It's Lonely If You're An FSBO

Gorgeous house. Entire kitchen needs updating though (how I hate art deco) and the rear is just begging for an addition or large screened in porch.

No granite counter tops? No stainless steel appliances? No deck out back? And aluminum siding? He should spend a few thousand on staging.

Looks like the neighbor has a nice pool.

Wow - Can staging even include blooming azaleas and warm afternoons in November?

I can almost afford this house. I don't think I could hack the taxes though...

Snif, snif..

I'll take it. Please contact offline.

Walleroo, maybe the neighbors will let you swin in their pool.

Walleroo, maybe the neighbors will let you swim in their pool.

Selling homes round these parts is best left to the Professionals if you ask me.

Are those the scariest bathroom pix's you've ever seen?

And jersey, your suggestions are considered "needs updating", not staging.

From the pictures, the home looks great-- free of clutter, neutral colored walls, etc.

But they ain't gettin' no 600K+ smackers!

Looks like a 379k-429k house to me.

My neighbor did FSBO. Was on the market for almost a year, and they tirelessly spent almost every weekend offering an open house, complete with balloons and directional signs at nearby intersections. I think they're lucky to find a buyer at all. Not many buyers think to check fsbo.com (and there are many decentralized variations). I'd say the 6% realtor fee is well-spent marketing money. But like someone else said, Montclair taxes are a deal killer for many middle-class homeowners.

6% for all those shady, misleading and manipulative things a good realtor does is worth the price.

If you rearrange the letters you get F----ing SOB. I wonder what the significance of that is.

I'm with you, Prof. I don't see anything special about the house to warrant paying over 600 grand.

Dunno, but an anagram for "Walleroo FSBO" is "Aloof Bowlers" or "low base fool"

Or Roof Slob Wale

Each one seems apt.

They all apply

Ooops, sorry for the double post. Something funny's going on.

prof and MM, either you're ahead of the curve on how far Montclair housing prices have dropped, or you're deluded. I hope you're deluded, since I hope to sell fairly soon.

I think FSBO can work, but you have to use one of the services that lists you on the MLS, and probably offer some commission to buyer's agents; otherwise, they have no incentive to inform their clients about the property. But at least you could get away with paying 2-3% that way instead of 6%.

I'm perfectly capable of pricing, staging, and marketing my own home. I'm damned if I'm going to pay that much to an agent without at least giving it a whirl on my own. I get paid very well to do marketing strategy, ferchrissakes. I am sure there are some very good agents out there, but I've gotta say I've been distinctly unimpressed by my own encounters to date.

I bought this place in a FSBO deal. I know it can be done, esp if I have no specific timetable. Was grateful to the NYT article, which offered a couple of helpful resources.

Just looked at the listing again. Ain't no way you'd be able to buy a 5 BR, 2.5 Ba house with almost a quarter acre in Montclair for $429k, prof--or anything close to it.

Yeah, the kitchen could use updating, but it isn't exactly scary. They'll do OK.

I couldn't see myself trying to sell anything more expensive than the comic book collectibles and refurbished computers I sometimes put together.

As a buyer, I don't think I'd want to deal with an individual (too emotionally invested in the property, thinks their house is worth more than it is, etc)... Hell, I don't even want to deal with the realtor beyond being shown the house.

Valid concerns, GnM.

The people we bought this place from were really nutty. And they did make the process pretty bumpy at a couple of points--but I have to say that overall it was easier than it was for most of my friends who've done RE transactions through realtors in the last couple of years.

I wish I could somehow do a massive cleaning of my house, move out of it along with my dogs for a few months, and only show up to let potential buyers in. I have no idea how I'll keep this place spicandspan with 3 dogs underfoot. Tufts of dog toy stuffing everywhere has become an integral part of my life.

Why do all of the kitchens on HGTV look so non-descript and samey? Granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances and dark wood cabinets. Blech. Live by the trend, die by the trend.

Nice yard, but rooms are pint-sized. Gee. 12-by-12 for a master bedroom? Kitchen too clearly needs updating. Just another example of FSBO houses being overpriced.

Danny, I don't know where you get art deco in that kitchen, but to HATE a style that many do like rather than just dislike it, just proves your intolerance to anything you don't agree with. You are so prejudice and blind to your own self.

Oh, forgot to put it in the current vernacular...you're an opinionated douche bag :)

FSBO is not the best idea in a slow market, I would think.

