Real Estate Articles

I have preached in the past about how rewarding it can be to sell a home without a realtor due to the money you can save. One thing I seemed to have never focused on is how buying a home for sale by owner can become rewarding. This is where you deal directly with the owner, evaluate all of the features of the home, determine the updates that you would like to make, and then negotiate a mutually agreeable price. You can get the house you want for the price you’re willing to pay just by following a couple steps.

The first thing to consider is obviously what you can afford. I wouldn’t advise anyone to walk in a home that is being sold by its owner and expect them to come down 100k from what they have it listed for. Know what you can afford and what a reasonable sale is for you. Everyone wants a beautiful house, but don’t try to over indulge yourself by looking for FSBOs that are out of your league. You’re looking for a great deal but they don’t always grow on trees. So if you’re not seeing anything you like for the price you can get it for - just be patient and something will come up.

Another step to take would be doing some research. You have to get to know the neighborhoods that you’re looking at. If you don’t, you may be buying in an area that doesn’t appreciate as well as others or you may be blind to what the houses are actually really worth paying for. Look up homes for sale surrounding the properties you’re interested in. Also, check out what homes have sold for in the past and put the pieces together to get an overall idea.

The most important thing would be to walk in just window shopping and not as a buyer. Buying and selling homes straight from the owner is a transaction which involves negotiating with both parties trying to get what they want, but you would have an easier time doing this by forming some sort of relationship with

the person. There must be an even playing field. You are able to tell the owner about yourself and your current situation. This will allow them to see what kind of person you are and how much they are willing to haggle with you based on what they see are your requirements. It is about money, but in a way, it can also be about respect for each other so that everyone is happy in the end. By walking in and getting to know the owner, hopefully the whole transaction will run smoothly from contract to closing.

Follow these steps when you are looking at FSBOs. It is a whole process and can be frustrating at times, but in the end it will be worth it when you are settled in a new home at a price you can be happy with. So keep looking if you’re in the market or keep this in mind if you plan on buying in the future.

http://www.ForSaleOwnerHomes.com is the largest free FSBO website. Find or post homes for sale by owner to be viewed nationwide absolutely free. http://www.ForSaleOwnerHomes.com is the one service that helps you save when finding or selling a your next home.

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The internet has arguably not had a more significant impact on any industry more so then real estate. It has effectively changed the way prospective home buyers find the property they ultimately purchase.

Here is the most compelling statistic to support my argument - according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 70% of home purchasers found the home/property that they ultimately purchased on the internet “BEFORE” they hired a Realtor. Prior to the internet individuals looking to purchase a new home had to go to a Realtor and outline their requirements (price, bedrooms, bathrooms, region, etc) and then have the Realtor go through the MLS to find suitable properties that matched your requirements. The realtor would then present his/her findings and set up appointments to view. Today prospective buyers have access to that same information and can use web based products like Google Earth to zoom in and view aerial photos of homes and neighborhoods. They can also go online and get free appraisals or access real estate comparables and see exactly how much the house down the street sold for. They can also shop for mortgages and compare rates. City data sites provide demographics, rate school systems and provide community features for virtually all cities and towns across America. And the best part, it is all free and readily accessible at their fingertips!

While there are many websites that offer access to real estate listings according to Hitwise (an internet monitor which collects data directly from ISP networks) here are the top 10 real estate websites:

1. realtor.com (most active site in world with 350 million page views/month)
2. realtytrac.com
3. homegain.com
4. rent.com
5. remax.com
6. realestate.yahoo.com
7. zillow.com
8. apartments.com
9. ziprealty.com
10. move.com

Realtor.com, the official site of the National Association of Realtors, is far and away the No. 1 ranked real estate website with a 8.8% market share. According to the USA Today traffic on real estate websites jumped 8% in 2005 - double the growth rate of Internet traffic overall.

The internet has effectively leveled the playing field - homebuyers simply do not need a Realtor as much as they used to, this fact ultimately puts pressure on Realtors to justify their commission rates. Supporting this outlook is the fact that real estate commissions have dropped to an average of 5.1%, down from the long-standing 6%, according to Real Trends.

As in any industry the less you do, the less you are paid, why should Realtors be any different? The curious thing is that as home prices go up so do commissions - unless of course you engage a “Discount” real estate broker. These brokers recognize their reduced role and workload and simply offer their services at a reduced rate. But don’t underestimate the powerful NAR lobby (remember they have 91 BILLION reasons to protect their industry). Realtors have helped “persuade” about a dozen states to pass laws limiting the ability of real estate agents to give rebates to home buyers or to offer a la carte services at low prices to home sellers. The Justice Department, in an effort to protect competition laws, has pressured some states to reverse plans to pass such laws.

