Relocation Fear and Loathing? Sell your home in 5 days and laugh all the way to your next job!

Marysville, WA - November 19, 2002 - You just got a new job and have to relocate. If you have to sell your home and you don't have the patience for the traditional process or you don't want to pay a 6% commission on the sale of your house, there is another option. This by-owner approach is laid out in the book How to Sell Your Home in Five Days (Workman Publishing Co.).

Author Bill Effros isn't a real estate agent. He stumbled onto the concept while trying to sell his house in the early 1990s, when real estate was in a slump. His Realtor said he wouldn't get $225,000 for his Stamford, Conn. House-the amount Effros owed on his mortgage. When the Realtor suggested Effros have a "desperation" sale, Effros figured he could sell it himself-without having to part with the commission.

Effros ran an eight-line real estate ad on a Wednesday. In it, he describing the house and said he would accept $255,000 or "best offer." The ad said the house would be open for inspection Saturday and Sunday and that the house would be sold Sunday night to the highest bidder. "I sold my house for $50,000 more than the Realtor thought. I had $271,000 in hand three weeks after I ran the ad," Effros says.

The book outlining the concept, published in 1993, has since sold more than 100,000 copies, according to Effros.

Using the plan, people spend about $500 selling their home, Effros says.

Sellers first have to establish a price at about 40% below what they think their homes are worth. (Forty-percent is an approximation-there are calculations in the book.) That's where the bidding begins. Sellers then have an inspection done and decide whether to fix problems or disclose them to potential buyers. Even the small, bothersome things should be disclosed. According to George Cappony, the Web host for 5-day.com and a consultant on the program, a good rule of thumb is that things are not worth fixing unless you think you will get more than $2 back for every $1 you invest.

Sellers then pick a Wednesday to run a newspaper ad and begin displaying sales signs. Cappony says to give a general location in the ad-not the exact address. Note that it's being sold "by owner," offer a short description of the house and indicate your starting price, including "or best reasonable offer."

You also specify in the ad that a two-day inspection process will occur the following Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday night, you will do a round robin bidding process.

Street signs should convey a sense of urgency, as well. Cappony suggest using "break screechers," including signs that emphasize, "We're selling our home Sunday night to the highest bidder."

Explain the process to people who call for the address and take bids during the two-day inspection on a bidding sheet, which is included in the book. On Sunday, start calling everyone who has bid, starting with the highest person, and tell them that they have three choices: to advance the bid, keep it at the same level or drop out. Keep making the calls until bidders have met their thresholds. Bidders will continue to bid until they've reached the point at which they think the house is worth, Effros says.

"You know by Friday night (prior to showing the house) whether you've done it right or not. If you have 25 people calling you by Friday night, it's going to be just fine," Effros says. "The three top buyers are going to be in there-you will not be able to spot them so you treat everybody the same. And on Sunday night you will get a bid that is within one or two percentage points of the best that you could possibly do."

Cappony says he has conducted hundreds of successful sales using the method. Houses usually sell on the weekend specified, but Cappony suggest that people set a minimum undisclosed reserve, which if it is not met allows them to stop bidding at any time.

Frank Heasley, PhD, President and CEO, MedZilla.com says, "Frequently, it's the fear of the home selling process that scares candidates away from making good career choices that involve relocation. I've used this plan myself on our last two personal moves, and I'll never sell a house any other way again. The 5-day method is actually easier than using an agent and it simplifies the process, costs less, and gives you complete control over when the sale will take place. People who are relocating need that control". MedZilla.com is a leading Internet recruitment and professional community that targets job seekers and HR Professionals in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, health care and science.

About MedZilla.com
Established in mid 1994, MedZilla is the original web site to serve career and hiring needs for professionals and employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, science and healthcare. MedZilla databases contain about 10,000 open positions and 10,000 resumes from candidates actively seeking new positions. These resources have been characterized as the largest, most comprehensive databases of their kind on the web in the industries served.