One of the most common reasons for the overwhelming failure associated with a For Sale by Owner property sale is the lack of an effective marketing plan and budget. This is the single largest contributor to the pathetic FSBO success rate of 14% (as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). I can personally attest to the fact that typical homeowners 'work' significantly harder at selling their homes then the average realtor - but do they work 'smarter?? Most, if not all, property owners choose to sell by owner for one reason and one reason only ? to save money! That is why it is truly bizarre that this same individual eventually gives up, in most cases without a fight, lists their property with a Realtor and agrees to pay full real estate fees. The old adage - 'you have to spend money to make money' rings true with FSBO properties.

It is totally unreasonable to think that you can simply spend $10 on a lawn sign from LOWES and expect to save $15,990 ? it simply will not happen! The most common FSBO scenario is the homeowner literally goes from unrealistically trying to save the entire real estate commission of $16,000 to saving absolutely nothing because they get frustrated with the lack of sales activity of their FSBO in relation to and the amount of effort involved and list it with a real estate agent at 6%. The infamous and ever failing 'all or nothing' philosophy. Without an effective marketing plan and budget it is totally unreasonable to think you are going to sell your own property and save money (I don't care how many Open Houses you have). Granted 18% of prospective buyers will actually see your LOWES lawn sign first ? but think of the significant dynamic that referencing an internet website and listing # can add to that same lawn sign and the overall marketing of your property. Now the prospective buyer that sees your lawn sign goes home, brings up the FSBO website, finds your listing and looks at price, pictures, details and description and possibly makes an appointment to view the property. NAR statistics verify that over 70% of all home buyers see the home they purchase on the internet BEFORE they engage a Realtor ? makes sense to combine the two marketing initiatives doesn't it?

In my opinion you should budget, at the very bare minimum, to spend 1% of the asking price of your home ? so if your home is $280,000 (national average) you should realistically consider spending $2,800 ? if the average FSBO spent just 1% marketing their property I?m confident that the current 14% overall success rate of FSBO would easily double! The reality is if you aren't prepared to spend at least 1% you might as while save yourself the time and frustration and engage a Realtor right away. While 1% ($2800) may seem like a significant amount of money the alternative (listing and selling through a real estate agent), on the same property is $16,800!!!!

Another consideration is the hard cost of carrying an average home while it doesn't sell because of the lack of or improper marketing plan and budget. Again, using the national average sale price of $280,000 ? the carrying cost per month is approximately 1% of value of home. That 1% is made up property taxes, insurance, mortgage interest payments, general upkeep and maintenance, and utilities.

The next obvious question - how do you get the best value on your marketing dollars?

Here are some the best and most important marketing considerations (in no particular order):

Professional Lawn Signs - $60 (For Sale, Open House and Directional) ? An Absolute Must - preferably referencing an online website and your unique FSBO listing # (also significantly enhances classified listing) - BEST VALUE!

Newspaper Classified - $140/week (based on the cost of a real estate classified on the following 5 line classified advertisement) - still a real estate advertising standard - Good Value.

FOR SALE BY OWNER - $150,000 3 BD/2BA

Colonial in Parklawn Village. Excellent schools,

great neighborhood. Priced $15K below

appraised value for quick sale! Call 659-0808 ?

or visit www.FreeFSBO.com - FSBO# 1786.

Newspaper ?Real Estate Package" - $416* ? most dailies offer a one month Real Estate ?Package' that includes weekend (Saturday and Sunday) display advertisements in a dedicated Real Estate Section (2 ¼? x 2 ¼?) - 8 total) supplemented with Monday to Friday classified advertisements (5 lines) ? Better Value.

Flat Fee MLS - $499+ - the single most valuable marketing tool that a Realtor has at their disposal is now available to For Sale by Owners! Without a lot of explanation you essentially become the ?Listing Agent' and agree to pay a Realtor (Buyers Agent) a pre-agreed commission (usually 2.5% - 3%) 'if' they bring you a ?Buyer?. The good news - you still save over $8K in real estate commissions on the average home sale! Also includes listing on Realtor.com** (of note 85% of all homes sold are listed on MLS) - BEST VALUE!

Real Estate Flyers ? $1 each for a professional brochure type flyer in full color from Kinko's, Staples, etc. (see ?Bulletin Boards?) - Good Value.

Bulletin Boards ? $0 (cost of flyer) ? great local exposure ? daycares (markets to growing families), grocery stores, community halls, local businesses (markets to re-locators) - BEST VALUE!

Online Marketing - $0+ (Craigslist (Free :)), FreeFSBO.com (Free :)) FSBO.com ($69), byowner.com ($90), ForSalebyOwner.com ($199), eBay ($150 ? 30 day listing), Kijiji.com (Free :)), Yahoo Real Estate ($49 for 21 days)). NAR statistics claim that 70% of ALL homebuyers (yes homebuyers) saw the property that they purchased online before they hired a real estate agent. There are many cost effective marketing opportunities available online including the ones listed above - BEST VALUE!

The bottom-line, if you are serious about saving money by successfully selling your property 'by owner?, then be realistic. Create an effective marketing plan and budget accordingly. Explore the marketing options that are available and determine what works best for you. Don't become another failed FSBO statistic.

* - as quoted by The Washington News Tribune

** - 5.5 million unique visitors/month