In 1995, just 2% of home buyers used the Internet to look for a home. Last year, 77% of home shoppers went house-hunting online. Shockingly, again, according to the NAR, the average Realtor spent under $500 annually on the internet (advertising and development).

The rising dominance of the Internet comes at a pivotal point in the real estate market. The average home price dropped 6% this year. Home buyers and sellers, meantime, are seeking new ways to save money, and they’re finding them on the Internet. Armed with more information many home sellers are cutting out the real estate agent altogether and moving towards “For Sale by Owner” (FSBO). The biggest challenge for FSBO’s is the effective marketing of their property. While there are many (thousands) of websites that cater to FSBO’s the industry is extremely fragmented and there is no repository of properties that competes with Realtor.com or any of the other “Top 10″ real estate sites listed above. One option is Flat Fee MLS (http://ezinearticles.com/?Flat-Fee-MLS&id=548210). With Flat Fee MLS a Realtor essentially agrees to list a FSBO property on the MLS for a “Flat Fee” as opposed to a commission. The service is barebones and the Realtor that lists the property does not provide any services beyond putting the property on the MLS. It does however expose the typically marketing challenged FSBO to a Realtors most effective marketing/sales tool for a minimal fee (usually $399 - $699). Another option is to simply list your property on Realtor.com (my preference - I will explain why in another article).

While the way individuals “look” for property has changed, the way they purchase hasn’t - 81% of home buyers that utilized the Internet to look for a home still engaged a real estate agent to buy.

The fact is the internet has drastically eroded the value of traditional real estate agents. Ask yourself this question - Is putting a sign on your property, listing the property on MLS and then spending the next 3 months convincing you to lower your asking price worth 3%? Is “showing” a house worth 3% of the asking price? Am I being too harsh - maybe. I understand that Realtors provide a level of expertise and more often then not “deliver” the purchaser to your doorstep, but if you look at the process of getting there the purchaser is clearly doing most of the climbing, a Realtor simply opens the door after their journey.

Mark Camphaug is currently President of FreeFSBO.com (http://www.FreeFSBO.com) and it’s parent Martcam LLC. FreeFSBO.com is a For Sale by Owner (FSBO) website that offers a free online listing and free real estate lawn sign to prospective FSBO home sellers. Previously Camphaug spent 6 years as Vice President of one of the world’s largest and most successful Interactive Marketing Agencies where he specialized in all aspects of internet marketing, including SEO, PPC, Email and Affiliate marketing. Prior to that Camphaug spent 12 years in the competitive new home industry, duties included sales, marketing and client relationship management.

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Here is what a successful FSBO looks like. Leaving out any one of these, or not doing any one or more of them well, could either kill your transaction or end up in expensive and stressful litigation. Where hypertext is included, you can read an expanded explanation. You must have:

1. An Accurate assessment of the market and a comprehensive plan;
2. A good appraisal of the property (or accurate CMA);
3. A well planned advertising schedule;
4. In the best available advertising mediums within budget;
5. Possession of Documents needed to comply with the law for the type of property being sold, including legally required addendums;
6. A thorough understanding of the common legal issues that create problems for Sellers in order to practice preventive law;
7. A sufficient understanding of structural, mechanical, and electrical systems in order to practice preventive law and avoid claims of misrepresentation;
8. A sufficient understanding of who and how to work with key professionals, such as surveyors, appraisers, loan officers, mortgage brokers, title officers, escrow officers or LPOs, possibly the Buyer’s attorney or Realtor, septic inspectors, building inspectors, sometimes hydrologists;
9. The equivalent of an expert’s knowledge on contract drafting as well as above-average expertise of the English language and grammar, all required to avoid serious legal problems (ambiguities are a very common area of litigation in contracts);
10. Possession of expert negotiation skills;
11. Possession of the patience of Job;
12. Possession of the ability to pay attention to details and to follow through on numerous details (much more significant than it sounds);
13. Commitment to be the transaction supervisor, meaning responsibility over all parties involved in getting the transaction funded and closed. Someone needs to make sure everyone is getting their job done on schedule. Do not assume they will without adult supervision.

For detailed explanations, see: For Sale By Owner Tips

Best regards, Chuck Marunde, J.D. http://www.SequimPortAngeles.com

Chuck practiced real estate law for 20 years before coming back to his first love, real estate sales and transactions. He practices on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

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