Every for-sale-by-owner hopes that a magical buyer will come along who appreciates the uniqueness of their special home – and be ready, willing, and able to pay for it. Not sure why the U-T considers this news, and not advertising:
The family of the late Nobel Prize winner Francis Crick is offering a $10,000 finder’s fee to the person who helps them locate the ideal buyer for the scientist’s home near the Muirlands West section of La Jolla.
The four-bedroom, four-bath house at 1792 Colgate Circle has been put on the market for $1.95 million. Crick lived in the ranch-style house from 1978 until his death in 2004.
“We would like to sell the house to someone who appreciates its historic value so we are trying a dual approach,” Crick’s son, Michael Crick, said by email. “First we are offering a $10,000 finder’s fee (through Feb. 28) aimed at people, such as Rosalia (Mariz, a long-time family friend), who knew my parents and also knew scientists all over the world.
“If we don’t get a good offer in that time, we will try the conventional approach through local Realtor Greg Noonan — who will focus on the local market.”
Francis Crick achieved worldwide fame in 1962 when he shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine with James Watkins and Maurice Wilkins. Watson and Crick discovered the fundamental structure of DNA, a discovery that would revolutionize genetics and molecular biology, eventually leading to the Human Genome Project and widespread advances in pharmacology.
Crick’s most groundbreaking work occurred at Cambridge University. But he later transferred to the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, where he played a key role in the growth of the La Jolla research center. He died of colon cancer in La Jolla in July 2004. http://francis.crick.com/lajolla.html
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From Dataquick – they show that San Diego sales were higher last month, Y-O-Y:
“Historic Value”
If someone offers the $1.95M and tears it down, I don’t think they would care.
Monticello has historic value.
Francis Crick’s ranch does not.
I FSBO’d a house in ’92 and it worked out fine. Advertised it for 3% below comps in a declining market(it was a tract house so comps were easy) and paid the buyers agent full pop – and he did all the paperwork gratis. You could say I didn’t “save” any money because I sold below comps, but the market was declining 1% per month back then and I sold in 10 days.
Greed, nobody needs an agent if they are willing to sell under value, just stick a sign in the yard and they’ll come running.
But typically there is lower motivation among FSBOs, resulting in a higher ask price – usually 10% or more too high.
Sharpness of list price = quality of motivation.
Yeah almost all FSBO’s are greedy, silly and/or unmotivated sellers. At the time I just figured I’d try passing on the listing fee savings to the buyer see what happens. Also, back then tract homes were true commodities that were easy to comp, i.e., upgraded carpet and lino and backyard landscaping was about it!
That was a unique case. I’ve turned many properties since then and always used an agent.
Trying to make buyers comfortable is harder as a FSBO – they don’t trust FSBOs as much because they think they might have something to hide, and don’t know how to make sure it’s a clean deal. An attorney can do the paperwork, and an inspector tell you what’s wrong with a house, but trying to package it up in a way that the buyers are comfortable that they got a fair deal is why realtors exist……today.
During the peak years realtors were order-takers – thats why so many went out of business, they couldn’t re-calibrate.
Is the finder’s fee legal? Don’t you have to be a broker?
In the U-T’s comment section a reader asked that, and Sonny Crick said he checked it out and determined it to be legal. He’ll have to send the winner a 1099 though, not sure if he knows that. Brokers can only pay referral fees to other brokers.
Is there a DNA sequencing laboratory in the garage? What’s historically significant about Crick’s home, other than the fact he lived in it?