Fabrics rarely look good in RE photos. Remove all towels from bathrooms and kitchens unless they are neatly rolled and are in a cute basket. Hung towels never look good in photos. 
Ditto dust ruffles from beds. If there are drapes, make sure they are pulled to the sides as much as possible or better yet remove them. No valances of any kind.
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I agree with this. Seeing towels hung - sounds dumb - but feels too personal to me! Open all the curtains! Less fabric distraction is good!
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I’ve sold and bought every property I’ve owned or sold FSBO. The attorney is crucial and hope he or she is a good communicator, as I certainly needed him with the last sale just to keep me organized regarding a few details. I did get a market appraisal prior to sale from an agent, who opened my eyes to certain pricing details that I was not aware of. In my high property tax state, I was aware of negotiating a few items to be done post sale, to keep actual purchase price lower for the sake of my neighbors future assessments.
Yes on opening all window coverings. I bought my current place, which was shown with all shades down and grey walls. Depressing, but had everything I wanted otherwise, so figured I’d live with it. When I opened all those heavy shades after closing, I finally realized the house was beautiful and filled with light.
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Thank you all so much for these nuanced, helpful thoughts!! Much appreciated.
My parents’ house is in a cute town, commutable to a big city, in an award-winning school district. The house is completely cleared out (zero furniture except some new items we got for staging - on the advice of a designer) completely refinished/painted walls, dark stained floors, and in the process (trying to sprint to get this done!) of doing cosmetic work so kitchen is standard white cabinets, quartz or granite counter, stainless appliances.
I’ve been watching the market on realtor.com & zillow and know the price of every house sold in the town for 2 years! Realtors have told me there is limited inventory and I’ve seen most houses sell within days (or weeks) of listing. I so agree about the professional photos - every house I’ve seen sold at the higher range in this town (sometimes $75k above similar houses!) has had beautiful staging and gorgeous photos. I contacted the designer and photographer who did that work and am using both.
Based on what you all said I’m going to look around for a more enthusiastic and engaged real estate attorney. The ones I’ve talked to have been less that appealing - one insisted my best bet was to get a realtor (um, avoidance of that is why I’m calling you?), the other said “I’ve done some real estate but I have a collegue who knows it well whom I’ll consult with” (uh, no).
Again - appreciate the encouragement. Getting this sale done successfully and with the most $ possible is my big priority in the next two/three months! Thanks again!
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I’m eager to watch how you do! Please post the entire process – I’m sure many of us would like to follow in your footsteps.
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Experienced real estate closing attorneys rely on realtors for their living. FSBO sellers are asking such attorneys to offend their main clients.
Reminds me of a message that I try to communicate to my dogs: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
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J-s, I’m so impressed, especially as you tracked down the photographer etc.
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If the house is empty, stage it for your photos and showings.
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Thank you again for the encouragement! It might be a bit longer than 2-3 months - but I’m motivated to make it work! I’ll share how this whole realtor/attorney thing works out and fingers crossed on the rest!
Publisher - I thought that also (realtors feed real estate attorneys their work, etc.) - but in the area I’m in, apparently it’s rare to use a realtor + attorney (one or the other). But this attny might do behind the scenes work for the realtor on issues rather than join forces on singular deals. Regardless - thanks but no thanks 
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I certainly do.
Most, if not nearly every single FSBO that I’ve ever looked in my life, are poorly marketed, mis-priced, not in good shape (putting that mildly) and the sellers are clueless about real estate agreements and disclosures, title, escrow, etc.
I’d rather not deal with them at all. I ignore them. They’re just headaches.
I hear you, sushiritto. I’m sure there are buyers who won’t care for a FSBO. As is, people have (over the past few years) stopped me on the street, given me their cousin’s/friend’s/brother’s number asking me to call to possibly sell to them before house goes on the market.
So I don’t need everyone to like it 
- just a few!
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Absolutely! I wish you the best of luck. My experience has been here in CA, which is a different animal than most states.
There are always exceptions. 
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BTW, here in CA, there are a few sales that are handled privately (no brokers) and the sales price can be hidden from public record. The rich and famous tend to navigate that process to hide the sale from the public and paparazzi. So, services like Zillow and the MLS will not have those sales. No idea about other states.
You expect buyers to favor realtor deals because they get the benefit of the order they bring but aren’t paying for it. To get buyers to move from that you need to provide a benefit for doing so. Lower price should be the best way to get there but buyers need to actually see that (often times difficult to know in a real estate deal).
More people know that you can negotiate commissions with realtors. But fewer know you can do so after you sign a deal with them and before the sale closes. Realtors will often give up part of their commission if it gets a deal done (and they don’t have to go through the process again).
Its an odd structure in terms of commissions. Under old time structure, highest commission is earned on first $100k of sales price. You can sell a house that is worth north of $200k for $100k without even trying. And once an offer comes in thats below asking price, it becomes 3 against 1. Buyer wants the lower price. Agents want the deal to close and their commission typically isn’t increasing much if selling price increases a little. Its just the seller who gets 95% or so of the increase that often times cares. As seller I would be happy to pay 50% of a certain range to provide incentives for agents to increase sales price. We do better when our clients do better approach for investment brokers. Not structed that way though for real estate.
Yes, I’ve noticed that FSBO sellers are very unrealistic on asking price and other terms. They see someone down the street sold for X and they think they can get same price, ignoring the fact that it was 2 years ago in up market and their house is in poor condition. And, they are way too emotionally attached to be reasonable about anything.
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Again, my experience is limited to CA, and this is a generalization based on that experience, but sellers of FSBO’s don’t always understand the market and the “undulations” or fluctuations of seasons and the economy as well as the obvious and subtle differences between Home X and Home Y.
Also, sales from two years ago are meaningless in this market. Even 6-month old sales aren’t meaningful in a brisk market. And often what they’ve enjoyed as decorations and furniture, er clutter, over the past 10-20-30 years is NOT helpful in today’s market.
A common fear among buyers is that FSBO sellers will be too emotional about all aspects of a real estate proposal / transaction.
Professional real estate agents act as a buffer between the emotions of buyers & sellers.
Professional real estate agents can inject a dose of reality in to the negotiating & sales process.
Plus, experienced real estate agents are more prepared to deal with any unexpected developments which may arise during the course of the sales process.
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The problem is finding a good one. There’s an old myth in the real estate industry that I’ve heard many times over the years. That is that “10% of the real estate agents do 90% of the business.”
I don’t know what the true %'s are, maybe it’s 20/80, 30/70 or 5/95, but I believe the axiom to be true. A majority of real estate agents aren’t very good. Again, a generalization based upon my experiences here in CA.
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I don’t disagree with the downside of FSBOs in many instances.
In this case I watch the sales in my parents’ neighborhood weekly and look carefully at the multiple, nuanced factors that are similar/different from my parents’ home (kitchen style & condition/yard size, square footage/etc. etc.). I’ve had a realtor walk through (he offered!) and tell me what he’d price it as. I am not emotionally attached (any more - the house has been completely revamped from my childhood home).
I have a number of real estate attorney friends who’ve told me about the realtor role in residential sales - it’s one sweet percentage gig, while the attorney often gets a (minimal) flat fee. My hope is I can learn enough, consult with others enough, to make it do-able myself (w/attorney).
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In my area, there is no stigma to FSBO- inventory is so tight, buyers will look at anything, and a few houses on my block have sold after getting a “Dear Homeowner, we love your house!” letter. No realtor, just a lawyer once everyone has done the handshake.
It helps that you aren’t emotionally attached to the house-- dollars, cents, leaky roof. No room for sentimentality!
Good Luck!!!
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