So, it’s been a week since we put our house up for sale by owner. We’ve had one private showing so far and decided to hold an Open House yesterday for the masses of people who CLEARLY want to buy our house.
Before the Open House, we hadn’t had a great response. In truth, I was feeling a little disappointed. But a dozen fliers had been grabbed (while we know some of them definitely went to our neighbors who were curious). And our neighbors told us they saw lots of cars slowing down after we put up the Open House sign.
So, we were not deterred.
To advertise the Open House, we purchased an advertisement in the local paper, included the times on our online For Sale by Owner listing and Craigslist listing and put up signs in our yard with directional signs from main roads.
The house was clean and ready. If you clean it, they will come, I say. Here is a shameless photo of how great the dining room looked.
And then nobody showed up. For the first hour, I sat feeling sick.
My inner dialogue:
“What if no one comes?”
“What if no one buys the house?”
“Oh my God, NO ONE IS GOING TO BUY THIS HOUSE! We’re going to go always own 3 houses, go into bankruptcy and then probably DIE!”
(Do you ever end a rant with saying “And then we’re going to die!”? I do. All the time. Always the practical one.)
But then I realized that this whole thing is truly out of my control. Our house is quite lovely. It’s in a great neighborhood. Someone would be lucky to buy it.
And Ryan and I made the joint decision to try the For Sale by Owner thing. For goodness sakes, we DIY everything else. Why not try this? And it’s only been a week. I cannot drag anyone by gunpoint to put in an offer (as much as I may like to do so).
So, I decided not to jump off the roof (joking) and took a few deep, calming breaths. And wouldn’t you know it? I felt better about the whole thing.
And at this point, a family pulled up and looked at the house. Then a nice couple. Both were very complimentary of the home. Will they buy it? Maybe not. But, at least someone showed up.
(Although, seriously? Only 2 families? Anyway… I’m calm.)
We’re going to keep on keeping on at this point. We may list it ourselves on flat-fee MLS for a bit more exposure. (Anyone have any experience with this?) But, at least we’re giving it a go.
And if we don’t get any bites in the next few months, we’ll list it with a realtor. So, life will go on. And no one will die. Probably.
Any tips for us?
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Jenny @ Anything Pretty says
No tips here as we have never done FSBO. But just wanted to tell you that I feel your pain….house selling sucks. The whole having to clean constantly thing and not knowing how long it is going to take and wondering why people don’t love your house as much as you do.
Whew. Nerve wracking just typing it. I am sending all my “selling the house” quickly vibes your way and hopefully it will a short process!
Amber says
I keep an eye on my own local real estate and always search the MLS listings. I think you should totally do it!
Sarah says
I’m just going to echo what everyone already said. Open houses rarely bring a lot of people in. My mother has been trying to sell her immaculate historic TH for YEARS and occasionally has open houses. A few time, no one has shown up.
Hopefully, you’ll have better luck.
Anonymous says
The couple behind Young House Love sold theirs FSBO and had a lot of great suggestions in a blog post they did, you might want to check it out =)
LizzieBeth says
Good luck with the house! You are 100% right– someone will be very lucky to have that home and you just have to wait for the right person.
LB
Emily says
No one will die, and I’ve read a lot of blogs who have a lot of success after they do the flat fee MLS listing. Go for it! Your house is beeeeeautiful, and someone will be lucky enough to love it like you have!
Cindy @The Flipping Couple says
I’m going to agree with everyone saying to put it on the MLS. It will definitely get more exposure that way. And I would also suggest advertising what you’re offering as commission to the buyer’s Realtor.
And while open houses are definitely a crap shoot, you never know what could happen! My dad sold two of our houses through an open house. Although, both times they were listed with a Realtor, but the Realtor couldn’t show up that day (for whatever reason) so Dad always said he should have just done FSBO. : )
Someone will buy it!! Stick it out with the FSBO for now. It could take awhile but it would be so worth it. Good luck!!!
Kristi says
It is a GREAT house. Anyone out looking would be lucky to find it. My sister sold her house FSBO and it all worked out for them. They used a local service, but one thing they did was to have an open house whenever they could. If one of them was home for an extended period of time, they would toss out the open house signs. I know you two are incredibly busy, but you never know when someone will drive by and decide to stop in. I am sending some house selling mojo your way!!
m @ random musings says
You have a beautiful house, Kim! Have you tried hosting a realtor’s event? Usually these are on a weekday morning – an open house for the realtors who represent (multiple) potential buyers. Fair warning, some agencies have an internal policy *not* to work with FSBO simply b.c the sellers’ commission is essentially going to an unlicensed agent (you) which undermines the “professional certification” mantra they promote. It’s useful to know if any companies in your area practice this and adjust expectations, advertising accordingly.
Tyler and Emily Forrest says
My dad actually is a broker that focuses soley on the MLS listing of FSBO homes in Nashville. He has had great success with his clients. The perks of selling the house yourself with all the perks of having a realtor. I think it is a must!
And, your house will sell! It is too cute not to!
