Homeowners try to sell their own homes

Many people are struggling to sell their homes.  Houses are sitting on the market for months and months.  Owners are having to drop their prices.  That has more homeowners trying to sell their homes themselves to save the cost of paying a realtor’s commission.

Mike Babinicz looks and sounds like a real estate agent as he shows off the features of his house.  But he’s not.  He’s selling his own house.

Babinicz listed his Simpsonville home through a website called Greater Greenville For Sale By Owner, or http://www.ggfsbo.com.  “We’ve gotten a lot of calls.“

GGFSBO’s founder Eric Stegall says they’re seeing a growing interest in homeowners wanting to sell their own homes.  Said Stegall, “We get on average, I’d say, maybe 20 to 30 listings a month.“

In this tough market, homeowners who’ve already had to drop their price, are looking to avoid the up to 6% realtor commissions.  Said Stegall, “On a home that’s $100,000 that’s $6000.  That person may not have the equity in the home to lose that kind of money.“

You can list a home on ggfsbo.com with pictures and a description for $149 dollars for a year, and they’ll give you the contracts you need.  Said Stegall, “If you get to the point where you have some legal questions, it’s a good idea to call a real estate attorney.“

Stegall says more than 500 homes on his site have sold in the last couple of years.  Said Stegall, “On an average of 90 days.  Some houses sit on the market longer, but they would with a real estate agent regardless.“

Babinacz has already sold one home himself.  He says it’s more work to show homes to prospective buyers himself, but worth it.  Said Babinicz, “The biggest advantage would probably be the savings, savings, savings.“

You can find other websites that help homeowners sell homes by searching “for sale by owner” on any search engine.