FSBO Jane

Virtualfsbo.com has been around since 1999. The site claims to offer homeowners a way to list their properties on-line without paying commissions. While they do offer this, the ads on their site are not very appealing, nor are they long. And if sellers would like another option for placing an ad, they end up paying a small commission.

WHAT EXACTLY COMES WITH A FREE LISTING?

While it is free to place an ad on virtualfsbo.com to sell your home, the ad has virtually no information. With a few photographs and a couple sentences about the entire property, what exactly makes your house stand out from another, say, four-bedroom, two-bath home in the same neighborhood? Also included in the ad is the exact address of the property. This means that absolutely anyone who has access to the Internet, visits virtualfsbo.com, and searches for a property will know exactly where you live.

FLAT FEE (COMMISSION-BASED) OPTION TO LIST ON ANOTHER WEBSITE

If you were to list your home on Realtor.com, virtualfsbo.com says that you will have to pay an expensive, full commission to a broker. Because of this, virtualfsbo.com offers sellers the opportunity to list their home on Realtor.com, by paying a small, flat fee. The catch is that if you get help with anything, you still pay a small commission to a broker. I wonder why a FSBO company would believe so little in their own system? What exactly are you getting for your money with their system? Just an online ad?

FLAT FEE ADS LISTED FOR A LIMITED TIME

The flat fee ads listed on Realtor.com through virtualfsbo.com are only live on the website for six months, and sellers must pay an additional $200 for a six month extension if the property has not sold by then. How does virtualfsboblog.com justify this extra expense? Don’t worry, they say, “Most properties are sold within this [six month] time frame.”

Owners.com started in 1995 and claims to have the largest directory of homes for sale by owner. (A little research into FSBO companies will show you that most of their sites claim this.) But one look at their website reveals another story:

The site is poorly designed.
Maybe poorly is too strong of a word. The site just doesn’t look that great is all. Simple colors, simple layout, not a lot of info.

The real estate ads include few photos.
There are really minimal photos–most ads only have one picture. When I’m selling, I want buyers to see the features of my home, don’t you? One photo doesn’t do much. Plus, as a buyer, one photo tells me very little about the property I’m investigating.

The listing are filled with Google ads.
Tons of advertising appears with your listing (Google, Quicken, etc.). On the house that I listed with owners, my ad include five different boxed ads on the page. Who’s getting the money for that? Not me, the seller! Owners.com is! How invested are they in my sale when they’re just trying to get per-click ad time?

The site receives little exposure.
This is the biggest problem I have with owners.com. I’ve never heard anyone talk about it, outside of those in the field. Consumers just don’t know about owners.com. I only heard about it by searching for quality FSBOs online; none of my coworkers, friends, family or acquaintances had bought/sold with them. I’ve never seen a billboard, commercial or magazine ad about them. Why would buyers come to the site, then?

Homesbyowner.com began in 1995 and also claims to be the oldest, most established FSBO company around. Again, while I agree with the concept of their FSBO industry, I have to point out several problems with their company strategy:

Poor Ad / Photo Quality
Looking at homesbyowner.com, I get the impression that this site is best suited for people who want to be able to post an ad written in their own words. I’ve noticed that a lot of the ads are lacking in some areas and could do a better job of showcasing the house. While I agree no one knows your property better than you do, the whole reason to use a FSBO company is to get some assistance marketing your property. If I’m still writing my own text, taking my own photos and designing things, what is the company providing? Just a listing with their site. And if that’s all they’re giving, I should just list in the local paper or Craigslist and be done with it.

With homesbyowner, you also take your own photos and upload them to the website. This is fine if you’re just after getting something—anything—posted. But if you want quality, again, I wonder: why are you paying them so you can do all the work?

Small Selection of Homes
This is a common problem with FSBO companies. Like owners.com, homesbyowner.com has very few listings available. And if they offer few listings, they’ll be attracting few buyers. It’s simple math. Certain towns in my area aren’t even listed; when I do a specific search for a certain area code, only a few properties come up.

I find it interesting that their front page advertises the need for more selling representatives. On the entrance page that should be directing buyers and sellers to market/view properties, this company reveals its primary objective: getting more people to get more of your money.

Overall: Use homesbyowner.com if you like to give your money away. I know that seems harsh, but it’s true. They’re happy to take it, and they still make you do everything. You’ll write your ad. You’ll take your photos. You’ll have to direct people to your listing because no one will be coming without your own advertising.

To get things started, here’s what I’ve found about fsboamerica.org, a small FSBO company with not a lot to offer beyond an online ad at a seldom-visited site. Save your money; this isn’t worth it.

