Customer Reviews

How to Sell Your Own Home: The Practical Homeowner's Guide to Selling by Owner

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I publish a FSBO Magazine and have read MANY books on "how to" but this one, by far, is the best. It's well organized and easy to understand for people who want to avoid paying real estate commissions. Dr. Supple has done a superb job of taking buyers and sellers right through to the closing.

This book is the only one like it I have ever seen on the market. The information is well-organized, useful and not intimidating. The author - who publishes a for sale by owner real estate magazine - has direct experience with thousands of private homesellers like me! The best chapters are those that deal with Pricing the house, how to show the house and interact with buyers and how to hammer out the deal so that everyone is happy.

I've read other books by disgruntled real estate agents that want to "get back" at their profession by writing a for sale by owner book...they all stink. They fail to understand that real estate agents ONLY deal with those that fail in selling by owner.

Stay with Supple, his advice is unique and proven. You can see the real life examples of those that have successfully sold from his advice at the web site for his Vermont magazine ...

Robert Larsen
Needham MA

I want to sell my home by myself. Dr. Supple seems to say that a real estate lawyer is a necessity, but I know people who haven't used one. Probably they are well worth it, but real estate agents don't contract with them. The point up to the marketing plan, advertising, preparation, appraising, etc. is well written, but the section after the offer is made, which includes signing a sales contract, buyers getting financing, etc. lacked details. I would have liked a matrix of necessary paperwork (i.e. Warranty Deed, Settlement Statement or Property Tax Pro-rating), who prepares it, when it is prepared, who pays for it, and if the cost can be settled closing. The long prose sections are good for detailed explanations, but I know what each of the documents is. I just need to know who takes care of them (prepping, signing, sealing). My review title refers to the fact that Supple seems to need to keep convincing people who have already decided to sell by owner. I bought the book based on the previous reviews, and gave this book 3 stars as a way to balance the somewhat overly positive praise.

I made the mistake of buying a couple of books in the bookstore written by "experts" that were real estate agents. Fortunately I found Supple's book here and followed its advice. Those books that are written by agents are full of incorrect and counter-productive info. Supple's book is useful because it is based on tried and true results from his FSBO magazine business.

This book took me step-by-step through selling a home and was there with me at the closing...just so I knew what I was doing.

A great book, everyone should get it

This book is the only book that truly helps someone selling their own home. It's written by the publisher of a for sale by owner real estate magazine and the information comes from actual people selling their own homes. Most other books of similar title are written by ex-realtors and their experience with FSBOs is limited or only with those FSBOs that have failed! This book teaches you all the steps. Deciding is selling by owner is for you; pricing your house; fix-ups; advertising & marketing; negociation; dealing with real estate agents. I recommend this book because I read it, following its advice and sold my house. I saved over $20,000 in real estate fees by selling on my own.

"How To Sell Your Own Home" is a teaching book, full of practical examples and expert advice. It's both easy to read and comprehensive, the result of the author's extensive experience in the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) business.

The book serves as your coach and advisor, taking you step by step, from your initial decision to sell your own property, through the closing. Not only can you save the commission you won't have to pay a real estate agent, this book can help you get more for your home and get a better value from your marketing efforts.

Can you tell I liked it? I read it twice, cover to cover, and highlighted about a third of it. I bet the lessons it taught me saved me 100 times the cover price.

If you are thinking about selling your own home or you are already in the process, buy this book, read it, and heed the author's advice!

Written by a FSBO publisher - this book is the best available. The author has personally helped thousands of private homesellers through his FSBO magazine Picket Fence Preview. I found the book a great first step to learn about the process of selling by owner. And then the book was a roadmap for me when I was actually selling.
The information in this book saved me around $24,000. The forms were extremely helpful too!

This book is readable and nicely planned out, but it may oversimplify selling by owner. It reads like a Tony Robbins/Up With People/Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney let's-put-on-a-show MGM musical. I wanted an MLS listing to help with advertising but the flat fee listers don't do it in every state. This book makes it sound like there are many advertising avenues available to FSBO listings (without being very specific), but I couldn't find any in my state, and the Internet listings aren't much good in areas where many people don't have computers. (Yes, there are such places even in 2004.) Plus, the FSBO sites I found were connected with flat fee listers, so prospective buyers aren't necessarily going to find them. I had to give up and list with a realtor. If you want the book for general information and/or you live in a state with a hot real estate market, it isn't bad, but don't expect selling to be as easy as the book makes it sound.

I used this book to sell my home myself and it worked like a charm.

I got the book because I saw a story about it in Business Week and Smart Money Magazine. They recommended I get the book before I put the house on the market so that I would make any mistakes I'd regret later.
They were right! I sold the house in about 3 weeks following the advice in the book and I saved about... When I tried to calculate the return on my investment from this book my calculator short-circuited because the return was so great!

Great book! Only negative remark I have is the fact that I bought this book based on the understanding (as advertised on Amazon) that an e-mail address would be provided to obtain all the documents covered. However, I have yet to discover this "secret" e-mail address!