Smart Fox Homes, a New Jersey based FSBO website was launched today. In the spirit of FSBO rhetorics it promises customers to save on real estate commissions by selling your home on your own. Currently it offers three types of listings with a prices that range from free (two months) to $59.95 (six months).

Timothy O’Connell, Director of Business System Development of Smart Fox Homes was quoted in a press release:

Due to the downturn in the real estate market, many people simply cannot afford to pay a real estate commission and break even, let alone make a profit

It is not that hard to predict that Smart Fox Homes are going to be faced with other well established FSBO websites. The website lacks any tools that may help sellers to determine the value of their homes.

Hopefully as with many other FSBO websites, Smart Fox Homes will also become a good source of future listings to the real estate professionals.

Fizber.com, a real estate website  that provides "for sale by owner" services has recently introduced new feature where a seller can upload an audio file with narrative description of their properties.

From the press release:

“Some sellers are simply more comfortable describing their property verbally than having to compose a well-written description,” says Antony Fizber, CEO. “And with an audio file, the passion they have for the property will be heard by the buyer. It’s several steps up from overused exclamation points – too many sellers do this to show their excitement in a written description, but it tends to turn the reader off. Hearing a real person’s voice can contribute to the appeal of a place, too; it can really serve as the first connective step between buyer and seller.”

About Fizber:

Fizber.com is Miami, FL based for-sale-by-owner website. They offer their services to sellers all over the United States. 

Fizber.com Introduces Home Listing Audio File Upload

If you search at AOL for the terms “realtor, nj” or “fsbo, nj” following adds appear on the top of the search results:

Pay Per Call seams to be gaining in popularity among New Jersey Realtors. In comparison to well known pay per click advertising, which does not suites real estate industry as well as other businesses, pay per call may become much better solution.

One problem that many real estate websites have when it comes to pay per click advertising is that transaction does not happened on the website itself. There are no shopping carts nor thank you pages where you would insert necessary HTML code to keep track on ROI (return on investment). Many people may visit your website but until they actually pick up the phone and call you, these visits can be hardly seen as “leads”. Until such time (likely never) as we will be able to sell or buy real estate property with a click of a button, there will be no certain way to calculate ROI.

By Raynor James

As a FSBO seller, you are responsible for handling all of the aspects of selling your home. So, how do you go about showing the property to interested buyers?

Tips on Showing Your FSBO Property

The huge advantage of selling your property for sale by owner is you save a ton of money on real estate agent commissions. At six percent a pop, the savings literally amount to tens of thousands of dollars. The potential downside is you actually have to do the work. One aspect where this is particularly true is when it comes time to show the property to interested buyers. Here are some tips to help you with the process.

First and foremost, it is important to time the showing. If you have multiple parties showing interest in the home, try to set a single time to show the home. The goal is to have them at the property at the same time. This creates the impression there is a lot of interest in the home. This impression will then motivate the buyers to make offers on your property.

A second tip is not to show your home on your own. As sad as it is, there are cranks and weirdoes out there. Make sure you have at least one other person with you when showing the property. If you need some help with this, mortgage brokers are often willing to come to showing. There goal is to snag one of the potential buyers as a mortgage client. Regardless, it gives you multiple people in the home and cuts down on any risk of something bad happening.

The third tip is to get your marketing brochures together. Buyers rarely look at just one home. You want to give them a brochure so they can remember and visual your home. The brochure should contain all the relevant information about your home including price, square footage, unique aspects, your contact information and pictures, pictures, pictures! Did I mention pictures?

Finally, make sure you have a guest book for potential buyers to sign. Ask for them to sign their names and provide a phone number. This will create a record for you of everyone that saw your home. It will also provide you with phone numbers so you can call them back if necessary.

Showing your home is a critical part of the real estate process. Follow these tips and it should go off without a hitch.

Raynor James is with FSBOAmerica.org – get a free one month listing when you sell FSBO homes for sale by owner.

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By Raynor James

When selling your home for sale by owner, you will be handling your own marketing. This leads us to the issue of what you put in your marketing materials in relation to your home.

The real estate industry is somewhat like the used car industry when it comes to certain areas. Each is known for using terminology that could be considered to perhaps stretch the boundaries a bit. “New paint job” in a car add can often be translated to “new paint job because the car was damaged in an accident.” When it comes to real estate, a unique set of terminology also applies. “Cozy” is often a term interpreted as meaning small. “Very cozy”, of course, means a home that is basically two closets hammered together!

As a FSBO seller, you need to give some thought to the terminology you will use when marketing your property. I am not so much referring to legalities as I am to common sense truth in advertising. It is tempting to list the possibilities of a home despite the fact the property offers no such basis for doing so. Such phrases I often see are things like “potential for view” without mentioning the buyer will need to add two stories to the property to get a sliver of a view! In my opinion, such advertising is a bad approach.

When marketing your property for sale, it is important that you be accurate. Yes, you can use terms that promote the strengths of the property. You should not use terms that are not based on how you use the home. If you have a two bedroom property in which you sleep in one bedroom and your child in the other, language regarding a home office, game room and such is probably misleading unless you have other rooms that specifically are being used for that purpose.

The problem with stretching the boundaries with your marketing has to do with expectations. If a potential buyer reads your ad and thinks it matches what they are after, they expect to see the attributes when they arrive. If they do not, they certainly will not be making an offer. This will lead to negative commentary among buyers regarding you and your home. You should never require a buyer to have a vision of the far reaching possibilities of a home.

As a FSBO seller, being accurate in your marketing materials is critical. Yes, you may get fewer buyers visiting your property, but you will get a better quality of buyer, to wit, a buyer more like to make an offer. At the end of the day, that is the point after all.

Raynor James is with FSBOAmerica.org – real estate articles on selling your own home.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raynor_James