For Sale by Owner Failure…Why So Many Fail!

Many private sellers don’t plan how long to promote their home when listing their house for sale by owner. Those who list privately don’t usually understand how to set realistic time lines as to how long to continue their selling process. The result usually ends up in frustration and turning to a real estate agent in failure.

So how should you avoid this fatal error?

First, let’s have a look at how the selling time table works. Many top real estate agents counsel and prepare their clients to bring their house for sale into show-home ready condition. This process usually returns a higher price and a quicker offer but; the down side is that there is a cost associated in terms of both money and and time if this is done properly. It is not unusual to take 2-4 weeks of preparing the home for the marketplace.

The honeymoon period of your house for sale listing is approximately 21 days. In these 3 weeks, the excitement of managing this process, dealing with home buyers, neighbors and of course real estate agents, is quite an adrenaline rush. But excitement fades quickly when the amount of effort and timing takes its toll on your emotional state. This 21 day cycle is same for those homeowners listed through a homes by owner service, or with a real estate agent. Selling your home is an evasive process, careful planning and family cooperation is a must.

Within the first 60 days or the length of an average MLS listing, the private home seller tires of the workload required to sell their home. Along with the workload could be the expense of advertising, which depending on your neighbourhood, could be thousands of dollars in no-return marketing.

Selling your home privately is an increasing option. Currently 1 in 8 homes are being marketed for sale through “Houses for Sale by Owner” services in North America. This 12% is rising year after year due to homeowners wanting to not contribute to the 30 billion commission dollars paid annually to real estate agents. Many a homeowner is prepared to roll up their sleeves and list their property for sale by owner to save some money.

The results can be thousands of dollars of equity that remain in the homeowners pocket, the challenge is to strategically plan for the marketing and selling of their home. It requires a team, timing and a willingness to not quit when you feel that you just have to list. More prospectors have abandoned their mining claims when they were unknowingly, three feet from the payload. Take a tip from these regretful folks and keep pressing on regardless. There are lots of houses for sale by owner successfully finding new owners every day. Sell your home, keep the commission. Simple.

By: Ronn James

About the Author:
What you just learned about houses for sale by owner is just the beginning. To get the full story and all the details, check us out at houses for sale by owner.

Buying a home means that you have to get into the home to see it, right? Most buyers can not make a decision to buy a home until they have a deep understanding about what they are buying, the area they are buying in and what the home will mean to them. This means seeing homes with their agent, through open houses or via lock boxes, or having the listing agent let them into the home.

However, most buyers are confused about what this education process will cost them when they start to work with an agent. Real estate commission is almost always paid by the seller. The buyer usually pays nothing. For a seller to be in the MLS, the system where agents find homes and buyers find homes to see and buy, the seller must offer the buyer’s agent a commission. This is the caveat to be in the MLS because the MLS is a co-operative service to notify agents of houses that are on the market. When you, as a buyer, look online at any website, you are looking at the MLS. You are just viewing a watered down version with will less information on the listing profile and fewer search fields than what an agent will see,

There are some exceptions to the fact that almost all sellers pay the commission – please be aware:

Exception 1 – You have signed a buyer’s agency with an agent and the seller is only offer say 2% commission to the buyer’s agent (this could be any number) and your agreement with your agent states that no matter what, the commission that they get 3%. You will be expected to cover the gap and pay the extra 1% commission.

Exception 2 – You buy a for-sale-by-owner. Not all for-sale-by-owners will honor a buyer’s agent commission. Normally, sellers will announce the willingness to pay a buyer’s agent commission by stating, verbally or through a sign rider, that “agents are protected”.

Those are the only two exceptions that I can think of?

