Friday, February 17, 2006

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.

3 Comments:

At 11:15 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

As everyone who posts on Craigslist knows, as of March 1st it will cost $10 per ad per 7 days for brokers adverterting rentals in NYC. FSBOS are exempt, for now. The forum comments have been virtually unanimous for charging FSBOs, primarily because the belief is that brokers will simply pose as owners to bypass the per listing fee. Craig is undecided.
Nonetheless, the problem with posting on Craigslist is the need to continually repost, since the display of listings is chronological and after a few hundred ads your ad is pushed below visibilty. The reposting has become such a pain that it has spawned the business of reposting services. So, if your a FSBO enjoy the free ride on Craig while it lasts.
Look for other venues besides craigslist. If you want only free ad sites, there is listingmania, samanthaslist, matchifieds, and others.
If you want almost free, look for the launch of Sellsius Real Estate, coming soon. For $29.95 PER YEAR, FSBOS can advertise any kind of real property for sale or rent, including their timeshares. They can also post real estate related wanted and job ads. The rate will never increase for the founding members (unlike the cable company). We are building a quality interactive real estate community beyond just listings, because our research shows most consumers want more than just a bulletin board. There will be a forum for advice, professional profiles (FSBOS need a good real estate attorney) and members are encouraged to contribute articles and tips on the website. There is much much more. All members are treated equally. See our Coimg Soon page or visit our blog, up now at blog.sellsiusrealestate.com

Joseph G. Ferrara
Co-Founder
Sellsius

 
At 12:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

there are some site who developed to keep the security in priority and secure seller contactable information and shows information which only sellers want and block unnecessary calls to have customer support alive 24/7 and also verify each calls or buyer as genuine and potential and allow home visits when only seller authorized and provide online tools to set appointment and available time .

 
At 12:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

there are some site who developed to keep the security in priority and secure seller contactable information and shows information which only sellers want and block unnecessary calls to have customer support alive 24/7 and also verify each calls or buyer as genuine and potential and allow home visits when only seller authorized and provide online tools to set appointment and available time .

 

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