That being said, there will always be a segment of people that choose to sell their real estate themselves, without the help of an agent.  So I figure I might as well be helpful in case the FSBO experiment doesn’t go well, maybe they’ll call me.  They often do.

I read a great article for advice to FSBOs in the Wall Street Journal.  Click here to read it.  It had a lot of helpful sales strategies for FSBOs.

I would add to the article these suggestions to anyone selling their Montgomery property themselves:

3RiversRecon’s Tips to any Montgomery For Sale By Owner:

1.    Get Your Own Website – Go to a domain seller like godaddy.com and buy your own website address.  If your home’s address is 123 Montgomery Street – buy www.123Montgomery.com or whatever is available.  The shorter the better.  I do this for all of my listings.  Use this on your flyers and advertisements.  If you advertise your home on something like fsbo.com, its website will be something incoherent like www.fsbo.com/e34h3449ir4827 – no buyer can remember that, especially one who has been driving around looking at homes for hours.  Once you have bought your site through godaddy, go to the control panel and choose “domain forwarding” to point the site to the long one at fsbo dot com.  That way anyone who types 123Montgomery.com in their browser will be taken automatically to the fsbo site.

2.  Buy Custom Signs – Those “For Sale By Owner” signs you buy for $3 at WalMart might be appropriate for your used go-cart that you put out on Highway 231, but do you really think it conveys the right image to someone you are asking to spend $200,000 for a  home ?   Make them double sided for greater visibility.  I would go ahead and buy 2 so that you can switch them out to avoid being faded or dirty.  Also be sure to get an “info tube” thing at WalMart or Home Depot so you can put some flyers with your sign.

3.  Make Effective Flyers – You start by taking great pictures of your home or lot.  Then spend the money and have them printed by a high quality color LASER printer.  Go to Kinko’s if you have no color laser printer of your own.  Get them to go ahead and run 150 copies while they’re at it.  The big cost here is the setup for a new print job, each additional copy is not as expensive, so you might as well print them all at one stop.  If you’re putting the flyers in the info tubes in the signs, don’t waste a lot of space by pictures of the outside.  They know what the outside looks like.  Just use one or two so that they can easily remember which one is yours (odds are that yours is the 10th flyer they have pulled that day).  If you are putting the flyer elsewhere then include more pictures.  Most Montgomery buyers are concerned about the school zones, so highlight that.

4.  Be Available At An Instant To Talk Or Show The Home – Put your cell phone number on all advertisements.  Don’t confuse buyers by giving your home phone, your office phone, your fax, etc.  Just one will do.  Then KEEP THE CELL PHONE ON YOU at all times.  When it rings, answer it.  If you don’t answer the phone, the majority of buyers will move along and not leave a message.  If they want to see it now, show it now.

5. Call Or Email Me With Questions – Every property on the Montgomery MLS is unique, with its own special selling points to promote and challenges to overcome to a potential buyer.  If you’re stumped, give me a shout.  I am glad to help you think of an answer, even if you plan to continue to sell it yourself.

Do you have another helpful FSBO tip for the rest of the River Region?  Leave a comment below and help us all out!

So what’s the deal?  Do people really buy other people’s used stuff? YES!  Do consignors really make money at these sales? YES!!

For those of you who have never been to one of these events, here’s how it works:

1) You can simply come and shop during public shopping days.

2) You can consign items and shop early.  There is usually a minimum number of items you must consign (15) in order to be a consignor.  Log onto the website, enter your gently used items, and print out tags.  Bring your tagged items during the “check in” days before the sale and get a priority shopping pass.  You are now part of a select group that gets to shop early AND make money from items you sell!

3) You can volunteer to work a few shifts during the sale and shop even earlier.  Workers must be consignors, and receive “payment” for their time by getting to shop before the consignors.  Volunteer requirements are varied, so check each sale’s website for specifics.

Again – these sales are huge (hundreds of consignors at each, with a minimum of 15 items to consign), and they don’t take junk.  You’d be hard pressed to find better deals on all sizes of kids’ clothing, baby gear, toys, shoes, furniture, etc, so check one out.

Kids Carousel has a spring/summer sale coming up next month at the old Sam’s Club building across from Best Buy on the Eastern Blvd. “Take-In” days are Feb.13-22, and the sale runs from Feb. 27 – March 6.  To consign, click here for the Kids Carousel website or call Stacie at (334) 286-4689.