The Real Estate Law Protects Your Interest

So, keeping the two exceptions in mind, let’s talk about what the real estate law says about your rights. You see the real estate law is written to protect the person that pays the commission to any agent. Since the seller is paying the commission, you did not get the right to have representation. I know, you are saying now, “No, my agent was by my side the whole time.” Well, they may have been by your side, but they were representing the seller, UNLESS, you signed a document in writing that stated that they represented you with confidentiality. This is called a buyer’s brokerage engagement in most states. And since this buyer representation is FREE in most cases, it is the best deal in real estate.

So, the bottom line is, see houses for free, be protected by hiring an agent in writing, and if you are in Atlanta, take part in the additional bonus of having an expert represent you in writing an offer, negotiating the contract and get cash at closing too! Duffy Realty offers a Buyer Cash Bonus of at least $500.00 up to HALF the BUYER’S AGENT COMMISSION to be paid at closing. You will get all of our tools, an expert agent, a clear understanding of your rights and the seller’s rights and like I said above, a BUYER CASH BONUS check 5 days after closing and all at NO COST to the buyer client.

For more details, call 678-892-1186

By: Rhonda Duffy

About the Author:
From Rhonda Duffy, Real Estate Broker and National Consumer Advocate The Real Estate Powerhouse

Odd question? Not really. Within the real estate industry it is shaping up to be the heavyweight battle of the century. If you think the NAR hates Discount Brokers (and they do) – Flat Fee MLS Brokers are downright blasphemous. When a property owner that has made a decision to sell their property “by owner” and engages a licensed real estate agent that provides Flat Fee MLS Services they essentially take on (or more accurately eliminate) the role of “Listing Agent” (AKA Selling Agent). More importantly they also expose their FSBO property to the valuable Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the considerable marketing horsepower that is associated with it. Consider the fact that the FSBO property is now listed within the same database that the 2 million strong professional NAR sales team use to find properties for their buying clients.

Granted you are agreeing to pay a pre-negotiated “Buyer Agent” commission fee (usually in the 2% – 3% range) but you ultimately save the “Listing Agent” fee which is usually in the 3% range. Based on the average value of “existing home re-sales” of $268,000 we are talking about $8,000 – that’s a significant chunk of your home equity going into someone else’s pocket. In addition, your FSBO property is listed on Realtor.com which enjoys over 7 million monthly “non-realtor” visitors. If a Buyer comes directly to you via Realtor.com (which is likely because your contact information is in the “Listing Agent” area) you pay no real estate commission – that fact alone makes a Flat Fee MLS worth it’s weight in gold. Just consider that a (as in one) classified ad in your local paper is likely going to cost in the $75 range – $399 for the exposure that a Flat Fee MLS listings provides is the preverbal “deal of the century”.

How does Flat Fee MLS work?

You agree to pay a licensed real estate agent an “upfront fee” (usually $399 – $699) as opposed to a commission fee based on the successful sale of your property. A typical Flat Fee MLS lasts 6 months and can be extended another 6 months for a nominal fee ($50). In exchange a licensed real estate agent agrees to list your home on the valuable MLS. While this licensed real estate agent is the “Listing Agent” of record and their name and number shows up in the real estate agents version of the MLS that generally is the end of the service. Most Flat Fee MLS Brokers have a phone system that forwards Realtor incoming calls directly to the property owner to schedule appointments or answer questions. The MLS is, without a doubt, the real estate agents most valuable sales/marketing tool; this is particularly true for the Listing Agent. As a potential buyer you can go and browse through Realtor.com so you really don’t have to engage a real estate agent to “look” at properties. The challenge is to get your property listed within that database and website – which you cannot do without the assistance of a licensed real estate agent – but with a Flat Fee MLS – now you can.

How valuable is a “Listing Agent”?

I know I’m going to come across as a “Real Estate” basher and as the President of a Free For Sale by Owner business I am an easy and logical target. That said, is a Listing Agent’s service really worth 2.5% or 3% of the total value of your home? In my opinion it’s a no-brainer – NOT A CHANCE! Beyond providing a professional lawn sign, listing your home on MLS and having the occasional Open House they really don’t do much. Sure you get the odd agent that spends a tremendous amount of money marketing themselves and their listings – but they are the exception, not the rule. According to NAR’s own statistics the average real estate agent spends less the $500/year on internet marketing while 77% of prospective buyers see the home they purchase on the internet first. Another 18% see your real estate lawn sign and call the number on the sign.

