I don't have much info on real estate sites but...she might try Godaddy.com for a domain name with the address of her house and cheap hosting plus tools that will help her make the site. I do web design for a living so I wouldn't use it, but I know several non-web-savvy people who who have used it when they needed a personal website to job hunt or to promote a band,and their sites look good.

Alternately, she could get an account on Flickr.com for free, and post photos with detailed captions listing her info and then link to them from her craigslist listing. One thing that would be useful to your friend is that it comes with a 'flickrmail' account, so people who looked at the photos could correspond to her via that address rather than risking a spam attack by posting her regular e-mail address.

These might not be right for her, but just throwing them out there. Good luck to her!

If the house is priced right buyers will know it without being told.

Maybe, maybe not if it is an inexperienced buyer. There must be something, the way Motivated Seller to me means desperate!

Thanks for the websites, I had no idea and I will let her know

I know your friend probably doens't want to hear this but...

The problem your friend will run into is that even if it is priced so that it matches comps for houses getting sold, buyers are going to expect a discount in price since she's not using a realtor and will expect to share the savings. A lot of times, FSBO is going to attract bargain hunters.

Plus, your friend will run into the problem that most buyers today still uses the service of a realtor, and realtors tend to stay away from FSBOs.

Honestly, I think your friend will find this to be much more difficult than she expects. Who honestly goes to Craigslist to look to buy a house? And, open houses aren't an effective tool to sell houses either. She doesn't want to spend any money, wants to sell her house quickly, and get a good price? If she's lucky, she might get two out of three, but not all three.

If she is barely computer literate and her computer barely works, then, no, she is not going to be able to create a website of a professional enough nature to draw people in.

However, houses managed to be sold before the advent of the computer. She could post post signs on roads leading to the house on the days she is having open houses, and she could create a fact sheet about the house and make them available outside.

As for what to say about the price, how about:
"Correctly priced at $299,000"

I agree with the agent - she will be contacting him, and, in this case, it sounds like the smart thing to do.

It can't hurt to advertise in the local paper if local people really read it. She could get lucky. She's not out anything is she waits a month for word to get around locally, right?

But if she's barely computer literate, how is she even going to make up good brochure? Answer email inquiries? I think it would be a waste of time for her to try and do a website - how would anyone find it? She'd net more if she devoted her time to landscpaping or painting bedrooms.

I think she is going to have to hire an agent.

With all due respect, prospective buyers really don't care whether a seller thinks their house is "priced right" or "correctly priced" -- EVERY seller thinks their house is priced right, even the ones with asking prices completely out of line with neighborhood comps. I'd find language like that arrogant and offensive.

Sometimes lowball offers are a blessing in disguise: they can serve as a reality check to sellers who have overinflated dreams of what their house is worth to BUYERS.

If your friend thinks her house is competitively priced and wants to make that claim when marketing, she should be prepared to back that up with comps from at least 3 or 4 recently-sold homes in the neighborhood.

As for advertising on Craigs List and in the newspaper, this does seem to work in some areas -- I'm just about to close on a FSBO that was marketed only on Craigs List.

However, is your friend prepared to field calls, to allow complete strangers into her house, and handle negotiations directly? While it's tempting to save money this way, it's also a very easy way to get herself into trouble on what could presumably be one of the largest financial transactions she'll make.

I've heard great things about using Craigslist & selling homes.

A couple of years ago I sold some appliances on craigslist within about 45 minutes of posting them.

Anywho, selling FSBO doesn't mean you can't ask for help. And there's lots of free help out there to be had. For instance working with a mortgage person will get you the brochures and possibly a basic website too.

I had my home listed on MLS and also on Craigslist. There were many, many interested parties that used Craigslist. I was shocked at the amount of interest that Craigslist got. Key with Craigslist is to post a new listing about once a week. (Folks seemed to bite within 1-2 days of the new listing.)

Also - tell your friend to go to a sign company and get a nice custom sign made. They are under $100. But basics like the #bed/bath, phone#, etc.
Much better than the el cheapo FSBO signs where you write your telelphone# with magic marker. Also - use MS word or something to create a flyer with at least one photo on the flyer. And put a flyer box outside.

Also - put the price on the sign. If the price is really great, then scream it on the sign.

PRICED TO SELL is the term used to indicate a great price. Or PRICED TO SELL FAST. Sounds better than motivated seller.

**Also she could get in the MLS with a discount broker. Usually pay a flat fee to list and then agree to pay the buyers agent's fee. This is half the cost of a full service agent.

Price on a flyer in a box? YES!

Price on the sign? I don't think so. Nobody would be happy with that.

She can do it! But she needs to really, really understand that she doesn't have to justify her price. If she has been doing her homework and feels she has it priced correctly, she will need to be ready to stand firm.

FSBOs sell very well in my community. Open houses are a main source of showings for both FSBOs and agents. People tend to forget that just because FSBO and open houses aren't popular in their own area, they are major selling tools for some of us.

I wouldn't waste my time at this point trying to build a website. Advertise in the newspaper, Craigslist and anywhere else available. Have the flyer give complete information.

Tell her good luck. Lots of us have done this.