When you get that check after the sale, you’ll be ready to start tagging for the next one!

The map below shows how close Highland Ridge is to I-65 - making it a 10 minute drive to Montgomery.

There are 2 entrances to Highland Ridge from McQueen Smith Road. The first entrance leads you to smaller homes; the second entrance to somewhat larger homes.  Like a lot of new developments in the area, Highland Ridge has a community pool, cabana, and picnic areas.

Many relocators choose Prattville for its public schools.  According to the Lowder website, Highland Ridge homes are zoned for Daniel Pratt Elementary, Prattville Junior High, and Prattville High School.  (For more info on Prattville City Schools, click here.)

So what is the asking price for a home in Highland Ridge?  Today, March 26, 2009, in the Montgomery Area MLS (which includes Prattville) there are 18 homes for sale in Highland Ridge.  They range from $154,900 for a 1,542 sq. ft home to $259,900 for a 2,258 sq. ft. home.

Here are some pictures I took as I drove through the neighborhood:

A street in Highland Ridge

It really is built on a ridge!

Another home in Highland Ridge.

First entrance off of McQueen Smith Road.

Highland Ridge community pool.

Highland Ridge home

Another Highland Ridge home.

Looking down over the neighborhood.

If you are interested is seeing some of the homes for sale in Highland Ridge, or want to know more about the Prattville area, contact us or give us a call at the number at the top of this page. We know the area and would love to help!

Related post:

What’s the Deal with Prattville? 4 Reasons Some Choose the “Preferred Community.”

I talked to a friend in Prattville who has kids in the city’s public schools, and she says that most residents refer to Prattville’s school zones as the “New” schools and the “Old” schools. Don’t worry about the “Old” and “New” descriptions – all Prattville schools have a good reputation. It simply seems to be a description of the buildings – newer, or older.

So, when choosing a neighborhood it’s important to ask, “New?” or “Old?”  Here’s the breakdown:

Why might you choose one zone over another?  Since the only time the distinction matters is in the elementary grades, some might like how the “Old” zone groups students of close ages together on separate campuses.  Others might like the “New” zone because they only have one carpool line to sit in when their kids are elementary age.  The good news for relocators is that you have choice.

A Realtor will be able to tell you which homes are in which zone, but it’s important to consult the Autauga County Schools for the final say.

I took pictures of some of the schools.  I planned on getting pics of all the city schools, but was foiled by a flat tire on Powell Road.  Silver lining:  my experience with the Prattville Police Department was great!  Kudos to PPD!

Prattville Kindergarten

Prattville Kindergarten

Prattville Primary School

Prattville Primary School

Prattville Primary School

Daniel Pratt Elementary School

Daniel Pratt Elementary School

Daniel Pratt Elementary School

PPD to the rescue!

If you’d like to look at homes in the Prattville area, or any area in the River Region, give us a call at the number above, or contact us using the contacts tab.  We’d love to help!

Related article:  What’s the Deal with Prattville?   4 Reasons Some Choose the “Preferred Community.”

Prattville residents now shop, eat, and play at home.   10 years ago this wasn’t the case, but now my family loves to take a shopping trip to Bass Pro Outdoor World, and then have dinner at Jim ’n Nicks BBQ in Prattville.

So why do some people choose Prattville?  For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts:

1) Small town feel – The City of Prattville says the population in 2002 was 25,500, and it’s growing steadily.  But that’s a lot smaller than Montgomery’s 200,000+ count.  Plus, there’s a lot of history and civic pride in this community.  Check out their website here.

2) Public Schools – The Autauga County school system has a solid reputation from K-12th grade. These include the schools in Autaugaville, Pine Level, Marbury, Billingsley, and the City of Prattville.

3) Proximity to Montgomery and military bases – Hop on I-65 south and it’s minutes to Maxwell AFB and downtown Montgomery.

4) Residential and commercial development- Prattville has new residential communities with similar amenities to new neighborhoods in east Montgomery. There’s a Target (enough said), new restaurants, and the Robert Trent Jones Capitol Hill golf complex.

Like I said, these are merely my observations.   Any Prattvillians want to add your two cents?  Let us know about life in Prattville by leaving us a comment.