Will Buyer Agents still bring their “Buyers”

A Flat Fee MLS, for all intent and purpose, is the same as all the other listings on MLS. As long as you offer a reasonable commission to a Buyers Agent (2.5% – 3%) your FSBO property will receive the same status as conventional, full fee (5% – 6%) real estate listing. The fact is a Flat Fee MLS listing pays out the same as any other MLS listing. Buyers Agents don’t care who listed the property their buyer wants. The days of agents pushing their own properties in hope of “double ending” (listing and selling the same property) ended with the advent and popularity of the internet. I don’t know what percentage of agents manage to “double end” a property nowadays although I do know for a fact that it has become less common with “conflict of interest” laws and regulations.

Bottom-line, all things considered – with all that a Flat Fee MLS listing offers I really have to question the value of engaging a real estate listing agent. While I don’t claim to be a mathematician the last time I checked a $25 real estate lawn sign, a $399 Flat Fee MLS listing and $150 worth of print advertisements don’t come anywhere near $8000! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and I take a lot of heat from Realtors) most “Listing Agents” are nothing more then professional price reducers. They excel at getting you, the homeowner, to lower your price so that your home sells and they collect their commission. Remember every $10,000 price reduction costs you $10,000 – it only costs $300 in lost commissions to the real estate “Listing Agent.”

By: Mark Camphaug

About the Author:
Mark Camphaug is currently President of FreeFSBO.com (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. Camphaug offers a unique combination of experience in both online advertising, garnered from his 6 years as Vice President of one of the worlds largest and most successful Interactive Marketing Agencies and 12 years of sales and marketing in the competitive new home industry.

There is a new wave in the real estate in “For Sale By Owner” and that is the future of the real estate listings. Why? For sale by owner programs typically save the owner of hte home at least 5% and many times 7% “If They Can Sell The Home”. The hardest part of “For Sale by Owner” programs is that they do not have an mls listing component to them. This means that they do not offer other real estate agents a cut of the commission for being their buyers, no do these FSBO programs have a way of entering the home in the mls data base

Why Do You Need An MLS Database Listings?

THe mls database allows real estate agents, referred to as the listing agent, to enter the home that they are selling into the mls database and when listed it allows every real estate agent in the state to have access to the home information through search capabilities. This makes it extremely easy to find homes that suit their buyer’s wants and needs.

How Can You Get an MLS Listing if You Don’t Use A Listing Agent?

Until about 4 years ago there was not a good way to get an mls listing without using an agent, and that meant at least 3% of your houses selling price would go to the listing agent. With a flat rate mls listing any homeowner can list their house without using a listing agent and save the 3 to 4% of the selling price and that can be pretty substantial.

Do You Still Offer a Commission to The Buyer’s Agent?

THe answer is yes. By listing your home in the MLS system for your state you will find the buyer’s agents are the ones that will be searching for your house in the mls system and want to bring their customers to your house to show it. However they will not do this unless they have an opportunity at at least a 3% commission on the selling price of the house.

Can I Sell My House Without An Agent Through Mls?

The answer is yes since mls listings literally show up on every major real estate site online including http://www.realtor.com and thousands of others. The odds of selling your house by yourself go up substantially when you use mls. If you sell yourself you stand to save 5 to 7% of the total selling price of the house.

In short, the newest and best way to sell your home by yourself is the flat fee mls system since it incorporates a savings of at least 3% of the total selling price while keeping the same powerful mls system that a real estate agent would use.

By: Leroy Milton

About the Author:
About the Author:
Best way to sell a home, sell home in GA through flat rate mls listings georgia, no commission MLS listings and flat rate listings delaware please visit our site http://depot88.com.

