Flat Fee MLS

One of the great challenges of attempting an FSBO sale is marketing the home without using the Multiple Listing Service. The sad truth of the matter is that, at this time, the MLS is the de facto marketplace for home buying and selling. Thus, over the last several years, several businesses have offered "flat fee MLS" services. These brokers will provide access to the MLS, but generally will provide few if any other services to a seller. To fine a flat fee MLS service, just google that phrase and you'll get several links. A future post will discuss the process you can expect once you've decided to use such a service.

Failure to close on the Closing Date

I just authored a post on Rain City Guide (my second favorite real estate blog) that examines what can happen when transaction fails to close on the closing date. For you legal hardbodies out there, here are my authorities for that post: Willener v. Sweeting, 107 Wn.2d 388, 394-96 (1986); and Mid-Town Limited Partnership v. Preston, 69 Wn.App. 227, 233-35 (1993).

craigslist revisited

In a very recent post I encouraged people to list their home for sale on craigslist. In today's news, there's a story about a lawsuit filed against craigslist for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act. The plaintiffs point out that some posts contain clearly discriminatory language, such as "no minorities." The lawsuit seeks to hold craigslist to the same standards as those applied to newspapers. Craigslist responds by pointing out that it is an entirely different animal and the same standards simply cannot apply. An interesting argument on both sides -- time will tell whether craigslist can continue in its current form in regards to posts for real property. In the meantime, it's still a great way to get free market exposure...

How to Shop for a Home on the Web

[A corrected post:]
Here's an informative post regarding how a buyer should search for homes on the web based on MLS listings. As related in that post, some search engines limit themselves only to "active" listings and do not display listings for properties sold but "Subject to Inspection" (i.e. "Offer STI"). A good search engine includes both, so that a prospective buyer gets a better understanding of houses that ARE available as well as those within the buyer's price range that are now off the market (at least pending the results of the inspection). So, while "Offer STI" listings will not necessarily help you find your perfect house today, it will educate you as to houses you can buy in the future if you are able to quickly find them and make an offer.

Given the advantage associated with finding a home as soon as it is on the market (or at least listed on the MLS), the best advice is buried deep in the post: use a search engine that is RSS-feed enabled. In brief, RSS allows a web page to alert a user when new content has been added. Thus, by using a search engine that offers an RSS feed, you can be alerted to a new home just as soon as it hits the market. If it's the "perfect" home, you can then make an offer right away before some else does so.

The search engine at Rain City Guide shows "Offer STI" listings, and more importantly it offers an RSS feed. Of course, given that I'm a big fan of FSBO, I suggest you find your home using a search engine and then give me a call -- I can help you make an offer on the home and save money in the process.

Marketing your FSBO home

When you sell your house by owner (For Sale By Owner, or FSBO), one of the biggest challenges is marketing the home. Currently, there is no FSBO system comparable to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the database of properties for sale maintained by real estate brokers/agents. Thus, when you use an agent, you know that your home will be listed for sale in a "marketplace" visited by virtually every home buyer (as every buyer, even one without an agent, checks the MLS listings via one or more of the many search engines available on the internet). On the other hand, when you sell FSBO, you have no method for advertising your home on such a broad basis, unless you are also willing to pay for a flat-fee MLS listing (which, in turn, requires you to offer a percentage commission to the buyer's agent, if any, thus reducing your profit).

This is a conundrum indeed and one that will continue to hamper the development of the FSBO marketplace. In the meantime, FSBO sellers should avail themselves of the existing methods for marketing their home, including the community bulletin board of our time, Craig's List.

What happens when you take a vacation -- Zillow Launches

As everyone else in the blogosphere has already announced and dissected, Zillow launched its web site last week. It certainly provides a very helpful tool for owners in determining the market value of their home. It should not be the only tool, however, as there are many other helpful resources. More knowledge is always better.

As for me, I've been scooped by every other blogger on the planet. This will teach me to take time out of the office...

Market Trends

The For Sale By Owner Center Blog has a nice post on the continuing downward trend in the national housing market. As the blogger notes, a sliding market makes it that much more important for a home seller to price the home appropriately. I have a recent post that provides some helpful internet resources to assist a homeowner in determining the market value of the home.