The For Sale By Owner Kit

Going the "for sale by owner," or FSBO, route can save homeowners an average of $10,000 in real estate commissions.
The numbers are staggering: in 2002, 1.68 million people attempted to sell their homes "by owner," and a whopping 2.25 million are projected to do so in 2005. This will side-step real estate agents, allowing sellers to pocket more profits. Online FSBO options also are accelerating: In 2003, an astonishing 840,000 "FSBOs" used online listing services. For years, the For Sale By Owner Kit has been a must-have resource, filled with essential checklists, sales forms, and sample ads designed to simplify the entire home selling process. Included in this new edition are revisions to chapters on:
* "Staging" a home to maximize its appeal.
* Pricing a home for quick sale.
* Managing all the necessary, but complicated, paperwork.
* Writing an air-tight, carefully worded sales agreement.
* Hiring fee-for-service agents. Several entirely new chapters discuss handling disclosures and inspections fairly and honestly; getting full-service agents to work with you; and, most important, a detailed discussion on online home listings. To maximize the value of The For Sale By Owner Kit, the new edition includes the following services from Owners.com, the largest online FSBO service:
* A Web page on Owners.com that readers can customize for their own property with photos and detailed description.
* A private e-mail box to use for online respondents.
* An answering service that can be used strictly for property inquiries.
* Hit list statistics to see how often the listing has been viewed.
* Buyer preapproval cards from E-Trade Mortgage.