As the South Florida real estate market changes, and selling 'For Sale By Owner' (FSBO) is becoming more difficult as pricing is more critical now than ever, i'm getting more and more calls for private apprasials. During the boom in the South Florida Market in 2004 / 2005, it was much easier to price over the last sale and consider it sold.
In today's market, feel free to call Nick the Appraiser if this is your situation and are considering selling FSBO. An appraisal will give you a realistic idea of what your house is worth in today's market and give you an idea of what are the major factors that influence the value of your home. We will estimate the current market value of your home so you can decide what to price your home at depending on your individual needs (like timeframe to sell or other motivating factors that will influence your salesprice). You can also use it as a bargaining tool when people are uneasy or question the asking price of your home.
As a Realtor® in Palm Beach, I can can give you some tips and advice on selling. Ideas about how to prepare your home, some typical "Do's" and "Don'ts" and what are some things to expect from buyers in this market.
I wonder how many other appraisers are getting more private appraisals these days? Appraisers, is this happening in your market also?
Nick... this post makes a ton of sense to me. The FSBO certainly needs this kind of assistance. I would think the FSBO market is hard to get to, however. Do you have a strategy to get this message out besides AR? I'm just curious.
My office is getting some of this work. However, I think it is limited because of the fee that the homeowner has to bear. At least this is the case in my market. Coupled with the fact that if people don't have to sell; they don't want to know because they are aware (due to media) of the oversupply situation! I too would like to know what your marketing strategy is!
P.S. I have had a couple of calls from banks, who are concerned about their loan-to-value ratios for some commercial properties, especially.
I work with an Appraiser that does FSBO seminars for sellers. For those sellers that take his seminar, he offers appraisals to which I get his overflow. Due to this, I definately do my share of FSBO appraisals. I like them. They're challenging and provide proof at the end of whether my figures were correct. I've always wanted to attend one of his seminars, but have yet to do so.
A few weeks ago, I received two random request from FSBO sellers who got my name from (?) .... probably AR (yeah AR!) - Neither of these properties have sold yet according to tax records. It seems strange to me that one of them has their property listed at $30k above what I appraised it for.
I wonder what percentage of FSBOs turn over to agents before their sold. I don't think home owners realize how tough it is to sell their own home until they try it (kind of like when I try to bag my own groceries at the store... can't be that hard, right... oh wait, why did I put the eggs on the bottom... again?).
Hi Robert, don't worry, i can always walk to the other side and push it back up! :))
Fran, you guessed it.. but actually, I am Spiderman. How do you think i measure the houses so well? I can do the second story from the outside!!
Hi Jeff. As far as approaching FSBO's, i used to have a letter that i would send out to FSBO's as Realtors(R) do, but got no response. probably didn't do it long enough, but i never pass the chance at an open house, and got a few reports like that. Seems like the whole 'relationship' once again comes into play. If the meet me, they are more likely to use my service. A letter just doesn't seem to do it. No real strategy besides placing in the engines so they can find me (as fas as FSBOs).
I like the idea that Sara mentions in her comment, working with a home seller seminar. Although my Realtor(r) side would want to take over, since it would be more profitable to sell one home than to appraise all the attendees homes.
HI Elaine :) , I know the fee hurts many, so i think the more motivated sellers are the ones approaching us, since it can literally save them thousands of dollars, and lots of time and frustration. It gives the serious seller a good idea of where they stand and if they have enough equity to sell with an agent or not, etc. Some folks actually have people willing to make an offer, but they don't want to accept them until they know their value, so they don't get undercut. I use a couple strategies for marketing, but you'll only hear about the typical phone calls and handing out brochures here. :)) want to tell me your secrets? ;)
Sara, sounds like a great idea. FSBO appraisals are a good thing. Its appraising in its purest form :)) or something like that. Curious about your situation, does the work come from the FSBO immediately (i.e. before they put the house on the market?) So why haven't you attended one? hhhmmm?
In the cases that I've worked with, the owner usually hires the appraiser before it goes on the market. I can only think of two instances where the house was on the market before I inspected it... In both cases they had been on the market longer than the normal exposure time (which is normal for a FSBO as exposure is lessened by lack of mls) however, also in both cases the appraisal came in lower than current asking price.
Ummm... yes - Maybe I'll sign up for one of his classes ... oh but wait... it's the 'sunny' season here - You don't understand how valuable every ray is to us! I can't be trapped in a windowless room right now :-)
I think the best folks to market toward are the reps for the fsbo sites in your immediate area. They assist the seller more than I once realized.
I have 3 appraisers that I love to do business with - each specialize in different areas. I pass on their information to anyone and everyone - especially FSBO's that I meet.
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In today's market, feel free to call 
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