Elgin Homes for Sale by Owner Include Historic Mansion

June 22nd, 2010

One of the homes for sale by owner in Elgin, Illinois in the coming week is a historic mansion at Highland Street. The Wing mansion has all the features of a traditional 1890s residence, from the wood flooring and windows of stain glass to the décor and furniture.

The 20-room Queen Anne mansion is currently owned by Maureen McWaid who spent decades refurbishing the house that originally belonged to a local wealthy family, the Wings. The sale will also include the antiques inside the home.

The McWaids acquired the home in 1988. The family made an offer at the very same day that the property came into the market. The McWaids first saw the house in 1985 during a house walk presented by the Gifford Park Association. It was designed by architect Smith Hoag and was constructed in 1859. The construction of the mansion was through the request of the late Washington Wing, the head of the Wing family, and is part of the 247-acre family estate.

The historical dwelling had been converted into a multifamily residence at one point and featured several kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. It also has several porches and fireplaces. Maureen McWaid decided to include the mansion as one of the homes for sale by owner in the area following the passing of her husband Bill.

The McWaids had been married for 29 years and Maureen admitted that the house largely reminds her of her late husband. The Wing mansion has served as home for the Wings prior to the McWaids’ purchase. During the late 1800s, additions were made on the property to accommodate the expanding family of the Wings. William Wing, the son of Washington Wing and the founder of the Elgin National Bank, reportedly lived in the expanded premises with his family.

Maureen McWaid has studied the history of the mansion and has paid attention to every detail of the renovations during the first few years of their stay. The current owner is able to explain the history of the house to anyone, including the origins of the antiques inside. She adds that the mansion, which is being offered as one of the homes for sale by owner in the coming week, is filled with colorful stories and historic features.

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Caution Needed in Buying Homes for Sale by Owner

May 18th, 2010

A Knoxville, Tennessee family has warned other homebuyers to exercise caution if they are planning on purchasing homes for sale by owner (FSBO). The Neal family issued the warning after they lost $150,000, which they put down as deposit for an FSBO house.

According to the Neals, they decided to purchase a three-acre home in West Knoxville right after moving to Tennessee from California. The family revealed that they put down the money as deposit for an FSBO dwelling and is now facing the possibility of losing that home because they did not make a proper search.

Jerry and Pam Neal revealed that they were initially planning to build another house, but upon chancing on the 4,000 square-foot FSBO structure being sold for $272,000; they decided to make a purchase instead.

The family’s problem started when they believed the former owner of the home, Chuck Farhat, who told them that they do not need to go through an escrow because he is a licensed broker. Farhat allegedly told the Neals that they can save a lot of money by not escrowing the money. The former owner of the house offered the Neals a contract instead which specifies that the buyers would pay Farhat a fixed amount of $1,044 each month for a period of 15 years.

The Neals found out that something was wrong when they tried taking out a home improvement loan in 2008. According to them, the lender told them that they do not own the property that they purchased and that Farhat defaulted on his loan. The bigger problem, the buyers revealed, is that there had not been any proper search conducted on the house.

The family regretted not having a homes for sale by owner search conducted since that would have shown them that a mortgage has already been taken out by Farhat on the house and that the former owner still owes back taxes on the residential property. They admitted that foregoing the search denied them the chance to discover that it would be trouble to purchase the house or put down a deposit on it.

Furthermore, the family discovered later that the property is actually less than two acres and not three acres as they were initially told. The Neals regretfully admitted that they would not have made the purchase if they knew all about these details beforehand.

Meanwhile, the Knoxville Realty Board had stated that new home buyers should always acquire the services of a title company that would search the for-sale property’s records. Title companies could have searched the deed and the history of the house and would have done a title abstract. Usually, such services range between $200 and $250.

The house purchased by the Neals just went into foreclosure a week ago. In the meantime, the family said they will be living in the residence and will make payments for Farhat, against whom they are preparing a lawsuit. They warned other buyers of homes for sale by owner to have an escrow and to hire a title company before making a purchase.

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Real Estate Condition Making Life Difficult for Home FSBO Market

May 4th, 2010

Michigan real estate observers have stated that current housing market statistics are making life difficult for homeowners in Muskegon County to sell their properties through home FSBO. The difficulties are attributed mainly to high unemployment rates and declining property prices.

The same factors creating difficulties for people looking to sell their properties quickly are also causing home price reductions and soaring foreclosures and short sales, according to county property market analysts.

They also stated that the current condition is vastly different from previous periods wherein people purchase homes as part of their primary investment, with majority of them counting on equity to save them from financial problems.

