I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done
extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.

I see MLS services (http://www.ilflatfee.com/) that will get you listed
on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure
agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )

How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done
extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.

I see MLS services (http://www.ilflatfee.com/) that will get you listed
on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure
agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )

How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)

hire your own appraisal done. how it to buyers to show that you've priced it
fairly.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done
extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.

I see MLS services (http://www.ilflatfee.com/) that will get you listed
on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure
agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )

How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)

Invest $300 in an appraisal.

Good Idea.
Are you supposed to give them the appraisal?

Also, is this like jewelery where you get more than one done...


Chris K.

wrote:
I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done
extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.

I see MLS services (http://www.ilflatfee.com/) that will get you listed
on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure
agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )

How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)

Hey, you may save $10,000 so spend about $500 and get an appraisal.
Tell the appraiser that you want an HONEST appraisal of Fair Market
Value based upon recent comparable sales in your immediate area. Make
sure to tell him/her that you are NOT going after a home equity loan and
thus you do NOT want, nor need, an unjustifiable inflated appraisal!

Don (a broker in two states)

wrote in message
oups.com...
Good Idea.
Are you supposed to give them the appraisal?
no. it's your decision

Also, is this like jewelery where you get more than one done...
no, if you get a reputable one. ask at your credit union for references.



Chris K.

I wouldn't spend the $500 for an appraisal, but maybe that's just my
personal preference. To determine a selling price, just find a couple of
brokers that offer a free, no obligation, market analysis of what your home
should sell for. Keep in mind that they may all give you different
figures.

Jay

i bet any decent book on fsbo has a whole chapter devoted to how to set the
price. have you done any research on how to sell your house yet?

the money to be made by selling your house on your own, is earned through
knowledge. otherwise you would probably be better to use an agent.

how do you come up with a reasonable price? you price it too high and see
what people offer on it. its worth exactly what someone is actually willing
to pay you for it.

randy

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done
extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.

I see MLS services (http://www.ilflatfee.com/) that will get you listed
on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure
agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )

How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)

jay wrote:
I wouldn't spend the $500 for an appraisal, but maybe that's just my
personal preference. To determine a selling price, just find a
couple of brokers that offer a free, no obligation, market analysis
of what your home should sell for. Keep in mind that they may all
give you different figures.

Theft. Pure and simple: theft.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done
extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.

I see MLS services (http://www.ilflatfee.com/) that will get you listed
on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure
agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )

How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)


Let me make sure I understand what it is I think you're saying.

You're saying that you are going to handle a complex land title transfer
deal on your own, yet you don't even have an idea what to ask?

If that is what you're saying, I predict that this is only the start of your
problems. There's a lot of hidden snakes in there, and you're about to find
them the hard way.

As I say in advice I give he

Do it once. Do it right.

The best of luck to you.

Steve

jay wrote:
I wouldn't spend the $500 for an appraisal, but maybe that's just my
personal preference. To determine a selling price, just find a couple of
brokers that offer a free, no obligation, market analysis of what your home
should sell for. Keep in mind that they may all give you different
figures.

Jay



Yep and the advice will be worth the price you paid. Agents are not in
the business of selling property. They are really in the business of
obtaining listing contracts. Expect a pie in the sky high price quote
from the agent, they need you to think they are going to make you a lot
of money, then when you list you can expect offers and or recommends of
lowering your price.
Even if you use an agent an independent appraisal is a good investment
and an excellent sales tool.
For what its worth, I've sold several properties on my own and it can be
tricky. Consider a reduced fee broker (FSBO type) or at least a lawyer
to help you avoid any future liabilities.
Dave

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done
extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.

I see MLS services (http://www.ilflatfee.com/) that will get you listed
on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure
agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )

How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)

A lot of people interested in your house will automatically take the agent's
profit off the selling price to base their offer.

"Clark Griswold" wrote in message
How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area
very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate
to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.

C_kubie
(nw suburbs of IL -in case that matters)

A lot of people interested in your house will automatically take the
agent's profit off the selling price to base their offer.

Good point. I wonder if anyone has real data on the selling price of owner
versus realtor listed sales. I'd be looking to save a little buying from
you since no broker is involved.

The real value of any house is what someone is willing to pay for it.
Setting a selling price comes down to a good guess based on experience.

