FSBO Advice Requested

[CricketCody]

We are selling our designer home located at 1624 Golden Ridge Dr. in Poinciana as a For Sale by Owner listing.

Over the years, I've sold 6 homes this way back home in OH so am very comfortable with the process and the success we've had. Being in The Villages presents a new learning curve since I can't put signs or flyers in the yard.

So, advice and suggestions welcomed! Naturally my first step was to list it on TOTV - a fantastic site. Original post found:here (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/wp_classified.php?ad=3-2-designer-gardenia-fsbo-village-of-poinciana&d=1446584214986)

We've just listed it on ForSaleByOwner.com, Zillow.com and the other un-named online news site. We've held a successful open house (great interest and feedback that the price seemed right) and will plan another one this weekend. We've also had our neighborhood captain send out an email news blast with our flyer attached.

For those of you who have had success with for sale by owner, where did you advertise? Where did your final buyers say they heard about your home for sale? Is there any need to place an ad on the Daily Sun?

McLin Burnsed will handle our contract and closing. That seemed to be a no-brainer decision.

Thanks for any advice or input you can provide!

[oakback]

Although I have not as yet done a FSBO in TV, you seem to be covering a lot of the bases.

Back home, we have tried the FSBO method, and used "Mr Lister".
Don't quote me, but I believe we paid about $600 to get the property multiple listed.
It was then up to us if we wanted to cooperate with the selling broker. I believe we agreed to 2%.
The advantage being exposure in the multiple listing service.

Don't know if "Mr Lister" is available in Fla or TV. But there may be another company with the same business model.

Good luck

[CricketCody]

Although I have not as yet done a FSBO in TV, you seem to be covering a lot of the bases.

Back home, we have tried the FSBO method, and used "Mr Lister".
Don't quote me, but I believe we paid about $600 to get the property multiple listed.
It was then up to us if we wanted to cooperate with the selling broker. I believe we agreed to 2%.
The advantage being exposure in the multiple listing service.

Don't know if "Mr Lister" is available in Fla or TV. But there may be another company with the same business model.

Good luck

Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't heard of Mr. Lister. You can buy an MLS listing through the ForSaleByOwner.com site, but I've never had to use it. Homes have all sold within 3 weeks. The Villages just seems to pose a few different challenges to let people know if your home is for sale.

[oakback]

Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't heard of Mr. Lister. You can buy an MLS listing through the ForSaleByOwner.com site, but I've never had to use it. Homes have all sold within 3 weeks. The Villages just seems to pose a few different challenges to let people know if your home is for sale.

No doubt, TV pose unique challenges for those who go it alone.
"exposure time" is a factor in "market value".
Time is money.
We did sell one investment property in TV, but time was of the essence, so we listed it. Sold in 3 days. If we had the time, I suspect we could have done a little better.

Have you tried this? VillagersFSBO.com (http://www.villagersfsbo.com/)

[jnieman]

Although I have not as yet done a FSBO in TV, you seem to be covering a lot of the bases.

Back home, we have tried the FSBO method, and used "Mr Lister".
Don't quote me, but I believe we paid about $600 to get the property multiple listed.
It was then up to us if we wanted to cooperate with the selling broker. I believe we agreed to 2%.
The advantage being exposure in the multiple listing service.

Don't know if "Mr Lister" is available in Fla or TV. But there may be another company with the same business model.

Good luck

I used a listing service who put it on the MLS for around $300. They told me it would list my own phone number and if I wanted to let a broker show it I could. Turned out the only phone numbers listed were broker numbers and I had no opportunity to sell it by owner to anyone who saw it on MLS.

[oakback]

I used a listing service who put it on the MLS for around $300. They told me it would list my own phone number and if I wanted to let a broker show it I could. Turned out the only phone numbers listed were broker numbers and I had no opportunity to sell it by owner to anyone who saw it on MLS.


In Maryland ( where I'm from ) the service I used was quite different.

Our number was listed, we were even provided yard signs.

Agents now, are either buyer's or seller's agents. We would deal with "buyer's" agents, whose fiduciary duty was to the buyer, not us.

In our case, the "seller's agent" (our agent) was technically Mr Lister. And the fee was a flat $600, for a specified listing period (don't remember the time frame).

Sounds like the outfit you retained worked quite differently.

[oakback]

All this talk prompted me to do a little research.
Turns out the company we tried (Mr. Lister) is exclusive to Maryland, and now also DC.
So.....not available in the good ole Villages

Selling Plan Comparison - Mr. Lister Realty (http://www.mrlisterrealty.com/pricing/)

[CricketCody]

I used a listing service who put it on the MLS for around $300. They told me it would list my own phone number and if I wanted to let a broker show it I could. Turned out the only phone numbers listed were broker numbers and I had no opportunity to sell it by owner to anyone who saw it on MLS.

That's very important to know! I had thought about using that service but I would want MY contact information provided. Kind of defeats the purpose of a FSBO listing if only realtors numbers are provided.

I had looked at VillagesFSBO but just wasn't sure if it provided the traffic. The only option is an $89 listing for 6 months. If it reaches buyers, that's a reasonable fee.

Thanks to everyone for your input. We're getting great traffic and interest from our FSBO ad and will plan on holding an open house this Saturday from 10-12.

[jrdonn]

That's very important to know! I had thought about using that service but I would want MY contact information provided. Kind of defeats the purpose of a FSBO listing if only realtors numbers are provided.

I had looked at VillagesFSBO but just wasn't sure if it provided the traffic. The only option is an $89 listing for 6 months. If it reaches buyers, that's a reasonable fee.

Thanks to everyone for your input. We're getting great traffic and interest from our FSBO ad and will plan on holding an open house this Saturday from 10-12.
"We're getting great traffic and interest from our FSBO ad and..." What ad did you place to get the great traffic and interest?

[VILLAGERBB]

VillagersFSBO.com (http://www.villagersFSBO.com)

[VILLAGERBB]

Great suggestion!

[HoosierPa]

We sold our $600k + house up north this year using a Flat Fee Listing Service. It was $500 to list it then we paid the selling agent 3% so I figure we saved just under 3% or almost $20,000 versus using a normal Real Estate company to list it.

[MikeV]

The first thing I do when looking at a FSBO is mentally drop the asking price 6 or 7 per cent. Just adding my opinion, not looking for any negativity.