Lots of folks think it can’t be done.

How in the world can you buy a piece of real estate property without cash or credit? How is it possible to buy a $50,000 house or a $1 million dollar house if I don’t have an abundance of cash or an excellent credit rating?

Nothing stops a would-be investor cold in his tracks like “no cash or credit.” The prevailing perception is that “I can’t start real estate investing” because (1) I sure don’t have any money and (2) my credit is horrible!

The typical way real estate investing is accomplished is with an earnest money deposit to accompany the Purchase Contract and a down payment at closing. Many real estate investing tycoons, in wanting an offer accepted, make large earnest money deposits so the property seller will recognize the buyer as a serious investor. And because many real estate investing tycoons use real estate agents as their purchasing liaison, they provide sizable down payments out of which the sales commission will be paid.

Well, when I started my real estate investing career, I had neither cash nor credit. I had a serious business failure prior to my start in real estate investing, so I had to conjure up a way to succeed outside the traditional norm.

While I was well aware of the accepted procedures of earnest money deposits and down payments in real estate investing, I was forced by my situation to find alternatives. I did not realize at the time that commercial property is often purchased without any cash outlay at closing or even a credit check of the buyer.

So without any pocket change or a savings account, I began offering a $10 bill as my earnest money deposit! And I began offering no down payment at closing. My Purchase Contract offered simply the assumption of an existing loan! (In the 1980s when I started my real estate investing career, wrap mortgages were common, whereas today other legal instruments accomplish the same purpose.)

I don’t have to tell you that real estate agents were not exactly fond of me. In fact, in my highest week of tendering offers, I submitted 235 offers on MLS houses, and got 235 rejections. I mean, the realtors and brokers were infuriated at my non-traditional offers! Most went to great pains in writing “REJECTED” across the entire length (even both sides) of the legal-size Purchase Agreement I had laboriously filled out for submission. The young man “running” my offers (and his broker) were verbally blasted out of the saddle! I got NO acceptances from my 235 offers. Yet, I still managed to buy two properties from the 100% (humiliating) rejection. Two property owners approached me later and said, “I can’t accept your offer on that property I had listed with my real estate agent, but I have another house you can have on the same terms!”

That break-through began my trek into the Nothing-Down Wilderness that made me a multi-millionaire in three years. Once I realized it was persistence with a thimble-full of know-how, I forged on to discover motivated sellers who accepted my offers. I bought $1 million in properties that first year, another $1 million the second year, and $10 million by the 4th year.

It’s a shame that even some real estate investing tycoons don’t know how to buy with no cash and no credit. But the bottom line is that know-how still makes possible the impossible.

Buying property of any price is still achievable with no cash and no credit. It’s done every day in residential and commercial property. And because it is achievable, anyone can enter the real estate investing arena, regardless of the size of his or her wallet.

By: Dr.Phil Speer

About the Author:
Phil Speer, Ph.D., started his real estate investing career 25 years ago. Without the availability of credit and using only a $10 bill, he purchased $1 million in properties in his first year, and had accumulated $10 million in properties by his fourth year. He was featured in a Wall St.Journal editorial as most successful investor in the Nothing Down Real Estate Movement, and was honored with a Caribbean cruise as top investor of the year. In his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, he has been a businessman and Human Resources Consultant for 30 years. He is an author, speaker and seminar director. To learn how to profit in real estate investing, even without cash or credit, read his report at at http://www.CashinHouses.com/. Subscription is free to his Fix-up Ezine. He and other contributing authors provide free articles and resources on real estate investing at his online “Academy of Advanced Real Estate Investing Techniques” – http://www.AAREIT.com/.

I’ve been a real estate professional for over 15 years. During this time, my sellers realized unusual gains as the market continued to excel. As a listing agent, we were always guessing how much the market might appreciate during the listing period. But, not anymore, my job today has become a less enviable job in attempting to predict where the market will bottom out during the listing period.

