Liz Provo-Mass Marketing Resources

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Liz Provo Real Estate & Small Business Marketing Assistant http://www.massmarketingresources.com As the owner of a regional for-sale-by-owner advertising service with over 8 years of experience helping sellers navigate the world of alternative real estate, I would like to comment on this article. 1) Everyone sells by owner...it's just a question of how much representation is outsourced to a 3rd party 2) Yes, it's taking FSBO's longer to sell now - as it is those listed with an agent. 3) Pricing is key - get a professional appraisal and don't pad the results if you want to sell quickly. 4) Use quality signage and be prepared to spend money to advertise - locally and online. 5) Be wary of listing websites that offer "Until Sold" Listings. Buyers tend to shy away from sites that have a lot of outdated inventory around. 6) Locate a regional FSBO marketing agency that knows the market, knows the outlets, knows the process and can help you be successful. 7) Don't let agents scare you about contracts, fair housing, etc. This has been going on far too long. Your attorney will draw up your purchase and sale agreement and any other necessary forms. 8) Buyers want transparency - great pictures, good mapping, full disclosure and everything YESTERDAY! No one knows your property better than you. Be patient, price it right and use quality advertising. 9) Consider using entry only MLS if you want extra ammunition to to attract buyers looking on public sites. The majority of our properties have not needed this exposure due to the amount of regional advertising we do, but it's an option. Above all, don't believe everything you hear from the NAR. They follow their own data and promote their membership which is fine - just consider the source.

I have hosted successful "How To Sell Your Own Home" seminars for consumers for over seven years. My panel of experts includes a real estate appraiser, home inspector, attorney, home stager and occasionally a buyer's agent. Of course, my goal has been to actually help the consumers be successful, not to burden them with an overly complicated "to do list" designed to to overwhelm them. Consumers are pretty smart these days and an agent's attempt to provide this kind of "helpful" information is easily deemed suspect to sellers. If you are thinking of holding a workshop for sellers, consider sharing the event with your local alternative real estate FSBO service and let the consumer decide what is the best course to take for themselves. Liz Provo http://www.massmarketingresources.com

Liz Provo Virtual Marketing Assistant http://www.massmarketingresources.com I don't know that consumers are against agents receiving a commission for the work you do, but are upset that the commission is still based upon the full value of the home being sold. In the height of the seller's market, as prices shot sky high, consumers felt that agents were highly overpaid as the cost of doing business had not necessarily changed and sales occurred at lightening speed. Now that home sales have declined and it's taking longer for them to sell, agents are understandably worried about the cost to continually advertise in order to satisfy sellers, thus lowering the potential net profit resulting in their commission. Agents may forget that many of their customers earn their living on a commission basis as well (car sales, insurance sales, investment brokers, Avon reps., etc.), myself included. We all face paying self-employment tax, health insurance, association dues, advertising expense, etc.). We face the heartaches of incentive-based pay...broken appointments, low response ads and mailings, buyer's remorse, sales that fall through in the 11th hour and bonuses that come and go with the economy. What consumers don't agree with is the attitude that agents display, a sense of entitlement to the commission as a percentage of the total sales price of their home. Agents must be open to looking at more equitable arrangements for the long haul and be willing to find more innovative methods of compensation and/or listing arrangements.