Friday, August 14, 2009

We let it go? Maybe it's time to go FISBO!

I am officially fed up with this real estate market, with it's lazy brokers and rude buyers. We knew putting the house on the market this spring would be a reach but our most recent feedback included the statement that we "let the place go and it would be a great deal if it was in better than average condition". WHAT!?

We bought this house brand new 5 years ago. It was a modular spec house for which nothing was done externally. It was a bare bones minimalist job with a heck of a lot of short cuts which we discovered and fixed. WE did all the work, including a 3 flued chimney, hard wood floors, and at least 3 gardens. We also repaired the stone walls, put paths in the woods, and put lawn back where the septic was installed. Were are they possibly talking about the quasi dirt road that we live on or the lack of a paved driveway? Maybe they were from down south somewhere and were expecting a pristine subdivision like the ones they have back where they came from.

I am the first to admit that we had just gotten back from vacation and having separated my shoulder two weeks ago, things were NOT spic and span around here, but we made this clear to our selling broker when they called with the last minute showing. We requested that this news be passed along. My guess was that it wasn't, just like the unanswered requests for open houses and ads in the local paper. Is this the tact that real estate brokers are now taking? Let it be a buyers market and do nothing to help sell? If I hear one more time that I should reduce the price of the house I think I will implode - it's already listed 20K below it's appraisal price and listed well below the money we have put into it over the years.

So my question is, should we just go FSBO (for sale by owner)? What do we need to do to do that? Maybe if we did, I could actually be a motivated selling broker who will attempt to sell the house for what it is - a score! Going FSBO we would save/earn us a lot of money and we would put great effort into being a good and motivated selling broker - that much I know is true. If you are reading this, I would really love some feedback, advice, or experience.

3 comments:

Colie said...

We purchased our first home from the original owner & sold it ourselved 8 years later. It was an easy process & we never got around to putting out signs..it was sold within a week. I know that's not average but it was easy. We were toying with listing our new home a few years ago & were so disheartened by all of the brokers we decided against it. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Maine Mom said...

Thanks Nicole! How did the closing go as a FSBO? Did you need a lawyer?

Colie said...

Closing was extremely easy & no lawyer was needed. I'd have to double check but I think we used a standard contract...