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Hello all, I just wanted to give an update about my home. I sold it!

There were absolutely no real estate agents involved in the transaction and I got 97.4% of my asking price. I consider that quite an accomplishment in today's market.

Despite constantly being discouraged by realtors, investors, and other RE "professionals," I managed to sell my home and pocket the agent's commission. I stayed persistent, kept my website running and got a direct lead online. I had a great title company lined up to not only organize the closing, but also oversee the contract. I negotiated the deal on my own as well as guided the whole process to close.

I will say, selling my house in this market was not easy, but it is possible. When I could not get the home sold within the first 60 days, I decided to take the risk and rent it. I was able to do this for about 6 months and then received my lead online.. I simply told the potential buyer about my situation and she understood completely. About 2 months later, the house was officially closed. It would have been sooner, but the buyer was flexible and this allowed sufficient notice for the renters and our negotiation process for the sale.

It can be done! Don't let realtors lie to you, hassle you, or scare you into believing you can't sell YOUR own property/investment that you have worked so hard for.

Here's the proof: http://www.forsalebyowner.com/listing/9C179

This message has been edited. Last edited by: NashvilleDan,

Kudos to you NashvilleDan...I'm not far from you; just east on 40 for a couple hours. So where ya off to??? New place all picked out?

Yes, I know of some folks that were successful in the FSBO arena.

Again...congratssss!


Oh, just looked at the listing and no wonder it sold...looks perfect!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CJO,

Your house is lovely, and I'm sure the new owners are ecstatic to have gotten it. Glad it worked out for you!

I'm curious: In the year that you had your home for sale, did you stick with the "income property" marketing angle or did you change it to broaden your buyer pool?

Thanks for the congrats everyone.

Jewel, I kept the same exact listing as I had before on the FSBO website and my own website. The buyer loved the concept of an income property, but I'm not sure if she's following through with using the space for that purpose.

It's fortunate that you had the time and resources to expend on the house while trying the FSBO route. After a year on the market, I'm sure you're looking forward to closing.

Actually, we didn't originally think that we had the time or resources... as we did not. I did my homework and worked extremely hard to get the house sold in 90 days because of an out-of-state job transfer. After having 15-20 showings, all that seemed to go very well, we had received no offers in those 90 days. It was only then that I considered the landlord option as to avoid paying the mortgage and the new rental out-of-state. The job transfer was not optional, but the sales process of this home was. However, this is where many FSBO's would give up.

It wasn't as much about having the luxury of time and resources as it was about making time and resources. There was no way we could pay for the mortgage and new apartment. I worked hard to push the home as a rental to friends, social networks, etc.. Once we found an interested renter, we went through the legal process of the contract and then had the mortgage covered.

My backup plan was to hire a real estate agent starting in June when the rental contract was up. However, by keeping the house listed on websites online, we did not have to go that route as the lead came sometime in February. We closed the first week of May, which was fine as the tenants we're willing to move out early.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: NashvilleDan,

Congratulations on your sale! That is a gorgeous house at a fabulous price. I would have snapped it up if I was moving to your area.

Thank you Jean!

We actually paid $234,250 for the house in 2006 and it had appraised for $225,000 this year, which was closer to our sales price. The market did hurt us a little bit, but not as much as others; not to mention the 6% commission that we did not have to pay. Regardless, I definitely feel like I earned that commission as this market is rough on sellers, but getting better!

Kudos to you! Your listing looks great and very impressed with your photos as well.

I have also toyed with the notion of renting our home and using the rent money to pay the monthly payment wherever we decide to go,mobile home or villa. Our home is paid for but I worry about someone not taking the care of it that we do and then we would really have a problem later on if we decided that selling was what we needed to do.

Is there a book / website where one can get the neccesary legal forms to complet a FSBO transaction?