Majority of Muskegon residents, according to local reports, expect to get less on a home sale than what they need to pay for their mortgage. In addition, some homes for sale have been in the market for over a year and have yet to find a buyer. Most homes have also lost a lot of value that real estate agents are unenthusiastic about getting them listed.

Housing industry analysts observed that the local housing market situation results in further difficulties for homeowners planning a home FSBO and that more residents are putting down more money just to have their homes sold. The trend is also causing rising number of short sales, particularly among homeowners who are late in paying for their loans and have lost their jobs.

Local real estate companies also revealed that more than 30% of the home sales they handle are for short sales, which shows how desperate home owners are to get rid of their properties. Most of those who opt for short sales revealed that, despite the fact that they would get less from the sale than the amount that is due to their mortgage, they take the deal because banks and lending firms usually agree to take the selling price and waive the remaining debt owed on the mortgage.

Although majority of home owners who sell their properties were not even able to break even, local real estate analysts believe that the housing market is starting to stabilize. Statistics covering the 12 months that ended March 31 showed that the average selling price for residential properties in the county remained steady compared with last year’s numbers.

Most homeowners planning on a home FSBO are finding it hard to find buyers willing to pay the full price for a home. However, some analysts are optimistic that the housing market of Muskegon will soon find a level ground.

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Houses FSBO – Organize Your Search Using Excel

March 4th, 2010

Searching houses FSBO can become confusing because of the large number of websites offering FSBO listings.

You can, however, organize your search using only the basic features of Microsoft Excel. You will just use the blank flexible charts. You do not have to study how to format the cells or how to get the sum of numbers. In fact, you are going to use only five to ten columns depending on the number of FSBO homes you are going to compare.

You will just fill in the black cells so that you can organize the information that you get from your online search. Putting pieces of information in columns and in rows will enable you to compare easily. You will also immediately see what you are missing.

On the first column of the Excel chart, list the specifications or characteristics of a typical home. These include the type of house, asking price, total floor area, lot size, type of neighborhood, accessibility to work, distance from schools, accessibility to shops, presence of parks, traffic noise level, nearness to a busy street, sidewalks, corner lot, kitchen upgrades, bathroom upgrades and many other features that are important to you and your family.

You can also add photo locations or photo codes to your list, so that you can easily access the files where you put the photos of the houses FSBO in your short list.

Having your house details in a chart will make your comparison easier. As you look at the data in a chart, you can also see which certain good features of a house can balance out less desirable features. For instance, you may decide that a smaller but costlier house nearer to your work is better than a larger but cheaper house farther from your work.

But if you are a person who does not mind long travel, you may find that the larger house is better because it has wide living area or its woodwork makes you feel good.

To start your search, you can type FSBO, the plus symbol and the name of your city. This way, results from established FSBO websites, newbie websites, homeowner websites and classified FSBO ads will appear. You can narrow your search by typing again the plus symbol and then type 3 beds or any other specification very important to you.

Additionally, you can go directly to established houses FSBO websites such as forsalebyowner.com and then use their search tools.

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Houses for Sale by Owner Accounted for 5 Percent in Mass

February 23rd, 2010

Houses for sale by owner accounted for 5 percent of all home sales in Massachusetts in 2009, based on the Massachusetts home buyer and seller profile report from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

The 5-percent FSBO share in Massachusetts was much lower than the nationwide share of 11 percent. Of the FSBO sellers who were able to sell their homes in 2009, around 20 percent knew their buyers prior to the home sale.

The main finding of the study, however, is the increase in the percentage of first time home buyers in Massachusetts in 2009. More than 50 percent of home purchases last year were accomplished by first time homebuyers, an increase of 5 percent from the percentage in 2008.

The finding affirmed the contention by housing analysts and realtors that prospective home buyers were enticed by the federal tax credit incentive for first time buyers, the availability of affordable homes and the record low mortgage rates.

The age median for first time homebuyers was 30, a drop from 31 in 2008, with buyers aged 25 to 34 years accounting for 61 percent of all first time buyers and buyers aged 35 to 44 years accounting for 18 percent of all first time buyers.

In contrast to claims by online businesses involved in houses for sale by owner, the MAR reported that more than 90 percent of house sellers did not find buyers on their own but hired real estate agents or brokers to sell their homes.

The study also found that the number of home buyers in Massachusetts who bought a foreclosure home increased to 10 percent of all homebuyers, an increase of 7 percent from the 2008 percentage, but at the same level as the nationwide average.

The median annual income of home buyers in the Bay State climbed up to $94,800, a significant jump from the $88,100 median in 2007 and much higher than the nationwide median income of $73,100. Based on civil status, 59 percent of home buyers were married couples, 12 percent were unmarried partners, 14 percent were single men and 15 percent were single women.