Why? 

SHORT LISTINGS
What’s unique about this site is their first-month listing is free-unfortunately, a one-month listing isn’t going to do much in this slower market, unless you are priced to sell. The site also offers free foreclosure listings, and a home-selling blog written by the developers themselves, titled, “The Diary of Selling our Home.” 

AMATEUR STYLE
This small FSBO company appears to be a mom-and-pop operation, with an amateur page design and very conversational wording. I like the idea, hate the execution.

LIMITED SCOPE
The site features listings organized by city and town, and by neighborhood in large metropolitan areas. Unfortunately, their listings aren’t tremendous in number or scope, making it less appealing for buyers, and even less appealing for the seller to bother listing on it! One major (and obvious) problem with sites such as this is their relatively low number of listings; larger FSBO sites build upon themselves by keeping a consistent, large and diverse number of real estate listings.  Many of these don’t even list a price, which is another problem: sites that offer free one-month listings have sellers who aren’t necessarily taking their sale seriously. 

“Canadian For Sale By Owner selling or FSBO is also increasing with many Canadian home owners now choosing to bypass real estate agents to sell their homes themselves in order to save the average six per cent commission most agents charge. On a $250,000 home, this can amount to $15,000, a hefty sum for most Canadians.”

This was an interesting article from a few days ago, revealing FSBOs are gradually growing and not just in the U. S.

There are a number of FSBO companies out there today, which help sellers with their advertising or other aspects of the process. The ones I’m familiar with are:

ForSalebyOwner.com
Buy Owner
fsbo.com
owners.com
isoldmyhouse.com
byowner.com

There are others, but these are some of the biggest. I’ve worked with each one, and each has strengths and weaknesses. Overall, though, I’ve found one company to be the most helpful… More on that later. Over the next few posts, I am going to highlight the specifics of each company and let you make the decision for yourself. That’s what FSBO is all about: putting you in control.

I’ve sworn by it for years: photos can make or break a listing. This is why it’s so important you invest in quality.  

“These days, a property’s “pix appeal,” or attractiveness in photos posted in online listings, is equally important. Eighty percent of home buyers used the Internet last year to search for a home, and nearly 25% reported that the Internet is where they first found the property they purchased, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.” (Read the rest of the msn.com article here.)

“Do your own searching online and cast a wide net to include for-sale-by-owner properties and foreclosures.”

This quote is taken from yesterday’s article in the LA Times. You can read the rest of the article here.

Let’s talk about the drawbacks of selling “For Sale by Owner.” Basically there are two things to seriously consider:

1) You have to do the work. You’re going to make your own marketing materials, take your own photographs, organize and post listings, etc.

2) You have to find the buyers. Will you put an ad in the paper? List at Craigslist or eBay or a FSBO company’s site? Whatever you do, you have to plan the best strategy for connecting your home with the right buyer.

Personally, I’m convinced that the pros outweigh these drawbacks. And I think that the best plan of attack for these issues is to use a FSBO company. I’m also convinced that one organization does the best job, but I’ll leave you to make that call for yourself.

A FSBO company can effectively answer all your questions, help you with every step of the process and make sure your advertising looks professional. At least, a good FSBO can do these things.

When deciding which FSBO company to choose, these are the things I want to find:

Attention to professionalism
The photographs, the text, the listing itself–everything about the company and the way it operates should exhibit professionalism. I want to know that my money is getting something, not just a listing, but professional service.

Ads that direct buyers to me
One of the biggest drawbacks of a using a real estate agent is that potential buyers could see your house, call the listed number, and never talk to you personally. The agent may decide to show them another house that is also listed; the agent doesn’t care if they sell your house, just that they sell a house. For this reason, I demand that a FSBO ad point buyers to me, the seller. I should be the one getting the calls.

Available customer service
If there’s a problem with my listing, if I have a question about something or want a mortgage lender referral, I should be able to talk to someone. Again, this is the benefit of paying for a FSBO company’s service.

A website/listing that draws a large readership
The best part of advertising with a FSBO company is the larger amount of viewers you can reach. The bigger a site’s readership, the more likely that my property will be sold. I can usually determine the popularity of a sight by its amount of listings and its word-of-mouth credibility.

Assistance with prequalifying buyers
One of the most annoying things about selling on your own is dealing with non-serious buyers. Neighbors might want to tour your home, bored people might be looking for something to do… but in the end, they just waste your time. I want a FSBO company to solve this problem for me by helping me determine who’s really looking for a home.

This may seem like a lengthy list of requirements. Am I aiming too high, do you think? I say no. I’ve actually found this service before, believe it or not. It’s available.