Gloria

I've used Craigslist before for other things and I was surprised how effective it was. And, while it wouldn't hurt to use it to as another tool to sell a house, I wouldn't rely on it with the expectation that it would sell a house. Most serious buyers are going to turn to MSL, which is a much better and effective database. For example, I just searched for houses on MSL vs. Craigslist in a particular city. With Craigslist, I got basically one house while on MSL, I got over +100. MSL is also better organized, where i can search it by specific features I want. Why would a buyer go to Craigslist over the MSL, unless the buyer is trying to find a real bargain?

sweet tea-
Even if FSBO finds a discount broker to list on MSL, you'll still run into the problem that agents will steer away their clients from a house that's FSBO. Agents don't like to deal with FSBOs because they're more work for the agents and the FSBO is more likley to be irrational and a pain to deal with.

You can get a free account at vflyer.com to make a nice electronic home info flyer for printing or posting to web sites like craigs list.

I checked out the vflyer site and it looks ideal. You might get some spammy e-mails, but it could be worth it.

Thanks for the helpful responses.

She and her DH negotiate for a living (not in real estate) so I think she would be fine as to the deal aspect. Her DH is about 6'4 and 250 lbs so she is less uncomfortable than most people letting strangers into her house (that would be the deal breaker for me). Plus I will advise her to always get a phone number and name and actually call the person back to verify the number.

The house is on the corner of a relatively quiet street but she gets lots of side traffic so anyone who is interested will pass the sign. I will tell her about VFlyer

So Priced to Sell does not mean the same thing as Lowball Me?

I am glad people did well with Craigslist. I think I will start looking there for the house I want to buy. I personally think it is a perfect place to look especially in the entry level segment which is what her house is for the neighborhood she is in

saphire - my point exactly: Priced to Sell, Motivated Seller, etc., all signal something to buyers, as does a phrase like Appropriately Priced. Would anyone really make a full price offer to someone who called themseves a Motivated Seller? I wouldn't, no matter how good a deal it seemed to be.

Sure, people are going to offer what they are going to offer, but the wording of the ad can give some clue as to how much play there is in the advertised price.

The best way to convey that something is priced right is to price it right. If it's truly priced right in today's buyer's market, then it will sell close to asking in a reasonable amount of time. If you have to try to verbally convince people that it's priced right then it isn't priced right.

I'm just going to chime in on craigslist - it must be a regional thing. I've sold more things off the bb at work, nothing ever off craigslist. Don't know why, just doesn't seem big here.

I have seen language such as . . .won't last long at this price . .to convey that it is priced well. Of course if the DOM is high that phrase needs to reflect a reduction.

I like the wont last long, Thanks

It is not listed yet, this is for the first ads

No, no, no! "Won't last long" is the kiss of death. It is often seen on listings in July where the exterior shots have snow on the ground.

No, no, no! "Won't last long" is the kiss of death. It is often seen on listings in July where the exterior shots have snow on the ground.

I TOTALLY agree!

You have a friend w/ no realestate experience (as evidence by the fact that they are asking a non-realestate pro for advice). Your friend also doesn't have enough computer skills to find a RE forum and ask questions herself. And this friend of yours wants to use a computer (that doesn't work well) to sell her house without the help of a professional.

Without a computer or realestate experience, how does your friend know what the house is worth?

When my friends come up w/ things that are this far fetched, I just try to change the subject. (I'm not trying to harass you. I'm just trying to save you some aggrivation.)

Ok no "won't last long! LOL

Chris, I would totally agree with you except for a couple of things. One of our closest other friends happens to be a residential appraiser who lives in the same neighborhood. She has had brokers in who suggested a listing price and it was consistent with what the friend said. The area she lives in has 100 other houses that are identical to hers or were in 1960 and most still have the original layout and have not been expanded. Two are on the market with brokers right now and have been sitting priced above where she plans to price. She needs a certain amount for it to be worthwhile to relocate. She is making no commitments to relocate until her house is sold so if it does not sell she continues as she is.

Her house is at the entrance to the development so while I think it makes it less desireable, it also allows more people to see her sign. So in her case the internet may not be as useful as the street traffic. In my area no one seems to have a gotten a handle yet on using the internet for FSBO. I have been looking for a new house for awhile and have not gone to see a single FSBO. Also she and her DH are in jobs where they negotiate for a living all day every day

Finally, I have been looking into selling my house for awhile and she knows that. Although in my area signage is not permitted so I am less inclined to do FSBO (that and I get nervous with the idea of unvetted strangers walking through my house, her DH is huge so less nervous about that)Plus I have other skills including research ones that the average person does not have (not bragging, simply addressing your question) so I am usually considered the resident expert on a variety of topics. Also one of the brokers she had in is a mutual aquaintance who has been doing this for a total of 3 months! I have been researching this topic (although not how to do FSBO for the reasons noted above) for 3 years!

"Sweet tea-
Even if FSBO finds a discount broker to list on MSL, you'll still run into the problem that agents will steer away their clients from a house that's FSBO. Agents don't like to deal with FSBOs because they're more work for the agents and the FSBO is more likley to be irrational and a pain to deal with."

Please explain how an "irrational FSBO would be a pain for a buyer's agent that is showing the home"...versus the buyers' agent showing a home that is listed by a full service listing agent?

What is it, do "irrational" FSBO sellers plaster their butts on the couch while the agent is showing the home, and refuse to leave? Or do they follow the buyers around during the showing? Or do they call the buyers' agent at all hours asking for feedback? Or do all FSBOS ask way too much for their homes and then cuss at the agent that brings an acceptable offer? THAT would be irrational.

Probably all of the above!