Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money on this book!
Review: This book was not what I expected. As noted by another reviewer,
the author has dubious experience in the area of real-estate
sales. For instance, his advice sounds like it can get you into
serious legal hot-water if the highest bid on your house is a lot
lower than you expected, and you reject it (because the "system"
requires you to advertise that you will sell to the highest
bidder). He doesn't mention how to remedy that situation!Also, the author points out that the method is "safe" if you
stipulate that a minimum number of bids are required...if you
don't get the minimum number, you are supposed to phone up the
people who have already bid, and cancel the whole process. But
what if you can't get in touch with the people? Are you still
legally bound to the sale? There are all kinds of legalities
that the author doesn't touch upon! Beware, beware, beware...maybe this has worked for some people,
but there seem to be some pretty serious legal risks associated
with this ad hoc method. The reviews of this book (both good and bad) describe enough
that they encompass the small amount of information that is
covered in the book.
Don't waste your money.
Just read all the reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Sellers beware- pitfalls with the process recommended
Review: This is a very simplistic approach to a complex transaction. The attorney we consulted told us to stay away from a seller using this method. There are many issues involved, depending on the state. I agree with the seller's objectives, but there may be better qualified buyers that you may be missing...
Rating: 
Summary: Original, unique, interesting and profitable
Review: We bought and read the Effros book, it is unique. I have read probably 200 real estate books and his 5 day method is different and effective. You have to get over the mental block of starting off low in your asking price. We modified the technique to serve our purposes. We employed a MAI (Member of Appraisal Institute) appraisal done on the property. After physically preparing the house by painting, cleaning, and some new flooring, ads were placed in the newspaper. We received offers above asking price and settled within 30 days. Everybody was happy. We have William Effros to thank for the unique idea, and ispiration of his book for our quick sale above asking price. Thank you, sir.
Rating:
Summary: This is THE WAY to sell your home!
Review: We bought the book, read the book, followed the book and our sale went exactly as the book described. We interviewed 3 realty companies. They were all very pleasant but wanted to list our home at [$]. They were quite certain that this was all the market would bear and wanted a 7% commission to get it for us. We bought Bill Effros's terrific book and figured what did we have to lose but a couple of weeks and ... We offered our home for [$] or best reasonable offer. We consulted our attorney who reviewed all of our papers(verbatim from the book) and suggested we also include a disclaimer that nothing was binding until a written contract was prepared. We worded this positively to allay any fears bidders might have but it protected us as well in case we didn't get the price bid up to where we needed. 200 people toured our house, escorted by friends and ourselves. A few were turned off by the process but many more were fascinated. 9 couples bid. The high was [$]. Unfortuantely, after two weeks of working with this buyer they were unable to close. But, what a great thing, we had a list of 5 other couples who seriously wanted our home. We called them. All were still interested. Two couples expressed relief that we called as they had regretted their decision to drop out of the auction We re-ran the auction and sold for [$] - $5,000 more than the first time! The people who bought our home were so taken with the process that they borrowed our book and ran a 5 day sale on their home. Bingo - 5 days later it was sold, also at a price higher than they had been led to expect. I sincerely recommend this book. It will save you thousands and put you in control of the process. What have you got to lose? Lots!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: We live in NY and followed this book to the letter. It's worked wonderfully. In addition to using the book, we would suggest: * Hire a consultant to be available to you by phone before and during your sale. He can provide moral support and advise in case of unexpected events (i.e. we lost contact for a period of time with two of our three top bidders and weren't sure how to handle it)There are consultants listed on the 5daysale website)It's well worth it. * Consider modifying the rules/process to suit your needs. * Take the Monday after your sale off. The bidding may not finish Sunday night. Even if it does, you will be physiclly and emotionally spent. * If you live near NYC, remember the Sunday classifieds are like the bible; run your add in the previous Sundays times as well as the Sunday of your open house This takes alot of guts and stamina. You will be inspired by yourself when it's through.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money on this book!
Review: We sold our house in New Jersey. Our friends recommended the book to us and although thier experience was different, the results were the same. Our house sold for market value. Its true that the buyers were a bit confused, but after explaining how it worked, people were excited to place a bid. Selling our house in 5 days was so important for us. We have three young children and keeping the house in shape for sporatic showings would have been impossible. It really is no risk with the exception of the money you lay out for ads and signs. Our buyer came from the signs, but bought due to the method. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in saving money.
Rating:
Summary: I Tried it and It Worked!
Review: We sold our house in New Jersey. Our friends recommended the book to us and although thier experience was different, the results were the same. Our house sold for market value. Its true that the buyers were a bit confused, but after explaining how it worked, people were excited to place a bid. Selling our house in 5 days was so important for us. We have three young children and keeping the house in shape for sporatic showings would have been impossible. It really is no risk with the exception of the money you lay out for ads and signs. Our buyer came from the signs, but bought due to the method. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in saving money.
Rating:
Summary: Not at all what we were hoping for.....
Review: We were very surprised to get this book and see what it really was. It is all about getting people to bid on your house. Not something I was looking for, for help with selling my home. I don't want anyone else to waste money buying it if you don't want to list $50,000-$100,000 less than you want to and try to get people to out bid each other! Not for Us!
Rating:
Summary: 5 days - 300 people!
Review: Well, it's happened again. I sold a house about eight years ago using the first edition of this book. This time I used the second edition and had even better results. The house I sold is, admittedly in a hot real estate market, but ... we had over 300 people through in the two-day open house (about 130 separate groups/families) and had 67 people on the bid list. The power of the method is not that you're likely to get lots more than the house is worth, but that you get a fair price in a very short time. Also, I got to keep the $20,000 or so I would have had to pay to a broker. The buyer got a fair price. We're all happy.
Rating:
Summary: It works!!!
Review: Why should I pay 6% commissions to the realtor? I bought this book and read it during the spare time on my week long business trip to Asia. After I came back from the trip, I followed the steps in the book and sold my house next weekend, with $12,000 more than I asked for. It works!!!
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