FSBO BLOG

I am happy to announce the latest version of FSBO.com has now been launched.  Among the many new features we have added, the most notable is the addition of our ability to take Rental and international Listings.  We now also allow our users to upload an unlimited number of photos to each listing at no extra charge.  Please visit www.FSBO.com to check out the new site, and to give me your feedback.

It is currently FREE to add your Vacation Rental, Long Term Rental, and International Listing to FSBO.com.  Please add yours today.

NEW FEATURES FOR SELLERS:

• UNLIMITED PHOTOS 
  • You may now upload an unlimited amount of photos at no additional cost
• FREE VIDEO UPLOAD
  • You may now upload one video to your listing at no additional cost
  • Professional Editing and Photo Tours Available in the Video Section
• NEW MESSAGE CENTER
  • Double Duty:  You no longer have to log in to check your messages. Messages will be sent directly to your email address, along with a copy of that message saved in your message center for later review.
  • Report Spam - You can now report scam emails directly to FSBO.com with a click of a link
• New Open House Features
  • Enter Unlimited Open House dates  - Add as many Open House dates that you have scheduled (or add them as you go along in the process of selling your home
  • FSBO.com now gives Buyers the ability to Search by Open Houses in their area so be sure to get yours posted right away
• New Hit Counter 
  • Your hit counter will now display both “Total” Visitors, and “Unique” Visitors.
• Rental Property
  • If your property is also available as a rental, you may automatically add it to our New Rental Section at no cost!  From your registered user’s area, you can select “Add as Rental” and we’ll automatically copy your property listing information over for you.  From there, you can then edit your Rental record to include more specific rental information to your potential new renters! 

I will be posting all week long about new Features and Promotions like our “FSBO.com National Open House Day - May 17^th & 18^th“

Ok, we have a winner.  Dahlia of North Pole, AK successfully guessed that it took me 23 takes to shoot the intro portion of my First video.  So far the feedback from the 2^nd video has been that it was much better, so at least I am improving. 

Since Dahlia’s listing is current “Under Contract” she will not be needing the Virtual tour.  I have decided to simply reimburse her for her Gold Package Listing ($99.95) for her participation and for winning my first ever contest. 

Since I can’t help to promote her listing (because it is Sold), I have asked if she was willing to answer a few questions for me regarding her experience with FSBO.com.  I have in no way modified her answers:

1. Did your buyer find you on FSBO.com, if so, by phone or email?

Our buyer is our friend from church, but we were contacted a lot this spring from potential buyers via the fobs website.

2. What other methods of advertising did you use: Other websites, newspaper, word of mouth, etc…?

We used (unsuccessfully) the newspaper on Sundays, and we posted flyers at the air force and army bases, as well as posted our house on ahrn.com (a military housing service) and also on baseforsale.com (a free classified website for the military).  Here in North Pole, AK, we are surrounded to the north and south by military, and they were our target market.  The other websites and flyers always had our FSBO.com listing, so the other forms of marketing always brought them to our website on FSBO.com
 

3. How long was your property on FSBO.com before going under contract?

We posted it in July, which, is the tail-end of house-hunting season here in Alaska (winter will be setting in and families usually don’t want to move in freezing, snowy weather) so we were late in doing that, but by February, we had an accepted offer!

4. Briefly describe your experience with FSBO.com, from the sign up process, uploading photos (did you do it yourself), receiving your supplies via UPS, leads received, etc…

It was the best site that we found for the “bang for our buck”.  It was very simple to make our site - we started uploading photos and had it going in probably less than an hour!  We received our sign and flyers very quickly (thank you UPS!).  We were very pleased with the customer service:  we posted a photo of our house just to get one on the site, but it wasn’t the “keeper” photo.  We had asked for our flyers to not be printed until we got an acceptable photo of our house on the site and because they had already been printed, we received another set of flyers with the correct photo on them!  Thank you!!  We will definitely use FSBO.com again - we saved so much by NOT using a realtor!  Great idea and keep up the excellent work!!

Thanks again for everyone who participated, and as promised, I will be sending all of you a consolation prize via email shortly. 

Mike Malkasian

Ok, Video #2 is Ready thanks to my good and talented friends at http://www.realtyflix.com/.  This Video highlights the biggest task I will face in prepping this house for sale; painting.  Painting every wall in the house a different, dark, color seemed like a GREAT idea a few years ago.  Just remember, whenever you decide to paint your home, the job is always only just half over, because you will most likely have to repaint everything in the end when it comes time to move. 

The only reason I decided to use a paint sprayer was that the ceiling, after 9 years, needed a face lift.  Otherwise, I would not have covered anything, and just done it all by hand.  I think you will enjoy this video, and see that Mike Malkasian, President of FSBO.com, is not afraid to get his hands dirty. 

Paint and supplies (which include Pizza and “refreshments” for my friends) cost just under $400 for the entire project (paint sprayer was borrowed from a friend).  Based on the quotes I received from professional painters, I saved between $1100, and $1300 by doing it myself.  A special thanks to Matt, Jeremy, Chris, and Phil Minnes (Google Him!) for helping me paint.

