Selling my house

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Is getting an agent worth it, or should I try to sell it myself? Also what is the usual commission for an agent (i.e % of list/sell price) and is it negotiable? Any other tips would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[Steven in MD]

Is getting an agent worth it, or should I try to sell it myself?  Also what is the usual commission for an agent (i.e % of list/sell price) and is it negotiable?  Any other tips would be helpful.  Thanks in advance.

302489[/snapback]

Agents usually get 6% (3% to seller agent. 3% to buyer agent).

 

In some states sell by owner is easy to do since you only need standard forms. In other states, you need an attorney to do some closing paperwork, but you can hire them for alot less than a RE Agent. The question you have to ask is "Will I price the house at the correct price." If so, sell it on your own.

[gantrules]

IMO, it really depends on your comfort level with selling your house and the location of the house. I've used a realtor for both my sales and have been writing mortgages for five years so I'd be perfectly comfortable doing it on my own, but I don't live in the hottest real estate market either. I just don't want the hassle.

[theesir]

Is getting an agent worth it, or should I try to sell it myself?  Also what is the usual commission for an agent (i.e % of list/sell price) and is it negotiable?  Any other tips would be helpful.  Thanks in advance.

302489[/snapback]

Where do you live? I am in Buffalo and Used America's Choice to buy my last home and sell the previous one. They charge a flat fee to list the home on their website and advertise it in the paper. You are responsible for running open houses. NO COMMISSION. Saved us a lot on the sell and allowed us flexibility in the purchase price when buying.

 

Check it out Americaschoicehomes.com

[PIZ]

Depends on how much stress you can handle. There's a ton of legal issues and paper work when selling a house. I'd hire someone.

[stevewin]

I sold my last house FSBO and had no problems. If you have a house that is a good location and very disireable then I think FSBO is a worthwhile option. If it is a tougher sell and you need traffic then I would go the regular agent route.

 

Where I live there is a FSBO place that gives you a package with signs, listing in their flyer for a week, contracts etc for a nominal fee. Most of my traffic came from good location and strategically placed signs (which actually have been outlawed in my town now).

 

The other thing w/ FSBO is getting a potential buyer who is savvy enough to realize that an agent really isn't necessary for all the paperwork - the lawyer ends up doing all that and contracts are pretty standard and can be obtained easily. Also a lot of agents will initially try to pursuade their clients to never enter a home w/o them as a representing agent to make them feel obligated to the agent which is a bunch of BS. The best part is getting desperate agents coming who still want their cut and being able to tell them to F off.

 

Make sure if you do FSBO that you don't discount too much - I initially made the mistake of listing lower because of no agent - but people will come in and want to take 6% right off the top even if you have already discounted from what an agent listing would be.

[Ruffalo1]

I work for a mortgage company and I handle shorts sales all day. A short sale is when the offer for a home is less then the amount to pay off the loan. Mortgage companies will take a payoff less then the amount of the loan depending on the appraised value of the home. A lot of people sell their houses on their own and I work with them. If you are going to sell it on your own I recomend two things. First get an appraisal done it's very important to know how much your house is worth and they can spot any trouble areas you will have at inspection. It should only cost a few hundred dollars, but it is worth it. Second hire an attorney to handle the paperwork. You can do it on your own but for the money it really saves a lot of time and hassels. Plus any legal issues pop up you can have the attorney handle it. Realtors get people to look at the house but if you can get a buyer on your own then save yourself the cash.

[Dr. Fong]

Good suggestions so far. The most important question is if you need to sell it fast or if you have some time to go fishing for buyers. If you have a little time I'd try to do it on my own. www.forsalebyowner.com is a good place to start as someone else pointed out. If you have an old survey of the house that you can dig up I'll take a look at it for you and tell you if there's anything you need to consider. Just PM me.

[theesir]

Good suggestions so far.  The most important question is if you need to sell it fast or if you have some time to go fishing for buyers.  If you have a little time I'd try to do it on my own.  www.forsalebyowner.com is a good place to start as someone else pointed out.  If you have an old survey of the house that you can dig up I'll take a look at it for you and tell you if there's anything you need to consider.  Just PM me.

302557[/snapback]

From local sales in my area, I found America's Choice to have better exposure than ForSalebyOwner.

