How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days: Second Edition (Paperback)

~ Bill G. Effros (Author)
Key Phrases: bidding sheet, buyer pool, real buyers, Quick Description, Detailed Description, Sample Materials (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Homeowners who are determined to sell their houses without agents, but who have no time to waste, may want to try the unusual approach detailed in How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days. After many months of failing to sell his house through an agent, author Bill Effros quickly and successfully auctioned it off. He since has sold several houses that way and helped others do the same. This involves placing Wednesday newspaper ads announcing that the home will be shown on the weekend and sold to the highest bidder on Sunday night. Daring as this sounds, Effros has a technique for handling the round robin bidding to elicit a bona fide offer at fair market value. Not for everyone, maybe, but a fascinating lesson in the mechanics and psychology of making an efficient market for a house or anything else. --Barry Mitzman

Product Description

Based on the one basic truth of free enterprise--that your home is worth exactly what the highest bidder will pay for it--this book will enable every seller to make more money in less time with no risk. The step-by-step plan shows exactly how to price your home, write an effective ad, use buyer psychology, and conduct round-robin bidding. But now in the second edition are: more in-depth descriptions of different types of buyers; additional steps to take to prepare a home for sale; a new "What If" trouble-shooting guide; detailed instructions for conducting an open house; a new chapter on closing sales; a new chapter for buyers bidding on 5-day sales; a chapter debunking home-selling myths, such as why the season doesn't matter; and an updated chapter on transferring ownership.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; 2nd edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761109609
• ISBN-13: 978-0761109600
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #182,835 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Method works with a little updating, July 6, 2006

By	Eric A. Huang - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I sold my San Francisco condo using this method at market price.
I netted $30-$40k more than if I were to have sold it using the conventional method paying a 5-6% broker commision. Here are the updates I would suggest:

1. use a website service - George Cappony's 5-daysale.com does a great job. The website service should include a way to track the number of hits.
2. If you use a website, expect fewer calls (most people I talked to said they got 5-10). The website does the work for you, and you don't have to be at home to answer calls.
3. Use a minimum undisclosed reserve price to protect yourself. This should be what you think is market price minus the 6% commission you would normally pay. Then make the listing price REALLY low. If people don't say your price is ridiculous, then drop it even more.
4. Place your newspaper ad for 8 days instead of 5 days. Most people only read the Sunday paper, so if you start the previous Sunday, you will get maximum marketing exposure.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Sold My House in Five Days, July 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days (Paperback)

It isn't every day that a book can save your hide, or change your life, but William G. Effros' "How to Sell Your Home in Five Days" did both for me. My wife and I owned a home in Maine. We needed to move to Massachusetts for work and were unemployed. Our house had been on the market for NINE MONTHS with brokers and no real offers. After reading the book, we followed the directions to the letter, and did what our lawyer said was impossible: Sold our house, and at a fair-market price. After the sale the lawyer could not believe how well the it had worked, and the price we got for our house. He graciously admitted that he had been wrong, and said that he had never seen anything like it. We must be geniuses. I told him to read the book. IT WORKS!!! If anyone has any question about how to do it you can call me (Tim Hunter) at [phone] or [e-mail]

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original, unique, interesting and profitable, November 17, 1999

By	Real Estate Investor (USA) - See all my reviews

We bought and read the Effros book, it is unique. I have read probably 200 real estate books and his 5 day method is different and effective. You have to get over the mental block of starting off low in your asking price. We modified the technique to serve our purposes. We employed a MAI (Member of Appraisal Institute) appraisal done on the property. After physically preparing the house by painting, cleaning, and some new flooring, ads were placed in the newspaper. We received offers above asking price and settled within 30 days. Everybody was happy. We have William Effros to thank for the unique idea, and ispiration of his book for our quick sale above asking price. Thank you, sir.