Hi Chuck, IThis is a question that most home owners comtemplate and it is a good question. You know Birmingham's market is quite different from the rest of the world and believe it or not, we were not hit as badly as some areas of the country, even though it has been rocky for our market. I believe it depends on the price of your home. Just because there is a lot of hustle right down to cash in on the First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit, so it depends where your house fits. Research has shown that most FSBO end up making less than if they had listed it with a Realtor. I can't imagine a home owner having to try to deal with all the "new rules & regulations" that have been implemented. Just getting a buyer approved now is a night mare, not to mention the inspection & the appraisal. Having to deal with all the legal issues would be well worth having an expert in the field to handle all these things for you. I would certainly recommend that you, at least, talk to a qualified Realtor that will take selling your home at heart and would be helpful and guide you through the process. There are lots of great Realtors in the Birmingham area. I happen to be one of them. I will be glad to help you with your questions or concerns. There is only 58 days before the Tax Credit ends and now some mortgage companies are quoting 45 - 60 days to close. Hope this helps you. You may email me if you wish. Good luck with selling your home.

Chuck
You might want to look at the link below. Trulia says that the average sale price per square foot has INCREASED 9.2%. It also says that there are 3,634 homes for sale, and 297 sold recently. That means if the same rate of sales continue, it will take year. so the only homes that are selling have to represent the best values to buyers.

I am curious home many homes, like yours, have sold in the past year, and at what prices?

Many sellers think that the Realtor's job is to sell the property. That is not true. The Realtor's job is to project the features in the home that have value for buyers. Houses sell houses.

90% of the time the buyer that purchases the property is their because if a Realtor. So if the vast majority of buyers use a REaltor (why, because from the buyer's perspective they do not have to pay) who knows the area, knows the market values, knows how to negotiate. So a property that sits on the market for a year is over-priced. If you added up all the properties that sold over the past year. based on an average of 300 per month, that is 3600 homes that sold....and yours did not.

The fact is that unless you need to sell your home, you should rent it out and not waste your time and effort (and a Realtor's) trying to sell it. Not with over 600 foreclosures on the market, many of which are competing with you and unlike many sellers, lenders HAVE TO SELL and will price their properties to sell.

Good luck.

Hi, Chuck! That is a good questions that I am sure many homeowners have. You have to decide how valuable your time is and if you are comfortable handling all of the paperwork and legal dealings that go along with selling your home. You may feel that listing your home FSBO that you are listing at a "lower price" but once you account for all the impromptu showings to unqualified buyers and the daily activities that go along with having your home listed, you will more than likely come out better by listing your home with a qualified Realtor® in your area. If I can help in anyway or if you would like some no obligation information, please feel free to visit my website at http://www.teamlockett.com. Best of luck!

Well Chuck, are you prepared to show the home when people want to view the home? Do you have the proper contracts ready to go? Do you know how to truly negotiate? And lastly, do ou know what to do when things go wrong with the deal?