a typo. This same agent claimed the lot included part of the ravine at the rear of the property. I had to push her to provide a survey. The house has been on the market for 3 months yet she did not have basic documents. Survey showed the lot does not include the ravine.

In my experience, most agents talk about window treatments because that is all they know about. They have no knowledge of structure, mechanics, zoning etc.

Definitely, Peggy! I'm not a realtor but I've gone thru a house we wanted to purchase to the point that the realtor asked me if I was an agent (or had worked in r.e.).

To mairece: I get asked that too. The agent that I referred to, in the actual listing, overstated the square footage of the house by 400 square feet. Just because someone is a "professional" does not mean they know what they are talking about. Buyer beware is so true particularly with regard to real estate which is the largest purchase most of us make. Quite honestly, I would rather deal directly with a seller.

And on that note, I have to say that I won't buy a house that's been rehabbed by a hobbyist.

The couple that we bid against three years ago heard that we were about to list our home. They contacted us and made an offer. It's not an awful offer, but the home is worth much more based on the appraisal we just got and all of the upgrades we have had done. The offer they emailed states "best and final". I am sure that it would be silly to accept the offer just because they say this, but not sure how to counter when that has been stated. Have never sold FSBO but certain that we can do it. Also wondering if it is any more complicated when home value is quite high?

Yes, I have sold two home for sale by owner. Both times I had a professional draw up the legal documents, it cost me about $1000 and was worth it. I had good experiences selling my houses for sale by owner, it was a lot of work- but worth the money I saved on realtor fees. My houses were updated, extremely clean and looked great, so the work was already done.

To suzeyp; Sign back at the price you want.

Great Video on the True cost of selling a home.

It is not 6% but typically 40-60% of your equity!

Self-promotion at its best.

We have sold one home
FSBO and had an offer the 2nd day the sign was in the yard. The couple
came with an agent who was a bully and ended up with 3%. The couple
buying tried to forgo the agent but we knew better and even though the agent
wasn't included in any other part of the sale, at the buyers request, we
knew we had to pay her after all was over. We had signed a
paper stating so that first day the buyers came, even though they had
found the house, not the agent. They were an older couple who didn't
understand.

Years before that, we
used a real estate agent who provided black and white summary sheets for
the box attached to the sign. I reprinted it and changed it to color with
color photos with a software program. Made a difference and the agent began
doing this for all the listings. Now, I think that is the normal.

We are now currently
selling our present home FSBO and had some pretty good traffic. Had an
agent call for the couple and requested we sign a contact first with
commission stated. She suggested we add the commission cost to the
overall price of the house for her to present to the couple since we really
didn't want to pay the % she was requesting and were trying to negotiate
. We ended up doing this per the agent's advice but felt really
bad the whole time. They had a home to sell so were just browsing what
was available. After some discussion, we, the sellers, have decided not
to pay commission to an agent. If an agent calls or comes by asking to
show the house for a 3% sales commission, we will decline and we may offer
a low, flat fee, if we so decide, paying once the sale is complete. I
have been bullied by a couple of agents in my past years and don't like it so
just not going to put myself in a position to let it happen again.

We have had wonderful
response to our local newspaper ad. For a set fee you can run an ad for
30 days with one photo and unlimited, yes unlimited words. I added enough
words that it caught your attention. As spring approaches, I feel it is
just a matter of time. Seems most people 'shopping' for a home have one
to sell first. And I understand that. I don't mind to show someone
our home if they may be potential buyers. You do have to deal with this
since you are the one doing the work but, if you have an agent, they show
the house instead of you and most request you not be home. It's easier
for me, the home owner, to answer questions and show the little extra things
that may be built into the home that an agent wouldn't even think of or be
concerned with.

FSBO is more work but
if you are able to do it, it is the best way. We also used an
attorney to complete paper work which was very easy.

The pictures included
are our current home for sale. $229,900.

I don't know where you live but that looks like a lot of house for $229,900.

East TN, a place called Church Hill. We are on Zillow. Beautiful views, beautiful area. I added lots of photos but afraid I put too many.

When we did our FSBO, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent pretended to us that she was "the agent" for a couple that wanted to buy our home. She pretended to that couple that we had "retained" her! What a mess! The Coldwell Banker attorney was a fast talking sort who would not admit that she had broken the law, only that "you will be pleased to know, that we have decided NOT to hold you to the agreement you signed!"

What the attorney and the agent did not know, was that we have not one, but two, sons who are also attorneys!

In the end, the couple did buy our house - no agent involved! We paid a real estate attorney no more than $1,000 to do all the paperwork.

Unfortunately, the agent is still working for CB, so people need to beware!

We moved to a different state, and when we purchased there our (independent) real estate agent was great!

It is truly sad that agents will resort to such tactics to get a commission.

For those who have gone through the FSBO process, how did you list your property?

Pay a fee to list on MLS and wait for the buyer agents to bring in their clients?

List on websites like Forsalebyowner.com, owners.com, zillow.com, redfin.com, trulia.com? Please specify which one and the outcome of each.

If an agent brought in the client, can I legally negotiate with the buyer to forgo the agent and give them discount?

Just want to emphasize YOU MUST STAGE YOUR HOME WELL! It has to look nice and SMELL nice or it won't sell! If you have people coming to look at it, turn ALL the lights on and open the blinds! We weren't living in our home by the time we sold it, so it was easy to keep it looking nice and clutter-free. The recommendation I heard was…get rid of half your stuff…and then get rid of half of what's left (Pack away your personal items -- photos, collections, etc.) and you're ready to take photos and show your house.

I am from Toronto and we sold our home last year. Save thousands of dollars in commission that to this day, we always thought that we made the right decision. There are a few key steps you need to take though. These are the ff:

1. Make sure that you have a property market evaluation report of your area;

2. Stage your home properly; no personal, religious items. Get ideas from magazines.

3. Make professional HD photos/panning views with music shown in both Youtube and Vimeo;

4. Make sure your property is listed in the MLS;

5. Make your self available in your site 7 days a week from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.;

6. Get in touch with a real estate lawyer for the documentation proceedings;

7. Set aside your emotions when selling your property and don't give in to pressure;

8. Finally, if you're dealing with a direct buyer (no broker assisted) be ready to negotiate.

and when you're dealing with a broker assisted buyer, state upfront that you are willing to pay 2% commission only.

9. Good luck.

People do it all the time, the only thing you don't know who is coming to see your house. People just come without being pre qualified and you could be wasting a lot of time.

Hey Everyone, My real estate team here in Utah have been creating videos to help people sell their home by owner! Check em out and if you find them helpful please Like and Subscribe! HOW TO SELL YOUR HOME BY OWNER

Does anyone have any recommendations for tools (website or software) that they've used to FSBO?

Jonathan--Your best response will come when you are able to have your house listed on the Multiple Listing (MLS). The flat fee agents in your area will list your house. They will post photos, install a professional looking "For Sale" sign, and post open house events on the MLS. They may also inform you of your obligations as a seller. What they don't do is show your house. We paid about $500 for their service and we also used an attorney who was listed on our local FSBO website. Her charges were modest. There may be software out there, but you need a way for buyers to find you on the web. The company, FSBO, has a web presence in many cities. There may be similar companies inother areas. Even with a MLS listing, many buyers were cautious about dealing with us, including full service agents. If it is a seller's market in your area that may not matter much. Our family has had good experiences buying and selling houses without an agent.