We’ve never been graced with enough foresight or luck to actually purchase a home. Since we recently discovered that we would be forced to find a new apartment over a year before our lease was scheduled to be up, we have been trying to learn the ins-and-outs of home ownership. Our first lesson? We can’t afford to purchase a home in New York. So that was easy.

But we did notice that ‘For Sale By Owner’—FSBO—is the happening way to sell, and right there with us firmly behind the times is, of course, The Times. They aren’t writing about New York real estate, though. (Did you hear that Williamsburg is a happening Brooklyn neighborhood?!) Instead, they give a two-page nod to FSBOMadison.com.

For hardship cases, divorces mostly, they waive the $150 fee. They refuse to accept referral fees from real estate agents, lawyers or others. Advertising on their Web site costs $150 a year – $250 with a corporate logo. And payment for listings is by personal check only, an anachronism in today’s world of immediate credit card transactions. The policy is aimed at keeping people from listing their house on a whim. “Some people are impulsive; they’re not ready,” Ms. Murphy said.

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