Yes , we are most certainly out of control........................but isn't this a nice change from........"you get what you pay for".....or "it cost me a lot to advertise my listings"...............or "why use a realtor when you can do it yourself" !!

now.......go ahead and please sing us a song John! :)

My cover is blown.

I only do the weekday matinee shows in NY. I sell houses as a hobby, on the weekends.

This thread is out of control...

Hey - I'm a full service broker here - I soothe fragile egos, too.....among other things......the list is endless!

Thank you, Thank you very much he replies after having his fragile ego soothed!

Ok, Ok Dunes (she says humoring him).............you may lead...........here we go now........row, row, row your boat (take it away Dunes).................

and Rock - thanks for this recent music video - it's more my generation than the 1st one ( "Dawn" - is a walk down memory lane - if you ever get to Broadway or if there is a perfomrance near you, go see Jersey Boys - the story of the 4 Seasons )! Well, Frankie IS a NJ boy.....so, yes, it might be John

Debbie,

Glad you liked the video,and good luck on the 3 o'clock. BTW, do you think Frankie is John's stage name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-mY37TD_3c

@ Debbie.........DUNES NEVER FOLLOWS!!!!!!!!!!

others reading these posts must think we have lost our minds - Dawn is gone again! or.....maybe she was never there....hmmmmmmm

Wow denise is off on a cruise - bon voyage!
......John, what a show off - so many appointments!!!! ha I have one measley (sp?) appointment at 3 which is why I am still sitting here sipping my "morning" coffee (at 12:30) and swayig to Rock's music video!

Welcome back Denise!!

Well Rock - I must admit - I was moving with the music there! (must have looked like a dork to my son who walked in as I was swaying)............thanks for the upbeat start to the day...............and here i was thinking a round of Row, Row, Row your boat would have been nice - with you in the lead, and Dunes following.........

Dawn,

I was posting a plea for you to come back.. then I saw you did!

We were only playing ! Debbie too!

Bored on a Sunday waiting for my 12:30 appointments, then my 2:00 appointments followed by my 4:00 apointments..


Denise, how about an update? How did it work out for you?

Okay, can we all just get along? How about a feel good song/video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoaTl7IcFs8

.....and the sad thing is, that in this market, who knows, Denise may still be trying to sell. :(

John - it's nice to start the day with a smile!

Well - she deleted her responses - I sometimes forget to check the dates, too! It happens........

Yeah, but, Dawn.. 8 months late to the party all dressed up and no one there but you.

Pretty funny!

Dawn - maybe you didn't notice, but this question was posted back in JANUARY....I think by now Denise must have already sold, and moved on!

Hi Denise, glad to hear that you have an agent on the case - hopefully you will achieve your goals!

Best,
Jeannie Feenick
Search and connect at http://www.feenick.com

Well there are a lot of potential buyers out there like myself that would really be interested in a FSBO ... if the price of the property is fair market value adjust for the current market. i would be interested if you have the listing on a FSBO type website.

Rich

Thanks for asking. I've added a local real estate agent to our team and I am happy to say things are moving along. We've had more than 6 showings of the property.

Hopefully, we'll make our goal of a firm offer by 2/28 and close by 3/31. Denise

Hi Denise,

Cathy again. How are you making out?

Denise, I see you've received a lot of advice, however, given your time constraint combined with this market, I have to agree with the group that a professional is needed to assist you. Exposure and appropriate pricing are key for a sale, especially a fast[er] sale. As other professionals mentioned, the smoothest transaction will be when Realtors are involved on both the seller and buyer side. Because we are experienced with common "transaction issues" we can be proactive in addressing them, allowing you to close when you need to.

Given your short time frame, it's probably going to be that you price your home at the lower end of the comparable active and recently sold listings and make sure you stage and advertise aggressively in order to sell your home within a month. It may be more realistic for you to go under contract within your time frame however closings with a financed offer (most common) usually take a minimum of 30 - 45 days to close By working with an agent, we can assist with handling many things for you even if your not as available after the 28th.

