I’m not a novice, Folks. I’ve sold stuff before. Ask anyone and they will tell you that I am “The Queen” of yard sales and thrift stores. However, I will tell you that selling a house without benefit of a Realtor is a horrible way to spend a day (in a pile of crappy days, weeks and months until the property is eventually sold!). Trust me on this one.
“No worries, it’s easy. Even you can do it!” everyone said. “Think about all the money you will save!”. We did the research, but in truth, we really had no choice. If I had known then what I know now, I would never be part of a FSBO (for sale by owner). It is just not for me. I like my peace and quiet and flexible schedule throughout the day. I have three calendars strategically placed around the house and on my person (my phone, my purse) to remind me of important meetings and appointments. FSBO may work for some, but it is way too much work, too much of an inconvenience for our lifestyle and personalities. 
First comes the painful decision to sell, then the appraisal, then the advertisements and brochures. The telephone calls begin in earnest shortly thereafter, usually in the early hours of the morning, mealtimes, or most often when you are headed to the bathroom.
(actual telephone call)
“Saw your ad in the paper. Tell me about the place.”
“Sure. Were you able to see the thirty color pictures taken from every possible angle with clear explanations in the write-up? How about the FAQ of every aspect of sale that might be a factor in your decision to purchase.”
“Yes, and they were very helpful, but I wanna know what your final price is.”
“The price in the advertisement is the final price, recently reduced ten thousand dollars.”
“Yeah, okay so it’s non-negotiable, I get it. Can I come see it? I get off work every third Wednesday between 2pm until midnight. Will I be able to come see it then?”
“Of course. We’d be happy to make arrangements show you around at your convenience. When would you like to come?”
“Well, I don’t have a car , so I have to check with my friend to see when he is available. I’ll call you back after I get a hold of him. Would you consider a trade, “pink slip for pink slip” or maybe a payment plan?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to offer individual financing, either.”
“Okay, I understand. Fair enough. It also says here that everybody goes through a security and credit check. Isn’t that discriminatory?”
“It is the rule of the RV Park, not our rule. We own the house but are leasing the land from the park. This is a standard procedure for most property transactions these days, I’m told.”
(Click. End of call.) A Realtor fields all these kinds of calls as part of their service. That alone makes them well worth whatever commission they get in the final sale!
The telephone never stops ringing. The constant stream of people is amazing to me. Most are “looky-loos” (those who just want to see the inside of your home with no intention of buying), and buyer “wannabes”, those that seriously want to buy, but are looking for a 95% reduction sale just for them schlepping through the house at all hours to disrupt even the most flexible of schedules. Doctor’s appointments were cancelled at a moments notice. Long-standing arrangements were changed when a serious buyer showed up on the doorstep. Personally, I look like a shaggy dog—not because of the stress, but because I have not been able to make or keep a hair appointment in months! The real rub? The house must be “consistently clean and inviting” because you never know when the doorbell will ring (people often “forget to call” for an appointment). That much cleaning isn’t naturnal.
So much for truth in commerce, eh? We should have rented a motel room weeks ago.
I’m not talking about a mansion or even a small family house. Six years ago we fell into a sweet deal on a “tiny home” called a Park Model, strategically placed in a quiet RV Park with a two-million dollar view of the ocean. We are not rich people, so believe me when I say this 500 sq. ft. “sandcastle” was a miracle, a dream come true. Although the Park is about a five hour drive from our mortar and brick residence in the middle of the state, we crossed the mountains as often we could breakaway to spend time at our “little slice of heaven”.
We became “beach people”, and seriously committed ourselves to this wonderful coastal community. I wrote four of my books here. We entertained family and friends that came to visit. I recuperated from surgery, took university classes, and canned tuna, made crafts and “whale watched” from my tiny seaside abode. Fun was had, relationships forged and memories were made, but it became clear that it was time to move on. Hubby and I both knew it.
Our children and grandchildren used to love to travel across the United States to see Grammy and Pappy at our wonderful little beach home. However, the current steep rise in airline transportation put a definite curb in their ability to spend long, comfortable summer months with us. Even more irritating, sometime in the passing years the grandchildren had the nerve to grow up and get a life of their own! Baseball, swim team, gymnastics and friends gobble up their school vacations, and we realize it will only get worse as they enter High School. For the record, we never gave our permission for this to happen, nor were their inconsiderate parents on the ball to make sure it didn’t (they certainly were raised better than that!). In a way, it’s all their fault, don’t you think?
From the time of the first listing to the actual sale it has taken over six months. We’ve met the strangest potential buyers (fodder for another blog) and also the nicest people on the face of the earth during this entire process. My already gray hair is even grayer than it was before, but we have learned a lot about selling a house, specifically about FSBO, but most importantly about ourselves. We aren’t running away from the coast but are running toward our grandchildren and a new, exciting chapter of our lives.
Oh, yeah, and God Bless Realtors!
The lovely family that bought the Sandcastle has a permanent residence only two hours away with no mountains to cross. They will most certainly have as much fun and create as many wonderful, lasting memories as we did.
Who knows, perhaps we read the situation wrong, and our kids and grandkids miss the summers at the beach as much as we miss them. In any event, the deal is done and final. In my heart I know we will be back here sooner than our neighbors think. Bad pennies like us always seem to turn up!
Perhaps we would not have sold the Sandcastle at all if (a) the grandchildren lived closer and (b) we had the means to visit them as often as we like, regardless of how it all came to be. Selling a “luxury” for a fundamental need (to be with loved ones) is not a real hardship by any means. The bottom line is if the mountain can’t come to Muhammad, Muhammad MUST go to the mountain! The open road is calling us, and we are on the move once again!
It’s a common sense solution to our “empty arms” situation, don’t you think? As for the final word on the FSBO, all I can say is we are alive to tell the story.