BOOK REVIEW : Sell-It-Yourself Advisory Skips Over Some Topics

“No Thanks--I’ll Sell It Myself” by Kathy and Tony Overfelt (Avon Books, N.Y.), 1991, 103 pages, $3.95.

The cover of this book says “Why share the profits? Save thousands in real estate commissions. A step-by-step guide to selling your home without a broker.” Unfortunately, this book cannot be judged by its cover.

However, that doesn’t mean home sellers and real estate agents should not study this book. It is filled with sound ideas for selling a home with or without a real estate agent. Especially useful are their forms, such as telephone log, guest register, lender’s comparison checklist, buyer information sheet and a buyer-seller negotiation work sheet.

This book takes a very optimistic approach to do-it-yourself home sales. But it fails to discuss topics such as competing with realty agents who have hundreds of homes to sell through the local multiple listing service, how to negotiate on price with buyers who want to share the commission savings, how to help the buyer obtain a mortgage, how to handle the closing and all the details that real estate agents handle in typical home sales.

The authors oversimplify the process and neglect the legal aspects, such as lawsuit prevention by seller disclosure of material defects. On a scale of one to 10, this book rates a five.