I haven't shown the house to anyone yet and I'm a total wreck already.

Which is why I listed with an agent. I weighed the FSBO vs using one; reading some of the stories here; how realtors don't want to show FSBO houses due to double work I didn't want to delay the sale. I put the house for sale on zillow a month before listing and didn't do anything else. I figured if it sold, cool; if not oh well.

I wonder if the calls were to get the listing. If you do decide FSBO isn't for you, be sure to research the realtor you decide to list with before signing.

Good luck :)

I am a strong believer in FSBO, having sold my last 2 homes FSBO( the last one very recently in a very depressed market).

However, FSBO is not for you, cactus.

So just hang it up now and list with a realtor.

Your post says all over it that FSBO is not for you.

The first sentence is loud and clear. You are TRYING FSBO.

Most folks that are successful selling fsbo don't ever say that they will "try" FSBO. That is like getting accepted into college and saying "I am going to try college" (versus "I am going to college".) See the difference? It is already in your head that you are going to put your big toe in the water and decide that it isn't for you.

Well, you tried and now decided it isn't for you.

It is not for everyone.

sweet tea, your assessment of my post is so far from the truth. But thank you for your advise.

I actually posted asking how to handle realtors not on whether I am fit to sell on my own. I am sure there is a certain degree of frustration when selling a home.

Well, you could deal with the realtors in a number of ways -

Immediately ask if they are inquiring on behalf of a client. If they say yes, they may want to know if you are paying the buyer's realtor fee too. Are you? Decide from there whether or not to schedule a viewing.

If they are soliciting your business to list, tell them to please not call you again unless they have a client, but you would be more than willing to take their name, number and agency information in the unfortunate event that you cannot sell on your own. You may want to let them know a second call (unless on behalf of a client) will strike them from any future listing consideration.

You could also choose not to return the calls, but that is really not going to gain you anything except a full caller ID box.

You have to decide whether you are willing to pay the realtor their expected 3% if they bring you a buyer.

I had my sign up, ad in paper for over a month before I was contacted by a realtor. The message she left was very annoying, she sounded like a middle school cheerleader. "Your house is soooo awesome, I love the website you made. It is sooo cool."

I called her back and said I would be willing to show my home to her clients but not for 3%. I offered a flat finders fee and never heard back from her again.

You have a great advantage if the house next door is listed by a realtor and having an open house. That gets traffic to your location. If a realtor ask your price tell them, but don't let them talk you into signing anything if you aren't comfortable with them. Their business is selling and they will try to sell you on the idea of listing with them.

I too was a nervous wreck before my first showing, that's natural. My first potential buyers were friendly and I told them up front that they were my "guinea pigs." I gave them a quick tour of the layout, pointing out the not obvious features. The tour took less than 10 minutes. When we finished I told them I would be stepping outside with my dog and please go back and have another look. They took their time, met me outside, asked questions and said they would be in touch.

The second couple was a little easier and by couple #8 I had my spiel down cold.

Now patience is required. Two months after showing my house to the first couple they made a very good offer and we have signed a buy/sell contract drawn up by my attorney and I have their good faith deposit. We will be closing on June 20.

In those two months there were days of elation. Couples #4 & #5 both wanted the house. #4 said they didn't want a bidding war and was willing to pay asking price, cash. #5 couldn't pay that much. That Monday I contacted the lawyer to draw up papers.

There were also days of utter frustration. On that Monday, an hour after contacting the Lawyer Couple #4 calls and had a change in circumstances. They were being transferred and no longer wanted the house. Couple #5 were out of town on vacation.

Waited for Couple #5 to get home and called them to let them know that the other sale fell through and the house was still available. They made a fair offer and said it was their top price. I said I would let them know after I came back from my out of state house hunting trip.

While out of state I got a call from couple #1. Their offer beat couple #5 by a considerable amount. That brings my story up to date.

I'm telling you my story to let you know that FSBO can be nerve racking and exciting, but the money saved, over $25,000 in my case is worth it.

Good luck.

cactuscatie-
Anyone can sell a house on their own. You just need a little tenacity & gumption.
When realtors bother you, first ask them if they are inquiring because they have a buyer. If they say no, then tell them that you already have a realtor in mind, should you decide to go that route.

I'm not going to say it's easy, because dealing with buyers is stressful. However, I found some aspects of going FSBO (I went with a Flat fee & MLS FSBO type) better than listing with a realtor. I had a better control over the showings. I didn't have a lockbox.

The 2 big minuses of going FSBO were that realtors boycotted my listing. Also, when a situation arises between a buyer & you, it can get sticky. Invariably, there always is a "situation" when you're selling a house. So get ready for a possibility of a rough ride.

BTW- I didn't save any money, but my buyers were happy that I was able to lower the price for them because there was no commission.
I had 2 offers simutaneously, but the second one was through a realtor with a 3% commission. I went with my own buyers, because I made 12k more that way.

Well you are getting a free ride here..why aren't you hosting open house on sunday?

Thank you everyone for your advise and tips. It is greatly needed since this is the first house we are selling.

try 99, you must have been reading our minds. DH and I had talked over dinner and decided to have our own open house on Sunday. It's too late to put in the newspapers but we will surely attract those going to the neighbors.

I haven't read the above replies, so hopefully I'm not repeating too much.

When selling FSBO you will be hounded by agents. Constantly. Just blow them off. Tell them the price and let them know your terms. We would not commit to paying any agent commission, so I told them everything depended upon the conditions in an offer. We had an agent sit out in front of the house and call on a cell phone. She refused to even bring the people in unless we would tell her what we would pay. If she had gotten me on the phone, I would have told her to shove it and go away. DH finally told her we would pay 3% for a full price offer with no contingencies of any kind. If I had been that potential buyer, I'd have gotten out of that car and seen the house (it was an open house time.) Then I would have gotten rid of that agent.

I got so tired of agent calls. They all just wanted the listing. No way they would get the listing by telling me how I couldn't sell it myself and that I needed them. If I had it to do over again, I would have never returned a single call to an agent.

Good luck. You can do FSBO if you are determined and can weed out the crap the agents will try to give you to convince you to list. If they had a buyer, they definately would have left a message.

Gloria

I wish you well, but I can see where sweet tea is coming from. Every issue you have raised in this thread should have been worked out before the sign went up. I suspect the realtors are fishing for your listing.

You will get alot of good advice here, but I would advise you to do as much research as you can by googling "how to FSBO".

Advertise on Craigslist, Zillow and the classifieds in your paper. Carry flyers in the car with you so you can tack them up wherever you find a likely spot. Get the word out!

You could always program your answering machine/voice mail message to state your terms to any realtors who might be fishing.

Good luck.