Housing bubble, who was to blame? .... 13
So, who was to blame for the housing bubble? Easy money, supply and demand, lax oversight ? This article discusses some of the issues that have impacted all of us in the past few years relating to overall real estate prices. A fairly well-written article: http://yhoo.it/dhDWSy
Just a quick snapshot of how much money Americans could save by listing FSBO. 11
Just a quick look at all the money Americans spent on real estate agent commissions in recent years. Those are some big numbers !
Yet another article we agree with.... 12
Why you don't need an agent: http://bit.ly/for_the_fsbo
This article makes some very good points. The Internet lets you do many of the tasks realtors once did, but that you can now do yourself. If you don't already think so, being a for sale by owner listing will soon be the preferred and most cost effective way to sell real estate. With sites like ChoiceA and Craiglist, and social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, you'll soon no longer need the MLS for exposure. And, did you know that title companies are happy to set up appointments with individuals like yourselves, you don't need an agent to call and make that appointment for you, do you ? Lastly, a real estate lawyer will cost around $500 to review all of the paperwork and give you peace of mind in finalizing any transaction. It's becoming a great time to be a FSBO.
Ok, maybe not all agents do these things, but something to consider..... 10
Maybe not all agents use such tactics, but just something to think about, or at least something to consider when interviewing agents. This article http://bit.ly/aRpHYX makes some interesting points that you don't have to consider if you list and sell by-owner.
Just something to think about when considering the hierarchy of real estate, a case for FSBO 11
There has been plenty written both for and against the use of real estate agents, and in this blog we'll do our best to be even handed despite operating a site that certainly promotes for sale by owner as the emerging way to sell real estate. But today we dust off a rather old article to re-examine the process as a whole. Is it flawed? Should it change? And just why is it that the Internet has not yet fully obsoleted the traditional model? This insightful article http://bit.ly/d4zCwN_FSBO_ideas by Douglas Gantenbein is a well-researched piece that asks the question: are real estate agents, and the entire MLS structure really necessary? Some good questions from an old article that are still valid today.
FSBO checklists - web resources for the do-it-yourselfer in real estate
A link to a helpful FSBO checklist: http://bit.ly/fsboChecklist
This information can also be found on the ChoiceA site under the Tools menu within the How To link.
In case you're not aware, ChoiceA has printable legal forms for real estate transactions on our site within The Forms tab. Take a look, click around and see what's available for free.
Listing your house for sale by owner isn't as hard as the industry would like you to believe. Do your research, see what you think and then come back and post your property on our site when you're ready to give it a try.
In coming weeks ChoiceA will be posting helpful FSBO links on this blog - places on the web that will help you navigate the process of marketing your property. At the same time we'll provide some information and screenshots of what ChoiceA offers to the FSBO.
Do some research on agents versus FSBO, you may be surprised. 14
If you do your research, I mean really sit down and do some serious Googling while taking time to read up on this topic you'll find that selling your house FSBO (For Sale By Owner) has its advantages. Here are a few links that will help you get started. This link http://bit.ly/akAn7n from Business Week gives some detail on whether or not real estate agents bring as much value as you might think. A more in-depth look at selling real estate with an agent versus for sale by owner can be found here http://bit.ly/bH8gjk_fsbo_selling and was written by B. Douglas Bernheim and Jonathan Meer at Stanford University and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Both are interesting reads and ultimately may convince you to try listing as an FSBO first, before paying big fees to agents. Try http://www.choicea.com, see what you think.