Fsbo

Are you really serious about selling your home in this market? Then be prepared to try anything – and everything.

For nearly two years, Adriel and Lance Bush tried unsuccessfully to sell their 1925 home in West Palm Beach, Fla. First the couple went the traditional route: They hired a realtor (three of them, in fact) who gave them standard advice, like getting rid of all the clutter caused by their twin toddler boys. They also renovated their master bath and added granite counters to the kitchen. Still no takers, which wasn’t surprising: Home sales in the West Palm Beach area have fallen by double digits.

Then Lance, 43, who had already accepted a new job in Tucson, relocated his family out West. That’s when the Bushes got desperate. Between the mortgage, property taxes and insurance (including hurricane coverage) on their Florida home – along with their Arizona housing expenses – the couple was shelling out more than $7,000 a month.

Though they had already slashed the price on their 3,500-square-foot Mediterranean-style home several times – from $1.3 million to $795,000, which is about what they originally paid – they were willing to go even lower.

They also got creative. For instance, they decided to consider a lease-to-own deal, which makes it easier for cash-strapped buyers to take the plunge.

And they even went so far as to hire a feng shui expert, who for a fee of $250, added minor touches around the front entrance of their home to give it more “positive” energy. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt anything, so why not try it?” says Adriel, 38, a professional organizer. A few weeks later, they found a buyer.

Of course, the Bushes aren’t saying it was feng shui that triggered the eventual sale. But in today’s market, where there are more homes for sale than corn in Kansas, one thing’s becoming increasingly clear: You’ve got to be open to anything.

At last count, there were 4 million pre-owned houses for sale. That’s up 14% from the start of last year. In cities and counties hardest hit by the real estate downturn, the numbers are even more dizzying. In Orlando, for example, there are now 26,000 homes up for sale. In 2004, “we were lucky if we had 3,000,” says Lydia Pisano, former president of the city’s local board of realtors.

In such a hypercompetitive market, you have to go way beyond what everyone else is doing – especially if you want to move your home quickly. Old standbys like slapping a fresh coat of paint on your clapboards or throwing in a complimentary plasma TV just won’t cut it.

Instead, you have to rely on guerilla marketing tactics to get your home noticed. Maybe you start pitching your home on popular message boards. Certainly you’ll need to seek out buyers rather than wait for them to find you. And you can no longer limit yourself to conventional sales agreements.

By Carolyn Bigda, Money Magazine writer-reporter

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 9:08 am and is filed under FSBO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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