For Sale By Owner Story---   This is a true story about a for sale by owner experience. I'm changing the names to protect them, however, I will tell you that the story is about a neighbor and is first hand information. First allow me to introduce a little history to set the stage of this story. Bill had been out of work because of a company shut down. Things were getting pretty bad financially and Bill's wife decided she had to go back to work. Sharon, a teacher could only find a job out of state were she had a license to teach. The money situation was so tight that she had to start work immediately. Bill thought that he could sell the house himself and sent her to work out of state. Their 2500 sq. ft. house was located in a great area with almost two acres of land. Bill had recently done some remodeling in the basement and fixed the roof. He decided that a good price for his home was $389,000 and proceeded to put up a 4 Sale By Owner sign. He waited and waited, he didn't even get a nibble. You see Bill, was a practical man, he had a nice roof over his head, but lacked an appreciation for the importance of first impressions. He neglected the landscaping, paint etc. and therefore his home had very poor curb appeal. He also had no appreciation for the true value of his home. Many people believe that their home is golden, so it is not uncommon for people price it too high. Bill sat for over a year, until he lowered the price. This time he got it appraised and set the price about $50,000 over appraisal. He lowered the house to $289,000. Six months passed and he only had 2 nibbles. He spoke to some friends about his situation and one bold, truly good friend suggested that Bill paint the house and do some landscaping. Bill listened. Bill was desperate, maintaining two households was really stretching his wife's' income. The house now showable and with reasonable curb appeal began to attract some buyers. He began to get offers, but they were way below his expectations. You see, most buyers that look at 4 sale by owner homes, are sophisticated. They know the market price and then expect to pay about 8% less because there is no Realtor involved, thus no commission structure. Also they want to recoup there legal expense as well, so they add that in to the deal. Finally after several months of refusing low offers, he had no choice, financial pressures were so demanding that he had to accept an offer for $230,000. Bill scrambled to get the paper work in order and then closed the deal. Dave and Stephanie moved in about a month after Bill joined his wife out of state. One week after Dave and Stephanie moved in the septic backed up and the house was unlivable. Dave, a really nice and knowledgeable guy, looked through the paper work and noticed that the claims on the form 17 showed that the septic was in like new working order. He called an expert to look at the septic and he noted that the system was repaired many times by what appeared to be an inexperience worker. Dave found out that the repair work would cost $12,000. Dave called Bill and explained the situation and asked Bill to split the difference and return $6000. Bill refused immediately. Well, Dave called his lawyer and he told Dave that based on the false information on the form 17 that Bill should pay the entire amount. Dave again called Bill explaining the matter and again asked Bill to accept the $6000 deal. Bill again refused. Dave sued. Within two weeks, not only did Dave have a new septic, but was assessed with over $24,000 in judgment against Bill which also covered Dave's' legal expense. This horror story should never have happened. A Realtor would have priced Bills' home right for the market, advised Bill on the curb appeal needs, gotten a trusted inspector to find the problems and filled out all the forms properly. Bill would have walked away with much more money in his pocket , saved almost two years of double housing cost and joined his wife much sooner. Dave could have saved some aggravation by using a Realtor who would have used a trusted inspector, who most likely would have uncovered the septic problem. The Realtor would have the owner repair the situation or reduce to sale price before the closure of the deal. The cost of a Realtor is not a negative. Their impact is most usually a very positive plus to the outcome of buying or selling your home. Their responsibility is to their clients to see that they get top $ or value depending whether they are the sellers or buyers agent. Story by Debra Paratore http://www.debra4homes.com Real Estate with Real Results contact: Debra phone: 206-300-1903 More Helpful Pages About This Site Build It How To Pages Energy Saving Tips FSBO Web Page 4 Sale By Owner Seasonal Pages E-Mail Debra Buyer Survey Seller Survey Realtors Only Comments Relocation Survey AddURL Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001 Debra Paratore