Lynch Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Once again I turn to the wonderful VC'ers for advice..... Ok, so I am going to sell my house next spring, for the big move to the city and university (at 31 years young, a bit of a late bloomer I guess). Anyone have experience selling their house privately, without a real estate agent? I know a good one, but the $5000 commission seems daunting. For what, really? A bunch of paperwork and placing an ad? But, I have never sold property before, so I am looking for some input, your experiences, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigshoulders Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Once again I turn to the wonderful VC'ers for advice..... Ok, so I am going to sell my house next spring, for the big move to the city and university (at 31 years young, a bit of a late bloomer I guess). Anyone have experience selling their house privately, without a real estate agent? I know a good one, but the $5000 commission seems daunting. For what, really? A bunch of paperwork and placing an ad? But, I have never sold property before, so I am looking for some input, your experiences, etc. I'm selling mine now, and the idea of doing it all myself was daunting to me. A good broker earns that commission. It's much more than paperwork and an ad. If they're a decent broker there's a much broader marketing campaign involved. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I sold my house myself, to people I knew, and then split the "commission" with a real estate agent who filed all paperwork, closed the deal and handled everything from the purchase and sale and beyond. He just never had to market or show it. It worked for me because I had friends interested in buying the house. Times have changed a little since i sold my house (4 years ago?) and now i find that seller's agents do NOTHING. They don't even show the houses any more. They give you no information, and they don't call you back and your buyers' agent does all the work. You can also negotiate the commission with the seller's agent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RedVelvet Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Have you checked out your local FSBO (For Sale By Owner)? I don't have personal experience with this, but a friend owns a franchise out in Kansas and, from what little I know, it seems to be a reputable organization with a good success rate. Best of luck to you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
W(TF) Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I haven't tried it myself but two of my next door neighbours have, with no luck (one gave up after a few months, the other is still trying, almost a year now). The market is down here but they should have sold by now. Buyers seem to like the assurance they get by using an agent with a name behind him-her. And the money you'd save, you somehow have to convince the buyer you're passing some of that along to them. Just two of the many issues... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Don't know how widespread this us, but some buyers' agents won't even bring clients to owner-listed properties. Some kind of unwritten loyalty thing. So, you end up with less traffic than you might otherwise see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JUDE Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Use an agent; you won’t get anywhere close to the exposure selling as a FSBO.Make sure that the selling broker offers out the max commission to the buyers broker; if you want better traffic offer an additional $1000 as a buyers broker bonus. Agents search buy many parameters on the MLS, price range being only a small part, the biggest being what commission is offered out on the buyers side, any bonus commission offered in the agent remarks section will really get their attention and probably push some buyers in your direction. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ZenLunatic Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I have experience with both. I sugguest to go with a flat fee service but it all depends on how much time you or what to spend. You can save thousands of dollars with a little work on your side. I think listing it on the MLS is key. I just sold my place using a flat fee realty service. You pay a flat fee of about $300 to get your place listed on the MLS and pretty much all the major sites. Alot offer info throughout the whole process. Then you set a commission to the buyer's agent at 2 or 2.5 percent. You still have the option of selling by owner also and paying no commission. The paperwork will be handled by the lawyers which you will need anyways. Also if the buyer has an agent, the agent will help with it too. Really not too hard. If you use a selling agent you probably pay an extra 2-2.5 percent. The biggest thing agents offers you is showing your home when you are not in and answering many questions that come up. Also depending the kind of person you are, can handle all your negotiations. All the extra stuff the agent says they will give you isnt that important in my opinion. I like negotiating with the buyers themselves and like to know who I am selling to, so I really dont like that extra layer. Get a good lawyer and most of everything will be handled through them. Its good experience to sell and buy a new home. Good luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Once again I turn to the wonderful VC'ers for advice..... Ok, so I am going to sell my house next spring, for the big move to the city and university (at 31 years young, a bit of a late bloomer I guess). Anyone have experience selling their house privately, without a real estate agent? I know a good one, but the $5000 commission seems daunting. For what, really? A bunch of paperwork and placing an ad? But, I have never sold property before, so I am looking for some input, your experiences, etc. I was a licensed real estate agent in NY and NJ a few years ago. Having an agent can get you an extra few thousand in your sale prices as you will command greater foot traffic and exposure. They also have a sense on if your pricing is realistic in this market. If you overprice your unit you will fall through the cracks. I read somewhere that 50% of the total traffic comes in the first month of a listing. An educated agent will price you right and optomise your traffic and results. Also keep in mind all fees are negotiable. Offer your agent a lesser percent or tell them you will give them a bonus if they sell it in x number of days. Agents also have a wealth of knowledge, connections and access the average person would have to pay thousands to access. It is also good to have someone to strategies with and play good cop, bad cop with your buyer. Selling yourself may save you money in one area but cost you dearly in another esepcially if you don't have the proper paperwork, inspections or other understanding of a home sale. Good luck.. PS..Realtor.com is a great place to get a sense of the market. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 What's the harm in trying to sell on your own, and if that fails, list w/ an agent? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigshoulders Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 What's the harm in trying to sell on your own, and if that fails, list w/ an agent? No harm at all. If however, you're under a time-table, be it external or internal, it's a gamble. Consider this: if you're able to sell now, while the interest rates are still low, you can buy another property and still lock in a good rate. If you take 9 mos. to sell it yourself and find the interest rates have climbed over that same 9 mos. then the few thousand you saved selling it yourself is really small potatoes compared to the thousands of dollars you could have saved over the life of a loan had you sold it sooner and locked in a good, FIXED rate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.