Charity Info I Mentioned:

The green shirt I was wearing in that video is from my favorite non-profit called H.E.R.O. for Children (http://www.heroforchildren.org/).  H.E.R.O. became the first non-profit organization in the State of Georgia to solely focus their effort and energy to raise funding and awareness for the Quality of Life of children affected by / infected with HIV/AIDS.  I have been involved with them for over 3 years, and I mentor (big brother/ SuperHERO) an 8 year-old boy whose mother is infected with HIV.   Getting involved in this little kid’s life is the best decision I have ever made, and plan to continue my relationship with him for the rest of my life.  We are best friends! 

If you live in the Atlanta area, I strongly urge you to get involved, and consider becoming a “SuperHERO” yourself.  If you do not live in the area, I ask that you consider visting the website, and making a donation.

The SuperHEROes program:  The SuperHEROes program is the only one-on-one mentoring program for children affected by HIV/AIDS in Georgia that provides year-round, positive role models with each matching meeting a minimum of 24 times per year with their child. (Source:  www.heroforchildren.org ) 

 Money Magazine is working on an article for their May issue and are looking to profile “real people” who are utilizing creative & different techniques to sell their home in today’s real estate market.  For example, videos, blogs, lease/purchase options, home swaps, etc.  The more creative the better!

If you would like to be considered for this article, please leave a comment with your name, FSBO.com ID number and a description of your creative home selling techniques.  We will then contact you with more information.

 For a limited time only, FSBO.com will include a FREE Directional Arrow with every new Gold Package purchased.  Supplies are limited, and will be sent out on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last.  This information is posted on the “Advertise Property” section of FSBO.com, but I just wanted inform you again of this special promotion. 

The directional arrow will automatically be included in the UPS package we send to you.  Nothing is required on your end once you purchase the Gold Package for $99.95 from FSBO.com.  This package also includes a nine month listing on FSBO.com, 1 Steel Frame yard Sign, 50 Professional/ color brochures, and a brochure holder.

This is our recommended package for anyone just starting the selling process, and does not have any marketing materials as of yet.  Additional Marketing Materials can be found in the “FSBO Store“.

HGTV (Home & Garden Television) will soon be profiling the Metro Atlanta market and Atlanta homeowners on its television program, National Open House. National Open House is a real estate show which compares different real estate markets around the country to give viewers a good idea of how far their money can go between markets.

They will be shooting in Metro Atlanta March 5th thru March 9th. They are looking to find homeowners who own properties valued within the following price points: $250K ($230K - $270K), $300K ($275K - $325K), $500K ($475K - $525K), $600K ($575K - $625K), $750K ($725K - $775K), $800K ($775K - $825K), and $1 Million ($900K - $1.15 Million). Homes valued at more than $1.15 Million are not eligible.

This is an opportunity for enthusiastic FSBO.com homeowners to showcase their property and talk about why they love Atlanta!

Interested Homeowners Must:
*Have furnished homes
*Homes must be owner-occupied
*Fit one of the above price-points
*Be available for 4 hours on one of the days they will be in town filming
*Be willing to talk about the value of their home and why they chose to buy in the Atlanta market

Please note: HGTV cannot guarantee when the episodes will air - if the home is currently for sale, it may be sold before the episode premieres

If interested, please leave a comment with your FSBO.com ID #, and we will send you instructions for getting your home included on this television program.

NOTE:  These are the types of opportunities we will be seeking out for our customers all year long, and into the future.  Please check back on the blog regularly for great opportunities such as this.

Welcome back, and Happy New year.  I hope your holidays went well, and you are well rested and ready to begin the year.

FSBO.com would like to announce that it has lowered the price for it’s Flat Fee MLS Package.  The new price is $399.95.  The new price to upgrade your current listing to the Flat Fee MLS package is now only $295.00.  I have explained briefly what the MLS package entails below.

For a Flat Fee of $399.95 your property will be listed in the actual MLS by an affiliate Realtor.  This will be the exact same MLS that any other Full Service Agent would list you in.  You will pay the Flat Fee upfront, and only be responsible paying the buyer’s agent commission at closing.  This will save you approximately 50% in real estate commissions.  85% of the time it is a different agent that brings the buyer, which means there is never a reason to pay a commission to the listing agent.

If you are a current FSBO.com customer, you may log in at any time to upgrade your listing to the MLS for $295.00. 

FSBO.com has used Circlepix.com as our Virtual Tour provider for the past 5 years.  We currently charge $109.00 for a Virtual Tour when purchased through the “FSBO Store”.  As part of a year-end promotion, Circlepix.com has offered us $30.00 off of our next virtual tour order prior to Dec. 31, 2007. 

As a token of our appreciation, we would like to pass this $30.00 savings on to one of our current customers.  So, we will give one FSBO.com customer with a Bronze, Silver, or Gold Package listing our regular virtual tour for only $79.00.  Simply be the first person to leave a comment on this post with your active FSBO.com ID# to win the discounted tour.  We will contact you privately to collect your information for the tour, and get it ordered for you.

CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE VIRTUAL TOUR!

This is simply an example of special discounts, and offerings that we will be making randomly on our Blog, so please make sure to check back on a daily basis as this will be the only place to find out about them in the future.

As per Circlepix specifications, this offer will expire on Dec. 31, 2007 and is only available to the first person to comment with their Listing ID#.