For Sale By Owner

Changes in FHA approvals add challenges for Chicago condo buyers

Thumbnail image for Changes in FHA approvals add challenges for Chicago condo buyers May 1, 2010

The purchase of a Rogers Park condo advertised as FHA Approved (not the condos shown left) by my buyer, Art, hit a bit of a snag last week. His mortgage banker, Michael Poland with Baird & Warner Financial Services, discovered that the condo development where Art was buying hadn’t been recertified for FHA approval. Michael Click to continue...

Today’s ForSaleByOwner.com Press Release Misleading

February 11, 2009

Today while I was on Twitter, a couple of tweets (Twitter messages) caught my attention. ~Study from Realtors find that FSBOs sell quicker & for closing to asking price than agent-assisted sellers! http://bit.ly/F6Jc ~Realtors highlight the benefits of FSBO. Yes, I’m not kidding! http://bit.ly/3i0fLU As you can read from the link in the first message, Click to continue...

For Sale By Owner Bedroom Counts

September 25, 2007

I was quite surprised when I discovered a 3 bedroom house in Palatine advertised for sale by owner last week. I know the house only has 2 bedrooms. Not only is the room the owners are claiming is a bedroom in the basement, you must walk through it to get to the utility room. When Click to continue...

Seller Tip: Assume Buyers or Their Realtor will do their Homework

March 7, 2007

When I started playing chess as a kid, I would hope that my opponent wouldn’t always see the best move to make. I soon realized that the best strategy is to assume that my opponent will always make the best move. This is a good strategy to following with home selling. The opponent analogy for Click to continue...

“For Sale By Owner” May Be Truer Than You Think

August 3, 2006

Last night after I showed a house in Mount Prospect my buyer showed me an information sheet she picked up at another house on the block advertised “for sale by owner”. The sheet and a sign in the yard prominently displayed the name of the company claiming to help the owner sell the property. My Click to continue...

6 Bedrooms & 4+ Baths???

July 14, 2006

I just had to stop and take pictures while driving to meet a client in the Barrington Area a couple of days ago. The humble abode shown is certainly not your typical Barrington property. However, I was especially struck by the for sale by owner sign in front of it. 6 bedrooms & 4+ baths??? Click to continue...

For Sale By Owner Market Softens

July 8, 2006

Adding more evidence that it’s no longer a sellers market, Bernice Ross reported in Chicago Agent Magazine that the web traffic for ForSaleByOwner.Com has dropped significantly from last year. Based on data from Alexa.com which tracks web traffic, the number of unique visitors to ForSaleByOwner.Com dropped 60% from May 2005 to May 2006. Click to continue...

When Selling Your Home, It’s What You Net, Not What You “Saved”

March 9, 2006

Everywhere you turn there are ads for “for sale by owner” systems and discount brokers advertising the thousands of dollars their sellers saved. Yet, in the end, it’s not how much or how little it cost you to sell your home, it’s how much you netted after the sale. If you “saved” $5000 in commission Click to continue...

Can You Be a Successful “For Sale By Owner”?

January 20, 2006

The “Rain City Guide”, a Seattle real estate blog has a good article today, “Should you do For Sale by Owner (FSBO)?“. I was struck by the story of the agent who wrote it. Like myself, he successfully sold his home himself before he became a REALTOR®. He notes that you need “time, patience, and Click to continue...