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I've been looking at for sale by owner websites which provide listings on various real estate websites and I've found several and they seem like a good way to go.

Has any used one of these online marketing services?

FWIW, I have no problem marketing and selling my home by myself. I've sold two properties without using a realtor, one with, and bought three ... so I've BTDT.
A good friend of ours sold his place here on FSBO last year. The local realtor didn't want to mess with it. It was a run-down ranch headquarters and the barn, corrals and outbuildings were in pretty poor shape. However, the house was basically sound and he had put in a swimming pool, and it had a stunning view of the Chiricahua Mountains to the west.

He first tried listing it through a couple of online brokers and had a few inquiries, but no potential buyers actually visited the property. Most were urban horse people who wanted a pretty barn and functional corrals. After about six months, he went to FSBO and within a couple of months, he had fielded quite a few inquiries and hosted several visitors. He ultimately sold it to a guy from Tennessee for his asking price.

My wife and I were pretty involved in helping him sort through offers and details, and we agreed that if we decide to sell our place, we will probably try FSBO first.
I sold my house using
http://www.list2move.com/SelectArea.aspx
I offered 2% to the buyers realotor
Key to selling a property on your own is making sure it's in the MLS listings so all realotors and buyers have access and can find your property
You will have to do your own showings and opened house if you choose, but paying 2-3% instead of 6% is well worth the effort
Sold my last house with FSBO and used a local lawyer for the closing. Estimated we saved about 10K by doing it this way.

We dont plan on selling another house, but if we do, we'll probably use FSBO, again.
They have a for sale by owner site just for the Baton Rouge area and I sold two houses there. Both times it went really fast and easy. The second was post Katrina and it sold in less than a day and they wrote a personal check and I ran it down to the bank with them and it cleared.

Easier than screwing with an agent, depends on how you want to handle it.
Thanks for the responses.

I feel pretty good about selling my home without having a MLS listing and dealing with a buyer's agent. It's literally a seller's market in N Co right now and if I list it on enough websites I should get a decent amount of tire kickers. Modestly priced homes (under 300k) are selling exceptionally fast ... for the asking price and in some cases for even more.

A young married gal at the local liquor store just bought a home and on the advice of real estate agent made an offer of $5000.00 over the asking price. That's what it took to secure the deal and ward off other potential offers.

I have a very desirable home in a very desirable neighborhood. It's at the end of the subdivision (no traffic - very quiet), it backs up to horse pastures, and has a view of the Rocky Mountains from the back.

I just got to finish the remodel eek and put it on the market.
Your description will probably be better than an agents depending on where you live. If I see "crown molding" and "granite countertops" one more time without having the size of lot/acreage that goes with it or other items that are a major concern....
Originally Posted by NathanL
Your description will probably be better than an agents depending on where you live. If I see "crown molding" and "granite countertops" one more time without having the size of lot/acreage that goes with it or other items that are a major concern....


That's a good tip. DON'T OVERSELL IT.

Fortunately my home photographs very well. It's what initially peeked my interest and got me to take a look. I looked at approx 75 properties (online and drive-bys) before I found this one (my RE agent didn't). I made an offer within two days after first seeing it. The view of the mountains and the green space is what sealed the deal for me.

This is an iconic google image of Fort Collins and Horsetooth Mountain that was taken two doors away from my home. This is the view from my back deck.

[Linked Image]

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