Homeowners who wanted to go the "For Sale By Owner" (FSBO) route encountered major obstacles in the past. Soon after putting their properties on the block, they learned that marketing wasn't as easy as it looked. They discovered the paperwork was confusing, even to licensed professionals. And they learned the desirability of pre-qualified buyers, because too many prospects readily said "yes" to a purchase but couldn't come up with the funds.

Internet-based services have addressed many FSBO problems. Two more solutions were introduced this week (Aug. 13-19, 2006).

To give potential buyers greater access to money to buy a FSBO home, ForSaleByOwner.com -- one of the the nation's biggest FSBO web portals -- struck a deal naming ditech.com the portal's exclusive mortgage services provider. Ditech is a heavily advertised direct online mortgage lender.

Under the agreement, Ditech said it would assemble a team of loan officers dedicated solely to ForSaleByOwner.com clients. The lender offers products across the credit spectrum, including first mortgages, fixed-rate second mortgages, variable equity lines of credit, flat fee and no closing cost option programs. Ditech is a business unit of GMAC Mortgage; ForSaleByOwner.com is owned by Tribune Interactive, a subsidiary of the Tribune Company.

To help with FSBO marketing -- and more specifically, marketing of FSBO properties in the New York City area -- Orlando-based FSBO Channels launched a "New York City FSBO Channel" on the web. FSBO Channels give property owners free listings of 300 words and two photos to describe their homes to the world. Listings run for 10 days, but can be republished if the property remains unsold.

Expectedly, one of the FSBO Channels' primary advertising claims is that sellers can "avoid paying thousands of dollars in (real estate) agent commissions."

The New York City-specific site is the latest in a string of roll-outs since Aug. 8; other FSBO Channels serve Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston, Miami, Phoenix, Seattle and Tampa. In addition, FSBO Channels provides a link on every channel to Zillow.com so users can obtain "free instant home valuations with no strings."