FSBO Tips

A: I haven't discussed much about going at it alone and trying to sell your apartment by yourself, but if you do, here are some tips that I really hope you would follow; especially if you plan on actually selling your apartment.

FSBO Reality: By choosing to sell on your own you are removing the brokerage community from the sales process and ALL THE BUYERS that are working with brokers as well. If there is no incentive for a broker to do a deal with you, then they will NOT disclose your property to them during the buying process.

I would estimate that 75% (3 out of 4 buyers) that are looking to buy NYC real estate are working with a broker one way or another. By eliminating the brokerage community, you are in essence only marketing your property to 25% of the buyer pool for your price point. Needless to say, the less people that know about your property for sale, the longer the sales process and tougher it will be to fetch top dollar.

Lets get right into it:

1. PRICE RIGHT - No rocket science here. Do your research to see what other comparable units are asking for in your building, and what past units have sold for within the last 12 months, and price more aggressively! Remember, you are saving a brokers fee but as a result only marketing your property to 25% or so of the complete buyer pool that is looking to buy in your price point. So, you have to stimulate the most activity/buzz for your property by pricing it aggressively!

2. TAKE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS DURING MOST SUNLIGHT - Gotham Photo Company is a good place to start. I would also advise sending out a email blast to the brokerage community marketing a open house and an incentive for bringing a deal to the table

HINT: Pay for the design work on their end and do a generic template with no specific dates so it will be cheaper to send out future email blasts with no changes to the design!

3. MARKET - definitely list with the NY Times and run weekly ads in Sunday print advertising open houses along with the best selling features of your home. A good ad might look something like this:

301 E 24th St; Apt 12H For Sale By Owner
OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 12-2PM (Banner - 2 Lines)
Tons of light, open layout, 750 sft
S/W exposures, 24HR DRMN, Gym
Roofdeck, Low Monthly's, Brokers Welcome

Also, as I noted before, send a email blast to the brokerage community using Gotham's email services
as long as you decided to offer that 3%, or 2.5% incentive to brokers for bringing a deal to the table! Trust me, you should. More on this below.

You can also put a free listing on sites such as Zillow and Craigslist but I wouldn't expect many high quality leads from either of these well known sites.

4. ASK FRIENDS TO HOLD OPEN HOUSES - Never hold an open house as an owner! This should be the mantra of all for sale by owners. Meeting buyers on your own opens up a situation for biases, poor marketing, and emotions; all of which should be absent during the marketing process. If possible, ask a friend to hold an open house for you and try to take as many personal photos down/away so that when buyers come they do not see any pictures of you and your family. Don't ask, its just better that way. Buyers should focus on the apartment and the best selling features, not your family trip to Negril.

5. OFFER 3% TO BROKERAGE COMMUNITY - Hey, 3% is better than 5% or 6% right. If your going at it alone, its because you dont want to hire a brokerage to professionally market your property. So, it s a money thing. Fine. I understand. But at least offer 3% to the brokerage community either through what is called an OPEN LISTING with a discount brokerage firm (we dont market open listings anymore because we are a full service brokerage) and put a 'BROKERS WELCOME' note in your NY Times ads every week!

Its making the best of the situation given that you decided to sell on your own and try to save a few bucks. Good Luck!

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