I encourage you to sit down with a Realtor, like myself, to discuss the best options for you in greater detail! Feel free to contact me direct with additional questions!

Christine Markow
ERA Statewide Realty
christine.markow@era.com http://www.NewJerseyHouseHunt.com

" the 82% of our respondents who sold with the help of an agent received $5,000 less, on average, than their original asking price. Almost all of the 17% who sold their homes without an agent said they received what they originally asked."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Diane,
My apologies. The last sentence should read:

"Almost all of the 17% who sold their homes without an agent said they received ABOUT what they originally asked."

I missed a somewhat important word "about" in quoting the article. It certainly was not intentional, or I wouldn't be bothering to correct myself. BTW, you gave me an inspiration for a blog.

http://www.trulia.com/blog/rockinblu/2009/01/what_am_i_missi…

I did see your comment, Rockin', thanx... Apparently David thinks we're dating (whaaaa?) Sorry I missed all the action.

Alan,
You should have been there. So many were deleted that were unbeleivably hilarious. You Chicago guys crack me up. I am sorry to say I recently deleted some of mine trying to clean it up and shorten it for Diane.

BTW, I gave you somewhat of a welcome on your blog. :)

wow... looks like a missed a great time on Renee's blog... Sorry to disappoint David.

Gee, it's odd that Diane's only references are to info and studies from such an impartial source as the NAR. Mine are only the biased ones of a college study and a well respected consumer magazine. That 32% figure has already been challenged and beat to death. See the thread attached to the link below..

http://www.trulia.com/blog/renee_porsia/2008/12/for_sale_by_…

Denise,

Thank you for the best answer designation!

Since my information has been challenged, I offer the following:
The information I gave you stating that Realtors tend to get more money is backed by a report done by NAR. Just because someone doesn't agree with the numbers does not make them wrong. And, yes, the report does not give "net" statistics. However, with an average of 32% higher selling price, even deducting the average 6% commission would still net you 26% more money. Also note that it quotes prices for median home sales, not average pricing statistics, which are much more accurate. The link for that report is http://www.realtor.org/research/research/fsbofacts
If you go there, you will see that the statistics are taken from data from the NAR's profile of home buyers and sellers--people who have participated in a real estate transaction that year.

I think the most important thing to stress is that real estate is local. NAR data is compiled from MLS associations across the country. Rockinblu's linked report comes from Madison Wisconsin. It uses a local FSBO site's statistics and those compiled from one MLS association.

Unfortunately, rockinblu did not post the link to the consumer reports article, so I cannot comment about what he quotes from there. Taking a sentence or two and posting it doesn't show the whole picture. But what I can say from his quote is that receiving $5000 less than asking price when a Realtor prices a property can still net you more money than a FSBO sale getting asking price. According to the 2007 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, setting the right price was the second most difficult problem FSBOs had in selling their own homes.

If there are other "well known studies" that rockinblu thinks I am "ignoring" from a university in Madison Wisconson or anywhere, he can present them. I would be happy to have the chance to be educated by them and/or challenge them.

Thank you, Everyone for your suggestions. They have been most helpful. If you know of anyone who may be interested in a Townhome (3 bedroom) let me know--Dbeckles4340@aol.com.

Best of selling to you. Have a great rest of the week. Denise

Aw, here a NYC guru to give you the advice you need to sell a home FAST!

It's easy. Just watch and enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lTn98-sTvM

How did she get to be a NYC guru? She answered the telephone when Donald Trump called. I hear he is giving 25 cents on a dollar to his vendors and creditors.

There ought to be a LAW!

Denise,

The Realtor you gave the best answer vote did give a good answer, except for the misleading part about "Realtors tend to get more money." She doesn't refer to the net received, and ignores well known studies finding otherwise. See link below. The latest being in the Oct. 08 issue of Consumer Reports which states that " the 82% of our respondents who sold with the help of an agent received $5,000 less, on average, than their original asking price. Almost all of the 17% who sold their homes without an agent said they received what they originally asked."

