Archive for November, 2009

For Sale by Owner Listing – Discount Brokers Can Help

Tuesday, 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?

Friday, 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

Friday, 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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For Sale by Owner Listing with a Flat-Fee MLS Provider

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

If you are selling your home, make your for sale by owner listing with a flat-fee Multiple Listing Service to cut commission costs and at the same time assure yourself of a sale at the right price.

You just pay a small one-time fee for your FSBO listing and the fixed-fee MLS company will market your property through the major MLS systems in the country, including the web portals of major real estate brokers.

Just make sure you are dealing with a fixed-fee MLS provider that has a wide network in the real estate industry and is affiliated with the major real estate brokerage firms in the country or in your state.

In many cities, there are web sites specializing in selling FSBO homes and offering flat-fee MLS in their own areas, so look for those focused in your area. In Madison, Wisconsin, for instance, the most well-known is FSBO Madison, largely because it pioneered the use of the Internet to sell FSBO homes without help from realtors and Multiple Listing Services.

In addition to FSBO web sites that focus on certain areas, there are also a lot of FSBO sites that operate nationwide. FSBO.com, which is widely mentioned in various news items, offers for sale by owner listing services to property owners at a flat fee of $299 for MLS listing in certain markets.

Since there are now a lot of providers of fixed-fee MLS, research first and then compare the services they offer. Typically, the basic flat fee covers MLS listing and listing in the provider’s web sites with videos and photos for six months. Additional services such as extra photos, showcase advertising, virtual tours and yard signs entail additional fees, but are still low-cost when compared to total commission fees in conventional real property sales.

There are also now providers of fixed-fee MLS services that have developed proprietary software so sellers of homes, like you, can easily use their services to market their homes. You no longer have to download PDF forms, fill them out and then send them through fax. Now, you can provide all needed details online so your property information can be added more quickly to the MLS data system.

Lastly, one advantage of using a fixed-fee MLS provider for your for sale by owner listing is the ability to make your price competitive so you can sell your house more quickly. Because your costly commission fees are eliminated, you can reduce your asking price and attract more purchase offers.

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