I'm currently FSBO'ing now in Glen Ridge, and have had 16 parties through in less than 3 weeks. All qualified, all more or less current GR/Montclair residents who need a change of place for size reasons, or are willing to move here at any cost for our schools. I don't think a Realtor could have brought as many people as we've had through a number of alternative marketing resources I've put together for driving people to my home, and none of it has come close to the $30K plus a Realtor would command to expose my home to the same group of people who are seeing it now. I expect to be sold before or just after the first of the year.

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/reb/920041658.html

there's the listing should anyone want to check it out... thanks. !

I live around the block from this house. It's close to Grove Street with many multi-family rentals on this end of the block. Convenient for transportation but a "lesser" neighborhood than one block north.

A neighbor priced their home (a little smaller) at $469,000 and ended up selling the first weekend with 7 offers. They need to lower that price to $525,000 and they might get a few bids.

haha Pokey you're so cute.

Love the summation: "I don't like what you said so you're an intolerant opinionated douchebag." Your satirical sense could give Stephen Colbert pause with envy.

By the way, I highly recommend doing more research on art deco and it's various incarnations. Grownups will take you more seriously when you speak from a foundation of knowledge rather than citing wikipedia. And yes puddinkins, it's art deco.

Just a word of warning, don't stare up at the sky with your mouth open when it's raining, you could drowned and I'm genuinely concerned for your safety.

I used realtors to sell the two houses I'd owned in Bergen County. They both sold very quickly (within a week or so). Actually found multiple buyers the first day on both. That having been said, the 5% fee is very high, in my opinion. My gut feeling is in today's market the timing is vital. I don't believe anyone is buying, so whether a realtor is used or not is pretty much moot.

Danny, you just keep on proving a point don't you.
It's not your lack of knowledge in design, (if anything the kitchen could be called post modernism, meaning bland; add any accent, a lamp and a red tablecloth do not make it art deco) but Your lack of tolerance. The link was a general one intentionally as the style you hate without being able to identify is world round and liked by many, which is what the article embodied.
So dislike it. Some people like paintings in the abstract, some in the style of realism, one might tend toward still life or cubism, is any one of them wrong? From you posts over time, I would say they're all wrong except for (...) because that's the art Dannyboo sees value in. (please tell me what to make for dinner and which store to buy the ingredients, I wouldn't want to get it wrong) A world you created would be quite boring for anyone but you, but rock on kid.
As far as the insinuation that I'm a domestic turkey, naw, if I was a turkey I would be the wild kind, like the one Ben recommended for the national symbol, whereas you remind of the eagle in the same letter.

Bought a FSBO. Went pretty well. Can't see what a realtor would have done for the $30000 they would have taken from the deal. Granted the house and owner was known to me so there was no marketing. But beyond that... I dealt with the mortgage broker, and the lawyer does all the paperwork for their measly 1 grand fee. So all was fine and a lot of money was saved.

So you go through two long winded unnecessary posts and end up saying:

"So dislike it."

Is your life that empty? Are you that lacking for attention that you have to jump all over me simply because I express my opinion? Couldn't you have just saved your keyboard the abuse and spent that time doing something better with your life? No. So instead you rip my post apart and then contradict your whole tantrum by essentially saying, "Go ahead and feel how you feel."

Are you bipolar by any chance? Are you short on medication? Did you just catch your wife (you are married, right?) in bed with a guy named Dan, Danny, or Daniel?

Did I say others weren't entitled to like the style? No.

Did I say those who liked the style were wrong? No.

Did I condemn anyone whose opinion did not agree with me? No.

But you sure did.

I simply said I hated the style; an opinion you're seeking to stifle because you don't agree with it.

Honestly Pokey, where do you come up with this horsesh*t? Is it your kitchen? Is that why you're so defensive? Are you so insecure about your own decorative tastes that you have to attack others who don't like it? Is there something else going on in your life that you want to talk about?

What's goin' on chuckles? Why so angry? C'mon kiddo. Tell Uncle Dan. I'm babysitting my niece and nephew this weekend and need to practice the skill of extracting the true issues of children who haven't quite learned the ability to express the root of their problem and instead displace their emotions onto something unrelated. So c'mon Pokey (cute name!), let's help each other. :)

Seems to be that FSBOs stay on the market longer than those homes listed with Realtors. We have about 3 on our street that have been on the market for almost a year! And it's almost always attributed to the seller asking too high a price. This is not 2004-05 anymore. Also, it tells me, as a buyer, that the seller is not that motivated to sell. People who are motivated to sell list their homes at what the market will bear.