Before any of you agents go off on me, look to see who was the first one on this thread to recommend an agent be used. However, I do not take kindly to the sort of NAR speel that was in Diane's post.

http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~ane686/research/fsbo.pdf

Denise,

When the market was "hot" any body could sell a home and some buyers felt they could save money by going the FSBO route.

The game has changed significantly.....the market is no longer "hot" and it requires market knowledge and skill to sell in this market. Additionally, your new competition is the "double headed monster".......short sales and foreclosures. These options are getting vast amounts of buyer interest.

This is not the type of market that will be welcoming to a novice seller trying out the FSBO route. Your time timits will make this an even greater challenge.

Good luck

Hi Denise,
The quickest way to sell is usually with a Realtor, And, Realtors tend to get more money (on average than FSBO's, too) However, what you really need to know is how fast are homes selling in your neighborhood. Some markets are still hot, most are not. I do not know your area so I cannot comment.

Interview a few agents and specifically ask them for the market absorbtion rate. Also, have them prepare CMAs for you so you know what your home should be listed for. If things are selling quickly and you are confident of the list price, you can try to FSBO. But, if I were in your shoes and had to sell by Feb 28, I would get an agent with a fabulous marketing plan who understands what it takes to get a house sold that quickly. Unfortunately for you, pricing will be key. You will have to be at least 5% cheaper than your closest competition. Ultimately, you want to be the next house to sell and that will mean you have to be the best bargain on the market!

Good luck!

Denise: Let's put it this way: You can compete with a host of well established Realtors who know the business or you can enlist their help. Which sound more likely to produce satisfactory results? The market has really been hard hit and we are just beginning to see some signs that things may be leveling off in this region.

Even so, the time constraint may well mean tat you will have to be very aggressive with your pricing and grant very favorable terms to the buyer. If you don't have a good grasp of what these should be, who do you think will have the best answers based on lots of experience?

Best wishes.

Hey, a thumbs up is a thumbs up! I'm not picky where they come from.

-Marc

Don't get too excited about the thumbs up Marc. It came from me. lol

Denise,

You are going to get a lot of apparently self-serving posts from Realtors with this question. However, unfortunately, they are going to be true.

You do not necessarily need a Realtor to sell your home. But if you have a short must-sell date like you apparently do, your best chance is with a Realtor.

In this market, you are going to have a hard time selling by February 28 even WITH a Realtor. Unless you offer your home at a very low price.

Having said all this, if you still want to try, place your home on every Internet site that accepts listings from private parties. Have a professional appraiser (not a Realtor) come out and give you a real value. Then price your home very close to that number. Also take very good pictures of the home. If you don't have a decent camera, call a friend or relative who does. You really need good pictures for your Internet listings.

If you need some help with Internet sites that you can post on, e-mail me privately and I'll give you some help.

Good luck Denise!

-Marc

Hi Denise,

You need to be with the right Real Estaet company. Do some quick research, invuite 3 realtors in to discuss what they do to get your home sold. In your interview, expect to see marketing marterials and recent advertising and the actual "game plan". Think about your price andf then compare that to what the realtor is telling you. In order to sell your home fast pricing is key.

Call me for information regarding Orange key Realty and what my marketing plan is for home sellers.


John Sacktig
Broker / Manager
Orange key Realty
Office: 732-863-6969
Cell: 723-213-1409

JSacktig@Orangekeyrealty.com

Denise,
It pains me to post this, but you stand the best chance of a quick sale using a Realtor. However, below the first link is to my blog on doing a FSBO, and the second more important link,in my opininion in your case, is information on interviewing agents. Good luck on whatever you decide.

http://www.trulia.com/blog/rockinblu/2008/08/thinking_about_…

http://www.trulia.com/blog/rockinblu/2008/12/i_ve_got_my_fin…