Customer Reviews

Sell It By Owner & Save

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was an extremely valuable resource and answered all of our FSBO questions. This was our first home sale, so we were a bit apprehensive about how the entire process would work. As it turned out, it was much easier than we could have imagined.

We live in a relatively active area, so we decided not to spend any money on advertising and instead feed off of the other listed properties within our neighborhood. We did put a nicer-than-usual FSBO sign in the yard with an attractive flyer box crafted from a small apartment-style mailbox. We received two strong offers the second week and had a signed contract for 98% of our sale price 19 days after we put the sign out. Since we negotiated a 2.5% commission with the buyer's agent, we saved almost exactly $10,000 over the 7% requested by each full-service agent we interviewed.

Speaking of agents, one of the best parts of this book is the section detailing the tactics that agents will use to try to encourage you to list your home with them. The first four calls/visits we received after putting our home on the market were from agents, and Michael's book did a great job of preparing me in advance to handle those conversations.

Michael's point that 'presentation is everything' will be key to your success. We had our house recarpeted and repainted prior to showing the home. We even rented a storage unit to move some of the 'clutter' out of the house prior to showing. It paid off for us, and if you follow the author's guidance, it will pay off for you too!

PS - Two other homes in our neighborhood are the exact same floor plan as ours, and both were listed by agents with 7 days of our own home going on the market. Our home has been under contract for 30 days, both of those homes are still on the market. Don't let agents discourage you - FSBO really works!

Seldom does one find in self-help books the kind of frank, insightful advice that one does in Michael Kloian's book.

Not only did I find the information accurate and reliable but also totally consistent with my experiences in real estate for over 20 years. But it is also an entertaining book, one written with a sense of humor and compassion by someone who has a genuine concern for the average homeowner with little experience.

It is written without pretense and in a style that is eminently readable. I found particularly insightful and revealing many of the inside tips that only someone with the author's long experience in working with both buyers and sellers could possibly know, and yet be willing to share.

A cursory glance at the table of contents alone will illustrate to anyone the depth and breath of the author's sweep of all the salient issues attendant to the task of selling or in fact even buying a home.

I found nothing overlooked and must even say that the frank discussion of unforeseen problems was both important and necessary for the unwary homeowner to read.

His advice on when and how to engage professionals in the process will save homeowners a great deal of money while at the same time provide them with the requisite tools to act responsibly and professionally in all their transactions.

It is a pungent and strikingly honest book and one that deserves high praise.

I heartily recommend the book to anyone interested in either buying or selling their own home. It was a pleasure to read and confirmed all that I myself have learned in my many years in the business.

- A reader in San Francisco.

I thought the book was very useful. The only down side is there was no informatioon on using the flat fee service for listing a home. Definitely by a real estate agent as they don't want you to use that method. Did it anyway and it worked fine. The book was good for making sure everything else was in order. Helped reduce the stress of selling for the first time and by doing it without an agent.

I recently bought several books in preparation for selling our own home - otherwise known as "for sale by owner" or FSBO (pronounced "fizzbow"). While each book had some useful information, by far the most informative was written by a broker named Michael M. Kloian. This book gives insights into the marketing strategies used by realtors and has practical advice on handling most of the situations arising when dealing with potential home-buyers as well as realtors. The book is easy to understand, has a detailed table of contents (next edition will also have an index), and comes with access to a variety of useful "e-forms" that can be downloaded to your computer.

Sell It By Owner & Save is a practical, straightforward guide to selling a home without a broker. Accessibly written by a professional broker in down-to-earth, layman's language, Sell It By Owner & Save covers each step of the sale in clear detail. Sell It By Owner & Save is a superbly presented "how to" primer for anyone who is considering selling their home, whether they want to enlist the aid of a broker or not!

This was HIGHLY INFORMATIVE. It really helped the most! I recommend reading it in it's entirety. If not, you will miss out on much needed tips. However as a FSBO, to really get more online marketing exposure for your home, you need a flat-fee MLS service. With that and this book, I am sure you can be sold soon and without paying an agent a full 6% commission.

I have to say, I have had so much benefit from this
book. Not only is it easy to read but very practical.
We live in Pittsburgh we started selling our house
less than a month ago. After our first open house we
got a great offer. I think the forms that you get with
the book, think of everything. This really puts our
minds at ease during this important time in our lives.

R. Bhattacharya Pittsburgh PA

I'm hoping to sell my condo myself next month and bought this book in preparation; I'm about 3/4 of the way through, and am feeling much more comfortable with the idea of selling my house myself, and have a better idea of what to expect - when showing, when negotiating, etc. Definitely a helpful book!

I was clueless about how to proceed in selling my home myself, but this book has provided me with all of the information I need. It is an honest assessment of how to sell your own home and is easy to read in and organized format, which will make it easy for future reference.

We sold our home by owner in a very slow real estate market this summer with the help and advice found in this book. Five other homes in our neighborhood were listed with agents during the same time, and ours is the only home that has sold to date! We negotiated the sale and closed within 30 days of the offer. We highly recommend this book to current and prospective FSBOs.