A higher percentage of buyers with immigrant origins was reported as 13 percent of homebuyers in Massachusetts disclosed they were born in other countries, compared to the nationwide share of 9 percent.

Additionally, most recent sellers of listed homes and houses for sale by owner reduced their asking price by 6 percent while 23 percent offered incentives to entice buyers.

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Whenever You List Homes for Sale by Owner, Review Details

December 17th, 2009

Whenever you list homes for sale by owner either by yourself or with the help of a flat-fee listing service or a low-commission-rate service, or if you are an agent listing homes for sale, always double-check and review the details in your listings to prevent irreparable consequences.

According to realtors like Jim Crawford in Atlanta, Al Fackler in Boise and Kimberly Barnett in Chicago, errors as simple as typo errors, spelling errors and a single character error in telephone numbers, street numbers, number of bedrooms, square footage of homes and home lots, map coordinates and zip codes can spell doom for sales or can ignite future liabilities.

These realtors said that all listings must contain accurate information and must include crucial information that prospective buyers need to know, such as prohibition of pets on properties in multifamily buildings or location of the property in a community where certain fees are paid.

Real estate listings are generally accurate, according to many realtors. But they admit that there are still many listings which are published online without much thought about their impact on prospective buyers. Sellers should realize, according to the realtors, that most prospective buyers now search the Internet before pursuing further their home buying efforts and therefore sellers must present their properties to buyers in the best way they can.

Sellers who list homes for sale by owner must also make sure that the pictures they include in their listings are clear and that the images represent the real conditions of the house inside and outside. The pictures used must also be relevant and of good quality. Huntington Beach realtor Althea Garner said that pictures of celebrities do nothing to improve salability.

According to Illinois realtor Eileen Landau, the practice of virtual staging can provide ideas on how properties would appear if they are enhanced with interior decoration strategies. However, images of the real conditions of the properties should be included in order to avoid charges of misleading or deceitful information.

In addition to tips concerning listings, sellers of FSBO homes are also advised to save on commissions while getting quality marketing help from professional real estate agents by negotiating with them.

Sellers can list homes for sale by owner with the help of professionals at a reduced cost by improving the salability of their FSBO homes and by also hiring the same professionals in looking for another property to buy.

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Sell Your FSBO Homes Using No-Commission Flat-Fee Services

December 4th, 2009

Sell your FSBO homes using the services of no-commission flat-fee online brokerage providers. With low fixed fees, you can avail of services such as advertising, sale signs, appraisals, voice mail and closing services.

Contrary to the statements of some real estate organizations that it is difficult for homeowners to sell their homes without the help of agents, homeowners nationwide have been selling their homes with limited or no assistance from real estate agents. According to ForSaleByOwner.com, FSBO listings comprise about 20 percent of the nationwide residential real estate market.

With the preponderance of FSBO websites offering innovative services, you can take at look at these services, particularly those that are based in your area, and you will find a website that will suit your needs.

There have been FSBO websites serving only local areas that have become popular nationwide because of their success in selling for sale by owner homes.

When choosing a FSBO service to help you sell your home, look for a service that offers you several options or customized packages. Bloomkey.com, for instance, offers a service called Interactive Decision Making, which enables you to easily create your own real estate sales package from among available sales services. With this module, you pay only for the services you need and not pay for the services that you yourself can do, such as showings, open houses and additional marketing activities.

FSBO.com is another popular website that helps owners sell their FSBO homes. It has been helping sellers, buyers and renters since 1997. You can also choose whether to avail of a flat-fee MLS, a flat-fee listing marketing package or another package with added options. The website tells you upfront how much it costs to list and how much commission to pay to the buyer’s broker if you agree to sell your home to a buyer with an agent.

Another popular FSBO service is ForSaleByOwner.com, which has been offering online real estate marketing services since 1999. It is upfront about its flat fees and it offers tools that help sellers sell their houses independently, such as downloadable forms and live customer support.

For a flat fee, this FSBO service offers you full advertising, pricing report, yard sign, step-by-step instructions, printable flyers, home selling guarantee and live support.

All in all, flat-fee FSBO services save you the six-percent commission that real estate agents collect and help you sell your FSBO homes within a reasonable time.

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For Sale by Owner Listing – Discount Brokers Can Help

November 17th, 2009

You can access a for sale by owner listing through a discount broker if you are a buyer looking for an FSBO home. Similarly, you can sell your house through the FSBO listing of a discount broker if you are a homeowner looking to sell your own home.

Discount brokers attract homeowners trying to sell their homes because these brokers charge only for the services needed by home sellers. Some of them even offer full brokerage services at discounted commission rates in their effort to promote and grow their services.

Many prospective home buyers prefer FSBO homes over other types of existing homes because most these homes are well-maintained and many FSBO even carry out useful home improvements just to add value to their homes and make them more saleable.