I agree Martta, after a year, that's telling you something. But if you're only listed for a short time and the only objections to the property haven't been price, I would think you're on track to get close to what you want. You're right in that it's really the buyer who ultimately sets the price based on their offer (and/or your refusal of the offer!)

Did I miss how much they paid for the house?

That may explain a lot here.

So the added cost/headache of selling it themselves may be worth it.

HOWEVER, as many have stated above, in this market, having a professional on your side is worth it.

I bet this home's value was about 250-300K in 1990.

I bet this home's value (is) about 250-300K in 2008.

LOL! Prof

What are the taxes on this place?

If he listed it in the low to mid-500's he would get multiple offers.

This house is listing at a price that is a minimum of $100,000 over every other Zestimate for the other homes on the block. Regardless of it being a realtor placed or FSBO listing, it ain't selling unless the price is dropped at least to $550K and that still might not fetch a buyer.

Our multi around the corner on Christopher Street was valued at $650K when the crooks at ASI came around to perform the reval. A comp across the street from us has been on the market for months and no one even attends the open houses. Their list price is now $490K. No one wants to admit that their house is probably worth 20% less than it's peak value in 2005 and will lose another 10% minimum in 2009. If this cheapo doesn't lower the price to 550K, they will end up chasing the housing market downward. Expect it to sell for under 500K if it doesn't sell in the Spring of 2009 when all of the other competition hits the market.

All one has to do to sell a home in this market is to list the home at a price that a buyer is willing to pay. Otherwise, you are just stubbornly wasting your time. The reason that FSBOs are typically unsuccessful is that the sellers bias about the 'real value' of their property is skewed upwards since they are not aware of the current housing values of the local market like a realtor is. Additionally, they are usually cheap bastards.

I hereby rescind my offer.

Uggh! I looked more closely at the pictures. The owners have a great design sense, but this does not translate into home value.

No central air, 12x12 master bedroom and the other bedrooms are much smaller, vinyl flooring in the kitchen, oil heat, chain link fence. No way this home even fetches $550K. As a FSBO, where the seller stands to pocket $20,000 that would have gone to the realtor, you would think they might use some of this to lower their price to get bidders in. Instead they are obviously cheaper than cheap and want to make an unobtainable buck.

My guess is that the owners need to sell at this insane price to not have to bring a check of their own at the closing. There will be a whole bunch more of these in Montclair as the PRIME option arms loans begin to reset all throughout next year. Add the burden of a collapsing economy and ever increasing property taxes and the housing values in Montclair and the people who believe they never go down (reverse NIMBYs) are in for a rude awakening.

Zillow says last sale 8/4/06 @ $500K, 2008 RE taxes of $10,655 (which seems low for $500K or so house, no?)

The house was assessed in 06 at $495k. The market has gone nowhere but down since then. The owners are looking for a 30% premium over their peak level purchase.

If they find a buyer at that price, send em to me. I have a few bridges I?d like to sell.

Art deco is pretty straightforward as the name for an opulent, decorative style. The kitchen at 26 Oxford is Streamline Moderne or vanilla-Populuxe without much color.

IF it really were an Art Deco kitchen, it might look like this.

LINK

I just think the place looks like it was furnished by IKEA.

Overpriced IMHO.

There is nothing in that house which is Art Deco, nothing.

Here Danny be educated.

For such a "big" house, the rooms look kind of smallish, based on the photos. The rooms in our modest Cape Cod are larger, plus we have central air. The nicest things about this house are the landscaping and the hardwood floors. And, I agree, there is nothing in this house that says Art Deco.

For such a "big" house, the rooms look kind of smallish, based on the photos. The rooms in our modest Cape Cod are larger, plus we have central air. The nicest things about this house are the landscaping and the hardwood floors. And, I agree, there is nothing in this house that says Art Deco.

I'll give you $700k for your Cape Cod, Mrs. M.

Walleroo, you wouldnt' be able to look up Liz's skirts from Mrs. M's cape.

Shouldn't you be off busting your butt, jerseygurl? Anyway, when's my job interview? And while we're on the subject, what job am I applying for exactly?

I'll take it! Wall: You obviously haven't researched the market in my nabe.

Methinks Walleroo desperately wants a new address.

Not at all, Nellie. I just have a big wad of dough I'm trying to offload on some worthy homeowner, is all.

I don't care about true value, Mrs. M. I just like to spend.

As for you, jersey: nice try, but Liz doesn't wear skirts.