We sold ours FSBO last year and it went pretty smoothly, but I think I
undersold by about $10K. Our plan was to just put up a sign for one
month, then the next month ads in the paper, and on the third month,
list the home with a realtor. Result: we sold it in two weeks with a
full price offer. We had about 5 lookers and with two open houses on
other properties going on one of the weekends, we got lots of extra
traffic. Was a quick and easy process, we had a lawyer friend give us a
contract to use and their lender handled the rest (appraisal, title
work, inspections, etc.) No hassle and no bad experiences, relatively
little work involved except for keeping the house immaculate for those
two weeks.
We were shopping for our new house and the realtor we had showing us
homes came over and said we may be priced a little low. We thought
that if we ended up going to a realtor to list, the price was going to
go up to make up for the commission. We mentioned that to everyone that
looked at the house and maybe that motivated them to move quickly. I've
seen homes on that street selling for about $30k more than we sold ours
for a year ago so a realtor or an appraisal would have helped us make
more money but there is a chance we could have had a harder time
selling it.

I hoping to reply on a laywer to resolve the legal concerns.
Thanks for all the usefull info.

C_kubie

You must be a broker grin or a joker grin. Clearly, it's not theft if
they are offing a free, no obligation, market analysis.

J.

Theft. Pure and simple: theft.
-----------
jay wrote:
I wouldn't spend the $500 for an appraisal, but maybe that's just my
personal preference. To determine a selling price, just find a
couple of brokers that offer a free, no obligation, market analysis
of what your home should sell for. Keep in mind that they may all
give you different figures.

"jay" wrote in message
newsuxge.290$bO4.251@trndny02...
You must be a broker grin or a joker grin. Clearly, it's not theft if
they are offing a free, no obligation, market analysis.

J.

Theft. Pure and simple: theft.

Perhaps not theft, just unethical.

One source of info we used was Selling Your Home for Dummies. Most of
the info was pretty much common sense but the checklists detailed how
to make your home marketable were great. The value of curbside appeal
is what you should focus on the most. My lawn was the most manicured
and well fertilized one on the block which made it stand out. I edged
it and kept it mowed and planted lots of yellow flowers, and trimmed
the bushes. We also boxed up all the clutter and tried to make the
house look like a display home, we took some to store at the inlaws and
the rest stacked neatly in the basement. Make the house smell nice and
play a little quiet elevator music. Yellow flowers on the table. I am
no marketing expert but for some reason yellow is a kind of focus color
for sales. At least thats what our realtor friend told us. Seems to
have worked well for us anyway. Clean clean clean!

What hasn't been discussed is the state of the market. Is it a seller's or
buyer's market where you are?

If you are in a buyer's market you probably won't even get many buyers
agents to show your home, and those that do will steer their clients away to
a comparable home where they can work with a co-operative agent. Realtors
don't like FSBOs and do all in their power to thwart a sale. They do their
best to skew the statistics in order to prove that people need them. They
also believe that a FSBO sale is more problematic, so more work for them.
They create their own mythologies about FSBOs.

If you're in a seller's market just price your home competitively, and use a
good attorney. You should be able to get comps easily enough. I use
realtor.com to see what homes are listing for in my area. You can also get
the records on recent sales and the actual prices from your city or county.
Those are public documents, and fundamentally that's all any appraiser will
do that's of any substance.

I'm a big fan of FSBO, I sold a home for asking price in 3 days once, but
also had another home on the market for over a year with nothing but
headaches and sabotage from local realtors because it was a buyer's market
and a local contractor was handing out all kinds of perks as incentive to
buy their new construction in my still developing community. Two very
different scenarios, with two very different outcomes.

It's pure hell to have a home on the market that long, not to mention that
the longer it sits the harder it is to make the case for the asking price.

It all depends on the individual situation and how the market in your area
is.

Good luck, please let us know how it all goes.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

"jay" wrote in message
newsuxge.290$bO4.251@trndny02...
You must be a broker grin or a joker grin. Clearly, it's not theft
if
they are offing a free, no obligation, market analysis.

J.

Theft. Pure and simple: theft.

Perhaps not theft, just unethical.



I suppose so. But as a contractor, I'd been called out many times by
realtors to provide a "free written estimate". We never actually got any of
the jobs - they were just using thew numbers as negotiation tools.