House Selling for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: Not one of Eric Tyson's better efforts
Review: As an investment professional and self-confessed do-it-yourselfer, I am a great fan of Eric Tyson's "Personal Finance for Dummies" and "Mutual Funds for Dummies" which empower people to manage their own finances better. It was therefore very disappointing for me to read this book and "Home Buying for Dummies", only to find that the authors (maybe through Ray Brown's influence)pound away relentlessly at the notion that the reader REALLY should hire a real estate agent rather than doing it themself. The authors clearly have a much higher opinion of real estate brokers and agents than I do.

Anyone looking for a reference on how to figure out the finances of buying and selling homes and how to effectively choose and use a real estate agent will likely find these books useful.

Unfortunately, the "do-it-yourself" crowd needs to look elsewhere or hope for a major revision.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of good advice
Review: I wish I had read this book BEFORE hiring an agent, it would have saved me a lot of grief and maybe some cash. Don't think that this book is just for people selling a house themselves -- there is a lot for those who choose to work with an agent. If you go into the selling process without knowledge, you're largely at the mercy of someone who interests don't overlap yours in every way. This is the most important financial transaction of most people's lives, self-education is the best way to prevent stress and getting burned.

The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is the relative lack of information about how to leave your house -- what is expected of the seller in terms of patching walls, cleaning etc.

Rating:
Summary: Positively insightful!
Review: I've read a couple of Dummies books. Some were not very helpful. But this one was superb! Honestly, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about selling my house before I read the book. But, when I read the book, I realized there were LOTS of things I had never even considered. Details about how to clean the house before you sell. Techniques for getting top dollar from my house. Even some humbling advice (like, sell based on the market, not on your need).

If you're going to sell a house, and especially if you're going to sell FSBO, you have to read this book. It's worth the investment in time and money.

Rating:
Summary: Need to sell your house...quickly? Don't stress!
Review: If you're faced with the daunting task of trying to sell your house, but don't know where to start-don't worry! With "House Selling For Dummies™", by personal finance expert Eric Tyson and real estate veteran Ray Brown, you'll have access to the most up-to-date information, as well as tips and techniques for preparing you and your house for the sale, finding the right buyer and getting it sold.

By reading "House Selling For Dummies™", you'll discover how to: *Assess your housing options-including not selling, remodeling and more *Get your finances in order to determine if you can afford to buy and sell *Assess the value of your house and price it to sell for the highest possible price *Determine whether or not to buy a new home before selling your present home *Evaluate the pros and cons of selling your house yourself "vs" selling using an agent *Write a listing statement that makes your house stand apart from the crowd *Negotiate the best price and terms of the sale for you and your family

Rating:
Summary: Expert advice on selling your house.
Review: If you're like most people, your biggest investment is your house. Sell your house wisely and you not only save yourself loads of time, but you also pocket thousands - if not tens of thousands - of dollars more than you would otherwise. Making a big mistake in the sale of your house, on the other hand, can easily cost you additional weeks - perhaps even months - of work and headache, as well as half a year's worth (or more) of your take-home income.

We're not trying to scare you - quite the contrary. We just want to make it clear that, even though selling your house isn't brain surgery, you can easily make mistakes, especially if you're overconfident or do a poor job selecting people to work with in the transaction.

Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." We want to add a corollary to this observation: "Learning from other people's mistakes is infinitely better than learning from your own." Reading House Selling For Dummies will save you money, time, and heartache.

Although you are likely to hire some professionals to help you sell your house, you still need to educate yourself about all aspects of the transaction. Why? * You're the one who ultimately must make the decision about whether or not, and when, to sell your house. No real estate agent, loan broker, or anyone else who has a vested interest in the sale can objectively advise you about whether you should sell your house or when is the best time for you to sell. * You're the one (if you do decide to sell) who must interview and hire competent and affordable people that can help you with the sale. You need to know what all the people you hire do, why they do it, what to expect from them, and what they expect from you.

Real estate is a team sport. In this book, we show you how to put together a winning team and we alert you to key points you ought to consider throughout your sale. Follow our advice, and your house is as good as sold before the For Sale sign even goes up.

We don't care about whether or not you decide to sell your house or how much of the transaction you attempt to handle yourself. It's not that we're insensitive; we simply don't have a vested interest in the sale of your house. What we do care very deeply about is that you make the best possible decisions for your situation. If those decisions mean staying in your current home rather than selling, or if they mean selling through a good local real estate agent, terrific. We wrote this book to help you avoid making mistakes in your selling decisions and to ensure that you sell your house in the best way possible.

Rating:
Summary: Not for "FISBO"s.
Review: This book discourages "FISBO's" (For Sale By Owner) types in favor of hiring a real estate agent. In fact, only one chapter deals with this. I'd recommend this book to those who plan to hire an agency to sell their home. It will inform them of the various machinations of the sales process. For those looking to sell their own property, I recommend "The For Sale By Owner Kit" by Robert Irwin. It's directed soley at the "FISBO" person.

Rating:
Summary: Great help for the home seller
Review: This book was extremely useful for me when I sold my house in New Hampshire last summer; I am now buying another copy because I gave mine to my father, whom I am helping sell his Seattle-area home.

This book will help you in a buyer's market or a seller's market or inbetween, or even if you do decide to eventually use a realtor.

(Now, when will they come out with "Writing Dummies Books for Dummies"? :-} )

Rating:
Summary: This book is the best investment you can make
Review: This book was indispensable while I was selling my house. The numerous practical tips on preparing a house for sale and the explanation of the legal ins and outs were certainly helpful, but what was absolutely invaluable was the advice on avoiding the emotional pitfalls that can make you miserable and keep you from making the best business deal. Using this book's advice, I priced my house right and staged it well, and it sold very quickly for above the asking price.

This is a very small investment that will help you with a six-figure financial transaction, so it's well worth the cover price.

Rating:
Summary: Fairly Helpful
Review: We recently sold our house ourselves. It worked. It was definitely worth it.

I bought this book to help me better understand the issues I was facing when we got started. It was helpful and definitely worth the money. The language was easy to understand and it did highlight a number of issues that made the process easier for me.

Unfortunately there was a lot of information that didn't apply to a fairly normal situation and a number of things weren't covered (one issue is that real estate laws can vary a great deal from state to state). I think a lot of people could find the important stuff mentioned in this book on the internet or from talking to friends.

Rating:
Summary: Don't be discouraged, all you FSBOs out there!
Review: While I agree with a previous reviewer that it was a little discouraging that the authors thought so highly of realtors, I just ignored that part and used all the other very useful information in this book. Short story short, our house ad went in the paper on a Friday (in what the book termed "Death Valley" season, no less) and we had our buyer the next Monday!!

The info on how to spruce up your house and how to negotiate the contract was a big help. We did it all without a realtor, got the price we were aiming for, and avoided that ridiculous commission.