R.R. Bowker Publishing – Book Review
FSBO-CD
Karen Varnas and Roy Wysack
FSBO-CD.com, Livonia, MI,
ISBN: 0-9785163-1-1
Selling a home For Sale By Owner (FSBO) is a tactic that’s growing in popularity; according to the United States Department of Commerce, about 30% of all real estate transactions are conducted without a realtor each year. Still, going the FSBO route can be scary, especially when you consider that 80% of FSBOs list with a realtor when they can’t sell on their own.
Authors Karen Varnas and Roy Wysack believe that FSBO is a great option, provided you do your homework. Knowing that the Internet is full of resources for FSBO, they have compiled the best information in an easy-to-use CD-ROM. You’ll find a host of information here in a well-organized, easily accessible format.
The CD-ROM opens with a full table of contents that is hyperlinked to the main sections of text, each of which is color-coded for ease of navigation. At the beginning of each section is a more complete breakdown of the material covered there. All content lists are anchored by hyperlinks to allow you to jump down to the relevant text.
Navigable arrows throughout the text allow you to return to the table of contents, jump to the next section, or return to the beginning of current section. Hyperlinks are embedded throughout to take you to related information located elsewhere on the CD-ROM. Each section ends with a list of hyperlinked Internet resources.
The authors provide a thorough grounding in FSBO, including a realistic explanation of the work involved. The “Fast-Track to FSBO” is a hyperlinked list of the steps involved; the reader can get a fairly good idea of the FSBO process within about 30 minutes of exploring the CD-ROM.
The authors offer suggestions for hiring an attorney, title company, and appraiser (all essential parts of the FSBO team), as well as giving advice for marketing your property. Other topics include pricing the home correctly, getting your home ready to sell, showing your home, legal issues, and financial and tax-related issues. Information is thoroughly researched and written in a friendly, frank style. Beautiful full color photos are scattered throughout to provide contrast to some of the technical subjects and make your research more enjoyable.
At the time of this review, the FSBO-CD worked solely within a Windows environment – Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 browser or higher. Although loading may take a while due to the size of the file, it opened easily and navigation is relatively quick. Mac users may have to skip this CD-ROM, as it is not compatible with MAC computers or web browsers, such as Firefox.
In short, the FSBO-CD takes a potentially confusing subject and delivers it in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-use format. Summary checklists, extensive appendices, and a well-researched list of links throughout the Web make this CD a great guide. Highly recommended to those going the FSBO route.