[Tony P]

A couple years ago, the same topic came up for discussion on the board and there were some pretty spirited discussions. I've always used (and will continue to use) a real estate agent when buying or selling a home. But in the past two years, the Internet has really changed the way that buyers approach real estate. A realtor told me just yesterday that over 75% of buyers do at least some research on the Web.

 

Taking this into consideration, the answer is a little less apparent than in the past, IMHO. For us, the key is bringing qualified buyers into our home. You can tie-up your home with an offer from an unqualified buyer pretty easily. If you’re selling a moderately priced property, then finding a qualified buyer may not be difficult. However, if you are priced at or above the mean selling price for your area, a Realtor will help make sure that the buyers that see your home can afford it and not waste your time.

 

It’s true that FSBO can save you money but one offer that falls through can take you off the market for weeks if not longer and that can be extremely costly. Commissions are negotiable and again, depending on the selling price, can go down to 5% here in Minnesota.

 

There’s always the question of security (like, who area you letting in through your front door) and as mentioned by other posters, knowing exactly how much your home is worth.

 

When taking all of the above into consideration, we have always chosen to go with the professional and negotiate the commissions. That would be my advice.

 

Good luck!!!

[Fan in Chicago]

Is getting an agent worth it, or should I try to sell it myself?  Also what is the usual commission for an agent (i.e % of list/sell price) and is it negotiable?  Any other tips would be helpful.  Thanks in advance.

302489[/snapback]

 

I used an agent the last time and swear by that process. They have access to the MLS service which instantly shows your house on other realtors computers. This network is very effective in getting a lot of showings - key in selling. As someone else said though, if you do not need to sell (and buy) quickly, then using an FSBO-type system may work. It is just a lot of work and headache. A realtor also walks through and gives practical advice to get the curb appeal and show-worthiness of a home. I would advice that you use a realor.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Thanks and a lot of good advice. I had an agent from Coldwell Banker (the largest RE company in the world, apparently) see the house yesterday. I want to sell after I get some exterior molding and a new paint job done, because the house has needed it since I bought it, so time is of the essence. I was worried that there were things inside that would be a problem, but the agent was very impressed with the house and saying stuff like "the house will sell itself." I was wondering "what do I need YOU for then?" But after reading the above advice, I realized that if there's no agent, like "stevewin" said, people will want to take 6% off the price immediately, so there's really little savings, or at least not enough savings to justify the extra headache. Also I think the agent can get an open house to draw a lot of people and get better offers, from a better clientele base. So I feel a lot better knowing that going with the agent, at least in my case, is the best option. That's good because I'd feel bad telling her I wanted to list it FSBO and didn't need her, when she had already met with us and put in the effort to do some research.

[stuckincincy]

Thanks and a lot of good advice.  I had an agent from Coldwell Banker (the largest RE company in the world, apparently) see the house yesterday.  I want to sell after I get some exterior molding and a new paint job done, because the house has needed it since I bought it, so time is of the essence.  I was worried that there were things inside that would be a problem, but the agent was very impressed with the house and saying stuff like "the house will sell itself."  I was wondering "what do I need YOU for then?"  But after reading the above advice, I realized that if there's no agent, like "stevewin" said, people will want to take 6% off the price immediately, so there's really little savings, or at least not enough savings to justify the extra headache.  Also I think the agent can get an open house to draw a lot of people and get better offers, from a better clientele base.  So I feel a lot better knowing that going with the agent, at least in my case, is the best option.  That's good because I'd feel bad telling her I wanted to list it FSBO and didn't need her, when she had already met with us and put in the effort to do some research.

302752[/snapback]

 

Be sure to insist that the CB agent includes their 1-year guarantee to the purchaser against major problems. That should have been included in the agent's pitch.

[IDBillzFan]

Thanks and a lot of good advice.  I had an agent from Coldwell Banker (the largest RE company in the world, apparently) see the house yesterday.  I want to sell after I get some exterior molding and a new paint job done, because the house has needed it since I bought it, so time is of the essence.  I was worried that there were things inside that would be a problem, but the agent was very impressed with the house and saying stuff like "the house will sell itself."  I was wondering "what do I need YOU for then?"  But after reading the above advice, I realized that if there's no agent, like "stevewin" said, people will want to take 6% off the price immediately, so there's really little savings, or at least not enough savings to justify the extra headache.  Also I think the agent can get an open house to draw a lot of people and get better offers, from a better clientele base.  So I feel a lot better knowing that going with the agent, at least in my case, is the best option.  That's good because I'd feel bad telling her I wanted to list it FSBO and didn't need her, when she had already met with us and put in the effort to do some research.