Jen@Notes From the Heartland says
Your house is crazy gorgeous Kim. I promise you, someone will buy your house(and probably ask to buy everything in it too…including your dogs), and you won’t die.
Did you try the chocolate chip cookie thing? Maybe bake the cookies, then get a REALLY big fan to blow the scent out into the neighborhood. Done, sold. (and you can pay me my commission on our next roadtrip. hehehe)
Reuben says
Buyers agents definitely discourage buyers from FSBO homes. Part of it is legit, since often the sellers don’t know what their doing (like me) which makes their job harder. But mostly it’s just job security. The last thing practicing agents want is a bunch of people with anecdotal stories like “I did FSBO and it was so easy!!”
Ellie says
Your house is great and I’m sure it will sell soon and for a good price. Just give it time. Hang in there!
Nikki says
I think you need to give it good shot and a little more time at FSBO if that is what you really want to do.
We have always been DIYer’s so we listed or house FSBO several years ago, showed it, had several open houses and nothing after 4 months. We listed it with an awesome realtor, she raised that asking price by a good bit and it sold in less than a month. (this was before the drop in the market) She raised our price enough to cover her commission plus some and we got it. If you do end up listing with an agent after some time do your homework on listing agents.
Hang in there, the right buyer will come along.
Jordan@the2seasons says
The people will come, your house is so cute so I am sure it will sell soon.
Suzanne says
When I worked in a real estate office, I used to hold open houses for the other realtors. In 3 years I think maybe 12 people TOTAL ever showed up. I ate a lot of cookies and lemonade while sitting in empty rooms wishing SOMEONE would show up so I could tell them about the spacious back yard and third bathroom.
Having it in the local MLS is huge. If you’re willing to pay a buyer’s agent, make sure that’s in the listing. Otherwise just keep putting out flyers and lots of easy to read signs. Someone will want your beautiful house!
DecorandtheDog says
I don’t envy you. Selling a house was one of the most stressful things Nate and I have been through..basically because you have such little control….but they all sell eventually….and yours is super cute! And doesn’t want to live in the Quad Cities???
Reuben says
We’re also trying the FSBO flat-fee MLS listing. 90% of the traffic we’re getting is from people just walking by calling the phone number on the sign, though. In several months, we’ve only had a few takers from people who’ve seen the house on MLS first.
Heather says
I really think you should list it on MLS as I think that is where a lot of people look for houses, at least I know for us that is how we look for houses.
Sorry your open house wasn’t what you wanted but I agree with some of the others that open houses are sometimes crap shots but then again there are houses that get lots of looks. Don’t be discouraged.
Amanda @ Serenity Now says
Don’t be discouraged! I worked in Real Estate for a Broker for 5 years and Open Houses really are rarely very successful. Most visitors are lookie-loos who are either driving by, live in the neighborhood, or just curious.
Listing it with the MLS is a great idea, b/c it’s the standard that Real Estate agents use. They’ll use those stats to find home for their clients to view. And yours will be one of them. You probably already know this, but my best advice for Open Houses is to keep an eye on the visitors (an agent would have them register), but let them view the house without a play by play.
Chin up! Your home is gorgeous, and it will sell!!!
Leigh says
Oh, dear I’m sorry to hear all about the troubles. I’ll be sending good thoughts your way.
Elz says
ugh that’s gut clenching. I’d agree with Rueben said though, we just bought our house and we were advised to avoid For Sale By Owners as well. Mainly because she said that owner sold houses always list them for far more than they’re worth and are not willing to negotiate as much. I don’t know if that’s her personal belief or what but we did avoid them. Mainly because we looked at foreclosures and short sales only though 🙂 I’m sure it’ll work out! It always does.
Elizabeth says
Your house looks great! In my VERY limited experience, our realtor wouldn’t show us houses that were FSBO. She had lots of reasons, but she didn’t ever show them to us. The house we ended up buying technically wasn’t FSBO but they had paid a realtor just to get it on the MLS. It still seemed like it had really limited exposure, but at least she showed it to us, and I don’t think it would have happened without the MLS listing.
Liz @ It's Great To Be Home says
Ah, open houses are the bane of my existence!! Sorry yours was disappointing – it’s not your house, it’s open houses in general. They’re just kind of a crap shoot.
As for the flat-fee MLS, you already know my thoughts on that one – I think having your home on MLS is a must!! In Dallas (and I assume your city), all of the local agents’ websites pull inventory from the MLS, so if your home isn’t on MLS then it’s not showing up on a huge number of websites. And for $200, how wrong could it be? If it even gets 1 extra person through your door I think that’s worth it.
Meredith says
You guys are doing great! I always tell my friends who go FSBO that the biggest thing they can do is offer to pay a buyer’s agent commission. That way agents won’t shy away from showing the house (fearing they won’t get paid), and you can send flyers to local real estate agencies advertising your home and the commission you’re offering.
These days, 1 showing a week is doing pretty good! Keep it up – the right buyers will find you. 🙂