For some fortunate buyers, there are FSBO homes that are sold at very affordable rates because the owners need to move to another state for employment reasons or there are family events that necessitate the immediate sale of the homes. In most instances, a prospective buyer can access these homes through the for sale by owner listing of a discount broker.

Similarly, sellers of FSBO homes can sell their houses with help from discount brokers. There are discount brokers that have packaged their services to cater to the level of needs of FSBO sellers. For sellers who want quick results but affordable fees, there are discount brokers offering a flat fee for around $3,000 for full services except Multiple Listing Service listing.

For sellers who want listing in a major MLS, an additional commission fee of around two to three percent is added to the flat fee. According to discount brokers, when the flat fee and the commission fee are added, the total is still much lower than the total commission fees charged in traditional brokerage agreements, saving the home seller several thousand dollars in commission.

For FSBO sellers who have the ability to market and sell their homes, they can maximize their commission savings by paying discount brokers only for paperwork and for facilitating the home sale transaction with the mortgage bank, title insurance firm and lawyers.

To find good discount brokers, you can go to Alexa.com and look for real estate brokers that get high traffic. Whether you are selling or buying through a for sale by owner listing, there are discount brokers that offer services that match your needs and your budget.

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Houses for Sale by Owner: What Can Brokers Do?

November 13th, 2009

Ideally, houses for sale by owner are sold to buyers by homeowners without the assistance of brokers or real estate agents. Without brokers, homeowners can get all the home sales proceeds without paying any commission to other parties.

The only expenses that may be covered by the FSBO home seller are closing costs and the services of a lawyer or a third party that will facilitate the closing and accomplish all activities related to the real estate sales contract. Other expenses by the FSBO seller could be advertising or marketing costs.

In the case of buyers looking for FSBO homes without help from brokers or agents, buyers’ expenses could just be gas money in going around the neighborhoods looking for FSBO properties.

But since the real estate market is not ideal or balanced some of the time for FSBO sellers or for prospective buyers of FSBO, the services of brokers may be needed.

In a seller’s market, some sellers of houses for sale by owner may no longer need the services of brokers because buyers abound and they do not need to look far for buyers. On the other hand, in a buyer’s market, some sellers need help from brokers because it would be hard to find buyers.

In the case of home buyers, brokers are needed if the market is a seller’s market. The competition for buying homes would be fierce, necessitating the assistance of a real estate agent who has access to listings that are not available to direct buyers. If it is a buyer’s market, the buyer can find and buy a great home without hiring a broker.

For sellers of FSBO homes, they can benefit from the services of brokers and still save on commission by hiring discount brokers or flat-fee brokers. Some brokers offer full services at a discounted commission rate because they are promoting their services while other brokers offer specific brokerage services at fixed rates to cater to budget-conscious sellers.

There also brokers who package certain commonly needed brokerage services and offer them at a certain rate with options to include additional brokerage services at additional fees.

For first time buyers of FSBO homes, it is highly recommended that brokers are hired to prevent costly mistakes. Buying houses for sale by owner entails FSBO networking, home inspection and other brokerage activities that only an experienced real estate professional can offer.

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Pricing Houses for Sales by Owner the Right Way

November 6th, 2009

Pricing a house for sales by owner is as important as preparing it to be shown to prospective buyers. Even at the very start, you should have a range that would not scare away prospective buyers, but would instead encourage them to look at your house and to hopefully purchase it in the future.

The key is to price it just right, not underpriced nor overpriced. Here are some tips that you can take note of as you price your FSBO house:

  • You have to aim to get the price right as early as possible. If you overprice your house, you would not get as much offers as you want. On the other hand, if your house is underpriced, it may create a negative impression on prospective buyers. After all, low-priced items are usually associated with mediocrity and substandard quality.
  • Base your price on the location of your property. Make sure that you know the prices of other homes in your area, since this would affect the price of your house in a big way. For instance, areas that are in demand have high house prices, while those that are not hot in the market would not sell as high.
  • Consider the current condition of your house. Of course, a well-maintained house has more value than one that has a lot of needed repairs. It would be better if you sell a house that is well-maintained and price it higher than a house that looks dilapidated. Buyers want to get a no-fuss house, one that would not require them to get busy just doing repairs and maintenance works. This is your job and responsibility to present a house that is well-kept.

  • Take note of extra amenities. If you have extra amenities such as a pool or a hot tub, you can set the price of your house a little high.

  • Evaluate your house against other properties for sale. This would help you get an idea of the prices of houses near yours. You can look in the Internet and check the prices of other houses. You can even drive around and ask about the prices of houses. This would give you a good range which you can use and base on when you set your house’s price.

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