Unfortunately, many of my sellers have to come to the closing table with money in hand. I realized that something had to be done to alleviate this crisis. In an attempt, to help my sellers I initiated the MLS flat fee for the greater Springfield, MO market.

A typical REALTOR, usually list your property for 6% total commission, 3% for the buyers REALTOR and 3% for the sellers. When you list your house with a flat fee real estate agent the sellers commission is set; however, you still have to pay the buyers side commission. If you sell your home without a buyer’s agent involved, there is zero commission.

Research reveals that over 80% of all homes are SOLD on the MLS. For Sale by Owners account for approximately 14% of homes sold. The MLS IS the real estate market. It is where all the real estate agents find houses for their buyers. The MLS is also where listings are made visible to public websites like REALTOR.com, Zillow, etc. Properties with an MLS listing (flat fee or traditional) sell faster and for more money than non-MLS listed “for sale by owner” properties.

The most important benefit of flat fee MLS listing is you get the same listing in the local MLS for a one-time low Flat Fee instead of possibly paying up to 6%. What does this mean for you? It means more exposure on hundreds of national MLS websites and more money in your pocket.

By: Les Williams

About the Author:
For a FREE market analysis of your homes value visit [http://springfieldmissourirelocationrealtor.com] Turning Dreams Into An Address. As a Full Service REALTOR with Murney Associates REALTORS I can help you with all your Real Estate needs.

So, you have just decided to start your real estate investing business and realize that actively putting out marketing to find motivated sellers is going to get you better deals and more flexible sellers than just calling on houses listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) or For Sale By Owner (FSBO). Congratulations! That’s an important realization and it is going to make your life as an investor much easier.

One quick and relatively low cost method of marketing to find motivated sellers is to use classified ads.

There are a few things that you need to know about using classified ads as a means of finding motivated sellers.

Volume of Motivated Seller Calls

First, you will probably not be overwhelmed with calls from a single classified ad, but it is a relatively inexpensive method of generating some calls from motivated sellers.

One Step or Two Step

Since classified ads are cost effective only when you keep them small, you usually can not get your full marketing message out in the classified ad itself. So, classified ads require two steps to get your full marketing message to your potential sellers: the first step is the classified ad. The second step is an automated way for the seller to get your full marketing message before contacting your directly.

With classified ads I tend to use either a 24 hour recorded information line or both a 24 hour recorded information line and my website.

On my 24 hour recorded information line, the seller can hear me explain all the benefits I can offer them for selling their house to me. My message is a about 5 minutes long and once they have listened to it, they know my full marketing message and are, at that point, ready to talk to me live. So, at the end of the recorded message I give them a way to talk to someone live.

On my website, I have a type out version of my entire marketing message and a means for sellers to contact me directly.

Using two steps significantly cuts down on the number of uninterested callers, gives all potential sellers an opportunity to get more information without the discomfort of having to talk to someone live before they have pre-disposed to doing business with me based on the benefits I explain in the recorded message or on my website.

Which newspaper classifieds to advertise in?

At times, I am asked whether people should advertise in a newspaper where they will be the only investor buying houses. I suggest you test that ad and measure the number of calls and ultimately the number of houses you buy compared to the amount you spent on that one ad. Then, you will need to look at those numbers compared to your other marketing and see how effective it us.

However, my own testing has shown that most times, you want to go where the motivated sellers are already looking and advertise where there are other investors advertising that they buy homes. While you might think that being the only one advertising in a particular newspaper is like having a monopoly, it’s like having a quick oil change station at the South Pole… you are the only one there, but there are not many people looking to have their oil changed at the South Pole.

By: James Orr

About the Author:
James Orr is a professional real estate investor, marketing expert and founder of the http://LearnToBeRich.com on-line investment game.

You can get a free real estate course and fully analyzed real estate deals and his blog by e-mailing him at freerecourse@learntoberich.com or visit the [http://LearnToBeRich.info] for more great articles and information.