FSBO BLOG

President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Feb 17th unveiled the next step in his multi-pronged efforts to lift the United States out of recession, pledging up to $275 billion to help stem a wave of home foreclosures that sparked the U.S. financial meltdown. $200 billion to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and $ 75 billion to help 5 million borrowers refinance. At the end of last year, just over 9 percent of all home loans in the United States were in arrears or already in foreclosure, the Mortgage Bankers Association has said. A total of 8.1 million U.S. homes, or 16 percent of all households with mortgages, could fall into foreclosure by 2012, according to a report by Credit Suisse. Are steps taken by the Federal Government going to help, hurt or have no effect? With this information are you more likely to buy or sell real estate in 2009?

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Video is becoming more and more popular these days.  According to a recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicles, 77 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video in October 2008.  Adding a video to your online real estate listing is quick and easy. Most digital cameras these days are capable of taking a short video.  FSBO.com can accept most video file formats, and there is no additional charge to add a video to your listing. 

For additional statistics on why it is so important to add a video to your Internet Listing, please view the following article online:  http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/12/08/daily40.html?ana=e_duThe FSBO.com Photo department is more than willing to help you get your video posted online.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us at photos@fsbo.com. 

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FSBO.com just wanted to clear up any confusion that there may be about a recent press release from yesterday claiming YOU can list a property on Realtor.com without an agent.  One of the most popular questions www.FSBO.com receives is “Can I list my property on Realtor.com without using an agent and listing in the MLS?”.  The answer has always been, and still is “NO”!

There is absolutely no way to list your property on Realtor.com without first having it listed in the MLS.  There is absolutely no way to list your property in the MLS without using a licensed Realtor.  The only thing you can control is the actual amount that you pay to have your property listed on the MLS and Realtor.com. 

FSBO.com and similar companies have services that allow you to do this for a flat fee as opposed to a commission.  Any company claiming to be the only, or first to offer this type of service has been mistaken.

Third quarter results are in for the FSBO.com Home Index.  Here is a brief summary of what our survey found…

Regional Results…

View more information on FSBO.com - http://www.fsbo.com/press-room-51/

What do you think?  Are these results consistent with what you are seeing in your area?

HGTV is currently looking for First-time Home Sellers to be part of their new show “My First Sale”.

Here is a brief description of the show and what they are looking for…

“MY FIRST SALE, a brand new show on HGTV, is kicking off its first season and looking for first-time home sellers in the Denver/Metro area.

Taping is getting underway this month. Ideal candidates will be interesting, energetic, financially open (people who don’t mind sharing frankly on camera about the experience and the purchase details.)”

If you are interested in participating, please leave a comment with your FSBO.com ID #.

Hopefully this will turn in to some NATIONAL media exposure for your property!

Need more exposure for your property?  Are you willing to pay a Buyer’s agent a commission?  FSBO.com offers Flat Fee MLS Listings which will list your property on your local MLS as well as Realtor.com.  And here is the best part - we are running a special for the month of August…

Save $50 off our regular $399.95 price!  Click here to list on the MLS for $349

Here is a brief description of the package…

One time set up fee to list your property on your local MLS and Realtor.com for six months with one photo. This gives your property exposure to thousands of local real estate agents and millions of potential buyers. If a broker brings you a buyer and you accept an offer you will need to pay them a commission. All commission is negotiable, but the average is around 2.5-3.5% and will need to be stated up front upon entering the MLS.  *After submitting your FSBO.com listing, you will be contacted by a licensed agent to complete the MLS listing process.  

This offer is only good on US properties until 8/31/08 and is not valid on prior purchases.

It has been said that Real estate listings online with photos receive 300% more traffic than listings without photos.  I know that no matter what I am searching for online (houses, cars, couches on Craigslist, etc..), I skip right over any listing that does not include a picture.  So why are there still so many listings out there without photos (FSBO.com is happy that approximately 85% of its listings contain at least one photo)?

Some owners will say they do not own a digital camera, or do not know how to post photos online.  Others may cite privacy issues, or not having enough time to do it themselves.  No matter what the excuse, it is crucial that you post photos to your listing online.  It will first get buys to stop and view your listing, and it will then let them know that you are serious about selling since you made the effort to create a complete and professional listing online. 

Listings without photos send a message to everyone viewing it that you possibly have something to hide…   my suggestion is to take that guess work out of their hands, and post as many photos as you are allowed.  FSBO.com currently allows for unlimited photos on every FSBO.com listing.

The US real estate market is seeing an influx of new buyers coming from overseas to purchase property.  Because of the sinking value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies, a home bought by a foreigner comes with a discount averaging 30%, the National Association of Realtors estimates.  Based on the information I heard recently at the Inman News Real Estate connect in San Francisco, these foreign buyers are buying in larger metro cities for investment purposes only. 

For the past few years the online real estate community has been targeted heavily by scams, most of which are from people posing as buyers from overseas.  As a For sale By Owner, not represented by an agent, I just wanted to make you all aware that some of the overseas messages you receive from your FSBO.com listing could be legit.  Please use your best judgment when dealing with these type of inquiries as you would not want to miss an opportunity to sell because you immediately discard someone as a scammer.     

So, do YOU see America as being “For Sale” as the rest of the world does?  It appears our largest brewing company Anheuser-Busch is…..

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The bill recently passed by the Senate and Congress will provide mortgage relief to some 400,000 struggling homeowners.  It will allow them to get more affordable mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  The FHA could insure $300 billion in such mortgages. Banks would first have to agree to take a large loss on the existing loans in exchange for avoiding an often-costly foreclosure.

The bill should help those who are threatened by foreclosure, and allow them to keep their home by proving they can afford a new loan.  The bill will also offer a $7,500 tax credit to first time homebuyers.  This incentive could help get more first time buyers to get out there  looking and making offers.

More information can be found on the USA Today Website at:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-07-26-senate-housing_N.htm.

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There have been a few articles written recently debating the accuracy of certain company’s foreclosure data. Mainly regarding the prices associated with foreclosure and pre-foreclosure listings.  FSBO.com has been partnered with Foreclosure.com for more than 5 years, and could not be happier with the reliable data that they provide our customers and the speed at which they respond to any customer service issues we send their way.  Please take a minute to read each of the two articles below

Foreclosure.com Article:  “Free foreclosure listings: What is right and wrong”

Inman News Article:  “When prices are too good to be true”

Both articles received blog comments from industry professionals, Realtor’s, and CEO’s of similar Foreclosure websites.  I am curious to hear what actual consumers think about all of this.  Do you feel tricked, or mislead by sites such as the ones mentioned in the articles?

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