302752[/snapback]

I'm glad to see you headed in this direction. The reality is simply this: in a situation like yours, if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing, then it's wise to surround yourself with people who DO know how to do this for you (much like a hole surrounds itself with a donut.) Maybe I'm overly conservative, but the money you think you're sticking in one pocket by doing it yourself may easily have to come out of another pocket should something go wrong...like a person changes their mind on their offer and you didn't calculate for the escape clause, etc., and have to return their money and start the process all over again.

 

Good luck.

[taterhill]

I would be happy if I could get 25 cents more than I paid for my house in South Buffalo....Will be selling it this summer to build a house in the Wonderful TOWN of Brant

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Be sure to insist that the CB agent includes their 1-year guarantee to the purchaser against major problems. That should have been included in the agent's pitch.

We didn't get into buying another house too much, other than her wanting to send us listings. But say there IS a major problem for the new owner with my former house within a year, what happens to the house, i.e. who pays for the problems, do I have to take the house back, etc.?

[MadBuffaloDisease]

I'm glad to see you headed in this direction. The reality is simply this: in a situation like yours, if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing, then it's wise to surround yourself with people who DO know how to do this for you (much like a hole surrounds itself with a donut.) Maybe I'm overly conservative, but the money you think you're sticking in one pocket by doing it yourself may easily have to come out of another pocket should something go wrong...like a person changes their mind on their offer and you didn't calculate for the escape clause, etc., and have to return their money and start the process all over again.

 

Good luck.

Thanks. Yeah the above is another big reason to go with an agent. I'm at peace because I HATE overpaying when I don't have to do so or it's not worth it.

[stuckincincy]

We didn't get into buying another house too much, other than her wanting to send us listings.  But say there IS a major problem for the new owner with my former house within a year, what happens to the house, i.e. who pays for the problems, do I have to take the house back, etc.?

302780[/snapback]

 

No, not for you, for the prospective purchaser of your current domicile. It's a good selling point - we bought a house from a CB listing with that guarantee - it was like 50-buck deductible for things inside the house, and some things were specifically excluded - but that guarantee paid the 6K to dig up and replace the sewage pipes to the main and rebuild the torn-up lawn and incidental concrete damage.

 

CB advertises their guarantees. It's AFAIK generally included by them as an inducement for you, the seller, to list with them. And savvy buyers often want to hold back several thousand bucks from you, the seller, to take care of unaticipated problems. A real estate agency's guarantees often eliminate that requirement by the purchaser of your property.

 

 

 

At least in my experience, it sure came through for me as a buyer.

[stevewin]

It really is just a personal decision based on what you are comfortable with. One clarification:

 

I realized that if there's no agent, like "stevewin" said, people will want to take 6% off the price immediately, so there's really little savings, or at least not enough savings to justify the extra headache.

 

People will want to take $$$ off the price regardless - my point was that when doing FSBO you want to make sure you don't discount the price too much initially - you can make it less than comps in your area which are using an agent (which will make it attractive to some potential client base), but not so low that you you've lowballed yourself. You can get substantial savings and still sell for less than your neighbors - obviously the higher the cost of your house the more potentiial savings. For me it wasn't a headache at all, in fact it was surprisingly simple. But everyone's situation is different.

 

For me personally the sole benefit of an agent is to have more traffic (by default). For me - I've bought 3 houses and sold two - I don't need someone to tell me how to make my house look nice - that to me is pretty obvious. Also - it's pretty easy to get a sense of the market value of your house by just looking at comps selling around you. A lot of towns also have information freely available on the selling price of all homes in the township which is really easy to then use. I can just go to the web page and see what every single one of my neighbors paid for their house. Lastly - the paperwork is nothing to be intimidated by - the lawyers actually do all the work with title searches etc. - an agent is nothing but a middle man in that context. Purchase contracts are suprisingly straightforward and simple. Other issues such as inspections, contingencies etc. are going to exist regardless of how you market your house.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

No, not for you, for the prospective purchaser of your current domicile.

True that would be a "selling" point for wanting to list with them, but she didn't mention it. Good to know, because I wasn't expecting a prospective buyer to ask for money-off for unexpected stuff, nor was I going to agree to it. But the furnace IS getting to the end of its usable life, so maybe it might come in handy for the new owner.