Homeowners opting to go it alone

When Heidi Owen decided to sell her east side Iowa City home, she wanted to do it by herself.

Why?

"Because we wanted to save those realtor fees," Owen said.

For about a month, Owen's 1828 Seventh Avenue Court home has been listed on fsbo-iowa.com., one of several Internet sites that have popped up to show For Sale By Owner listings. Instead of hiring a real estate agent, Owen and thousands of FSBOers nationwide handle calls, schedule open houses and show the houses themselves.

Like Owen, most interviewed said they chose the FSBO route to save realtor fees. Though realtor commissions are negotiable, selling a $200,000 home with an agent charging the typical 6 percent commission would cost the homeowner $12,000.

Since 1997, forsalebyowner.com has helped sell more than 90,000 homes across the nation, saving homeowners more than $1 billion in realtor commission fees, according to its Web site. Another popular Web site, fsbolocal.com., started in 2001.

However, some local realtors say FSBO Web sites don't offer as much exposure as people might think. Selling homes, they say, is best left to licensed professionals who market, advertise and show homes for a living.

"There's no advantage to listing on a Web site that people don't even know about unless they drive past your house, see a sign, write down the Web site and search it," said Tracy Barkalow, owner of RE/MAX Premier Properties in Coralville. "Buyers also should be cautious because a For Sale By Owner doesn't have to abide by the same rules or ethics that we do as agents either."

Since it launched in February 2006, fsbo-iowa.com has helped sell 18 of the 61 homes, condos and other properties that have been listed on the site, said Heather Widmayer, the site's creator. Widmayer, of Iowa City, said she wanted to provide a way for people to see a collection of For Sale By Owner homes in one spot.

For a fee, a seller gets an online advertisement, a customized aluminum yard sign, directional signs and an information tube. Widmayer said certainly there's more work involved in selling a house on your own. A seller must be available to answer questions about the house and schedule showings.

"If an owner is willing to take on that responsibility, then they're very willing to give it a try," she said.

Using fsbo-iowa.com, Debra Ely said her 2 Glendale Court home sold in about month and for more than the asking price. All told, Ely said about 50 people looked at the house.

"It took a little more work but it was well worth it," Ely said. "We were very pleased. In today's market, we figured that was pretty good."

However, the FSBO route doesn't always work. Kay Shie tried to sell her 1502 Hollywood Blvd. house by herself for about a month and only received one phone call. She eventually hired a real estate agent.

"I think we just weren't able to market it like a realtor can," she said. "They have open houses, and they can spread the word a lot quicker than we can."

Lou Ann Lathrop, a broker at Iowa Realty's Coralville office, said marketing a house is more expensive that most people think. Newspaper listings and Web site advertisements can add up to a lot of money, she said.

In addition, Lathrop said real estate agents prepare all the documents associated with selling and buying a house and also act as a "go between" for the buyer and seller.

"Within that commission, we do lots of different things," Lathrop said.

Lathrop said FSBOs always have been popular in the Iowa City area. One of biggest differences now is people now can use an FSBO Web site as opposed to simply buying a "For Sale By Owner" sign from the hardware store.

"It's a university town, it's an educated community and people feel confident that they can do that and they can." Lathrop said. "I don't have any problems with For Sale By Owner."

Reach Mike McWilliams at 339-7360 or mmcwilliams@press-citizen.com.