Released: September 17, 2007

‘Sale by owner’ comes with risks, rewards

Source: Annette Haddad, Los Angeles Times [Baltimore Sun] (Free Registration)

On a lark last spring, Ronald Grant decided to “list” his South Pasadena house for sale on the popular real estate valuation website Zillow.com.

Zillow estimated his home’s worth at $1.4 million. But Grant, who was planning to sell his home when he retired in two years, decided to have some fun. So he posted a notice on the site saying he would gladly hand over the keys to anyone willing to pay him $1.6 million for his 4,500-square-foot abode.

“I thought, what the heck. I had nothing to lose,” he recalled. Two days later, after receiving an e-mail from a would-be buyer and giving a showing, his house was in escrow for his asking price.

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