Our professional photo affiliate will compile a professional slide show using YOUR photos (up to 20) that includes nice graphics and music. The unique FSBO.com player allows you to share this as a link, or as an embedded code (like I have done above) on any other website or webpage you might have access to. The player will include Contact and Property details. Once you order the Gold Plus Package from FSBO.com, our affiliate will contact you with further instructions on how to submit your photos. FSBO.com will automatically add this tour to your listing once it is complete.
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!
This third video takes you behind the scene of what every FSBO seller should be doing while they get prepared to sell their home For Sale By Owner. I believe it is important for sellers to be as prepared as possible so that they in no way delay the buying/selling process, or lose a potential sale because they did not know what the next step is, or waste time with a non-qualified buyer. Enjoy the video, and scroll down to see a copy of all of the questions/answers Kal and I spoke about that were not captured on Film.
A big thanks to my good friend Kal Wayman, National Sales Director of Amerisave Mortgage for taking the time to sit with me. If you need a Mortgage or Refinance “You Owe it to Yourself” to visit Kal at www.gotkal.com (Nationwide).
Q & A: Mike Malkasian and Kal Wayman
Mike: Before you read the info below, I wanted to give my opinion on why it is important for you, as a seller, to speak with a Mortgage company first. If the answer to your first question to the buyer, have you already been pre-qualified, is NO, you want to be able to refer them immediately to someone you know and trust before getting into any further negotiations. Give them two people to call, and tell them to get back to you after they have their pre-qualification letter. This will save you a lot of hassle.
Ok, full interview below:
As a seller, why is it important for me to talk to a Mortgage Broker even though I am not the one that will be seeking financing?
As a seller you want to make sure that you are spending your time efficiently. The more people you can get in and out of that home the more likely you are to sell it. The last thing you want to do is to go into intense negotiations with a prospect that may not be qualified. Even worse than wasting your time negotiating with an unqualified prospect, what if you actually signed a contract with that person! You then would be stuck in a position where you can’t accept offers from other possibly more qualified buyers. You may lose an offer because of that and all because of what…. If the initial person you signed a purchase agreement with never closed you have wasted your time and resources and may have even lost a sale. You should always have a reliable mortgage broker ready to qualify any potential buyers. You see this every day now in the current market. If you buy a bank held property it is very common nowadays for the bank to require you to be prequalified by them (not an outside source) before they will sign an agreement. Once you build that relationship with a mortgage broker, he or she should be happy to sift through the potential buyers and tell you who’s qualified and who’s not qualified so you can properly focus your selling efforts.
Should I accept an offer from a buyer that has not been pre-qualified/approved?
No, absolutely not! You should always make sure that a buyer is pre approved before accepting an offer. The last thing you want to do is waste your time and resources and possibly lose a bid from a more qualified buyer.
Once I have an accepted offer from a pre-qualified buyer, do I need to hire my own attorney, or will the mortgage company’s attorney handle everything?
Typically the seller chooses the closing attorney. Sometimes the buyer negotiates to use their closing attorney but not often. If neither the seller nor buyer has a preference, the Mortgage company can help both parties select one.
As a buyer when and why should I contact a Mortgage Professional when searching for my next home?
You should contact a mortgage broker before you even start shopping! The reason for that is simple Mike…. Before you know what type of house to look for, you need to know what kind of house you can afford! If you were on a budget and were planning a date, would you not look at the menu first before scheduling a reservation?!? With all the different loan programs out there nowadays, a lot of people don’t even realize how much home they really can afford! Of course, as a buyer you always want to make sure you don’t overextend yourself and that you will accomplish your correct goals at the end of the mortgage as well.
What information would you require to get me pre-qualified/approved?
In order to get pre approved you need to provide proof of employment, income, and assets. Employment is confirmed by copies of recent pay stubs. Income is confirmed by copies of last 2 years w-2’s or tax returns. Assets are confirmed by copies of last 2 months bank statements (checking, savings, retirement)
What is the benefit of getting pre-approved/approved before making an offer?
Well, as noted before…. First off you know that you can afford the home and that you are not overextending yourself. 2nd and also very important…..It helps strengthen you offer when presenting your bid to a seller. A lot of times, sellers won’t even accept an offer until they see a pre approval letter. If they see one at the very beginning, they will probably take you more seriously and probably be more willing to negotiate on the front end.
Does it cost any money to get pre-qualified/approved?
Typically no. It should not.
Once my offer is accepted, what happens next?
The buyer should then start the loan process. Within 30 days of the estimated closing date the buyer should lock a rate, and fill out the loan paperwork. The mortgage company will then order title and appraisal. The mortgage company will also submit the file to be processed and underwritten before the buyers funds are released to the closing attorney to distribute accordingly to all parties.
What concerns should I have if no Real Estate agents are involved?
You should be concerned with what you are going to do with the extra 3-6% you saved!
So, from your point of view, what is the major difference when you are doing a FSBO deal compared to a traditional one with agents involved, and what can the FSBO parties do to make the process go smoother?
Well, the main difference is you save a lot of money! Yes, you give up the hand holding that an agent provides, but let’s be real here. Times are changing. People use to use stockbrokers to trade their stocks and pay excessive commissions. Now everyone does it themselves online for pennies a share or flat rates. Technology has allowed us to be more efficient with mortgages and securities. Why not use technology in the home buying and selling process. By eliminating agents you are able to save money because 6% of commissions are eliminated from the transaction. That money is then able to be put in the pockets of the most important people involved with the transaction…… the buyer and the seller!
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 2nd 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.
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 )
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.
This afternoon I had the pleasure of attending the AMA Atlanta’s (American Marketing Association) first Marketing Technology event of the New Year. Sponsored by Aquent, with Maureen Schumacher, Southeast regional director for Google, and Brian Cusack, East Coast team manager for YouTube discussing marketing trends for 2008, and several successful Video Marketing Campaigns. Some of the statistics they shared were astounding, and I thought I should share them with you today. According to the latest statistics, the average American spends the same amount of time online, as they do in front of the TV. This has never been the case before. 72% of US Internet users are logging on for the specific reason of watching videos, with 79% percent of them viewing from a high speed internet connection. You Tube currently has over 1 Billion Video Viewings per day!
What does this mean for FSBO.com, and for those selling by owner you ask? Simple. Many FSBO sites allow the seller to upload a video of their home to help showcase their home. FSBO.com does not charge any additional fees for this service unlike most others in our industry. You may add a home video to any package purchased on FSBO.com. Soon, you will be able to upload unlimited photos to your FSBO.com listing, as well as “share” your FSBO video with others via an embedded link that we will provide for you. If you have not already, I strongly suggest getting out there, shooting a video tour of your home, and placing it on your current or future real estate listing online. I would also suggest uploading it to You Tube and other video sites alike.
The viewers are out there. The question is; is your video out there too?
