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I have always been a “Do-It -Yourself” type of person. Maybe this stems back to my upbringing. I grew up in East Germany where resources were always scarce and being self-sufficient was a must. Our family had a large garden and fruit trees shared with those in our apartment complex in order to have the food we wanted, since the grocery stores had little food to choose from. We conserved and reused anything possible. We passed down clothes and sewed and knitted to make new ones. Most of us drove the same type of cheap little car which could be easily fixed by their owners. I will never forget when our car broke down on the autobahn and my dad replaced a broken engine belt with my mother’s panty hose. No joke! So at a young age, I learned the value of doing things for yourself.
The wall fell when I was 10 years old. Overnight we had all the best and greatest things available to purchase. My country began the long process of coming back together. When I was 20 years old, I serendipitously bumped into an American who was traveling through Germany. I followed him back to the States and we were suddenly married. So suddenly that I called my mother the day after the wedding to let her know I was married. I hope my daughter does not do that! Speaking of kids, my husband and I now have two beautiful children and we’ve already been together for 15 years. Time flies.
I am now living the American dream in Rochester, and my “do it yourself” spirit has stayed with me through all this change. My motto is “whatever work it is, at least give it a try; those who don’t jump will never fly”. I have remodeled a kitchen, a bathroom, painted every square inch of the homes we have lived in (sometimes twice to my husband’s chagrin), built shelves, replaced windows, installed sinks, planted gardens, and sewed clothes and toys. I have discovered I really like power tools! I don’t mention these things to boast, and I am not the best at any of these things (although I can sew a mean stuffed animal.) I am just a stay at home mom who is willing to pick up a hammer and hit things with it. I would like to encourage other moms to pick up their proverbial hammer and swing away at something they are interested in.
So now a little about my latest swing of the hammer….Three years ago my husband and I needed to sell our home in Rockford, IL because of our move to Rochester. We decided to sell by owner and not use a realtor so we could save money on commission (For Sale by Owner-FSBO). The housing market had crashed right after we bought, and we had put in soooo much work into our old 1930’s Tudor home inside and out. No real estate agency lost money when my home value dropped, and no realtor was there to hold that makeshift rope ladder my husband hung onto while fixing a patch on the roof. So, after taking a deep breath, we found a real estate lawyer, listed our home on a local FSBO website, and quickly learned selling by owner was actually quite simple and rewarding. We sold our home 3 weeks after we had listed it for a price that allowed us to move to beautiful Rochester. We even had a realtor stop by and ask how we sold it.
When we arrived in Rochester, we quickly looked for the local FSBO website to find our next dream home (or as my husband would say, next BIG project.) But there was no such thing. In fact, not many were selling homes by owner at all. In other communities we have lived in, there had always been a strong FSBO presence with local websites. So I got an idea (sigh from my husband.) Since we have sold by owner and have found it to be very doable and very rewarding, AND since there is no local FSBO website with marketing services in Rochester, AND not too many people take advantage of FSBO in Rochester, I decided to start a FSBO website with marketing services and educational resources to help those interested in selling by owner. So FSBO Rochester was born (www.fsborochester.com).
Selling by owner was a very positive experience for my family, and saved us thousands. I really feel more people in our community could take advantage of this option when selling a home. There are so many resources online for FSBO, and having your home listed on a professional real estate website is the single most important thing to do. We have that at FSBO Rochester! By the way, we don’t charge any commission. We only charge flat advertising fees($159 starting). So keep YOUR money on YOUR investment! I am hopeful this spring and summer FSBO Rochester we will become more visible in our community, and more will consider selling by owner as an option.
So that is a little about myself and my little business adventure. If you like to learn more on how to DIY your home sale please go to my website or give me a call directly.
