Have you sold a house without a realtor?

[Liz CA]

If so, can you tell me about the process from A-Z or PM me if it's too long for the board.

I am in CA but don't know if there are major differences from state to state.

I welcome all thoughts on this. Also where would you advertise?

 

PS: Please don't try to convince me to involve a realtor because by the time I pay his/her commission I'd have next to nothing left. We will have to go this route, though involving a real estate attorney at the final stage would be okay - I think.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Liz CA

[Tap]

If so, can you tell me about the process from A-Z or PM me if it's too long for the board.

I am in CA but don't know if there are major differences from state to state.

I welcome all thoughts on this.

 

PS: Please don't try to convince me to involve a realtor because by the time I pay his/her commission I'd have next to nothing left. We will have to go this route, though involving a real estate attorney at the final stage would be okay - I think.

 

Have you looked at programs like "4 Sale By Owner" or others in your area? We have done it, but with my MIL who used to sell real estate advising us on the paperwork. There are people in the industry who will help with just the paperwork, for much smaller fee 1-3% depending on the contracts/paperwork/legwork you expect from them.

[Gooblink]

We've done it twice...sort of. :)

 

First time we bought the book "How to Sell Your House in 5 Days" and followed the instructions. It's a little scary, a lot of work, but we sold it for market value in 2 weeks. I can PM you details if you like, or your library might have the book.

 

Second time we found a realtor in Houston (we lived in Austin) who, for $175, listed our house on the MLS, sent us a sign&lockbox and answered inquiries. We didn't owe him any additional fees.

 

In both cases, there were realtor fees on the buyer's end, but it was still a good savings and we could have held out for someone willing to buy without a realtor, too. If you do your homework and can read/understand contracts, you don't need a realtor.

 

We also sold a car using the 5-day method. It was an old BMW that we were offered $200 on a trade-in for...we sold it for $1700 to a hobbyist. I'm telling you, the method works if you're willing to do the grunt work.

 

:) HTH

[KrissiK]

We did, but we sold about 8 years ago at the height of the market. We put a sign out front one day, the next day we had an offer that we accepted. I think when it is a seller's market, it's easier than a buyer's market to do it yourself because of all the little things that can go wrong when the buyer wants to get a better deal. For us, dh just got a book that walked you through the steps and the title company does most of the work for you. In this market, I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

[Scarlett]

We did, but we sold about 8 years ago at the height of the market. We put a sign out front one day, the next day we had an offer that we accepted. I think when it is a seller's market, it's easier than a buyer's market to do it yourself because of all the little things that can go wrong when the buyer wants to get a better deal. For us, dh just got a book that walked you through the steps and the title company does most of the work for you. In this market, I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

 

My (now) XH and I sold our first house on our own. It was painless. Mortgage company/loan officers take care of telling everyone what to do. Sometimes I wonder what we even need realtors for. (and I have my license)

[amy g.]

I just sold my dad's house without a Realtor. It was stressful, and I paid about $800 in attorney fees, but a Realtor would have been even more.

[homeschoolmom]

Just popping in to say that I believe that in the right market it can totally be done. In a tough market even the realtors can't sell the houses. Their "strategy" is the same - drop the price until it sells.

 

After trying to sell our house a few years back with a top local agent, I'm convinced that realtors bring little to the table that a person who is organized and motivated couldn't bring as well. Clean the house, stage it, take pictures, put them on the web, hold open houses, market, market, market.

 

If we ever decide to sell again, I'm definitely going the modified FSBO or if the market is good enough, full FSBO route.

 

As an aside - so happy we didn't sell. We ended up not giving in to the pressure to 'dump' the house, took it off the market and made the improvements we felt were lacking. A year later, DH was unemployed for 1.5 years and we were down to one (stagnating) income. We were glad that we had not moved up at that point.......and now we're simply happy where we are.

[hillfarm]

We sold our house ourselves. The main thing is to contact a banker you trust and ask for a referral for a good title company. The title company we used had a complete check list and packet of document forms that they provided free of charge. Then they were there to answer questions all along the way. Between them and the loan officers, we had no problem.

 

If the property you are selling has a lot of unusual quirks, then I would definitely consider getting more help, perhaps a real estate attorney.

 

But in my understanding, the job of a realtor is to help sellers and buyers find each other. They may be able to answer questions and help move things along because they are more familiar with the process than the average person, but I don't believe they handle the loan papers or title papers. If you are in a premium location or already have a buyer, then you may be able to sell it yourself.

[Gooblink]

Just popping in to say that I believe that in the right market it can totally be done. In a tough market even the realtors can't sell the houses. Their "strategy" is the same - drop the price until it sells.

 

 

 

What is unique about the way we did it, is that we started with a price ridiculously low and advertised for "best offer." The we took offers over 2 days. Once we got the bids, we called them in sort of a round-robin auction until we were down to one, highest offer. We got a little more than the house was appraised for and in a soft market.

 

It was kind of fun, but certainly not everyone's cup of tea.

[newhsmom]

About 7 years ago, we tried to sell a house by owner. After close to a year on the market, we decided to list with a broker for a $500 to get our house on the MLS and realtor.com and we also agreed to pay the selling agent 3% of the asking price of our home. We had a contract within two weeks of being listed on MLS. Of course, the market was better then, but it is very difficult to compete with houses that are listed by realtors because so many people look for houses on the internet. I don't know if it is still possible to pay a broker to atleast get listed on the MLS service, but might be worth checking into. I think it is much easier to sell a house by owner in a very desirable area where there is not a lot of competition. In my area, even realtors can't sell houses, so I don't know how someone selling by owner would even have a chance. The other caution I have is that the only offers we ever had when we listed by owner were people who wanted to steal our house or offer us 6% less because we weren't using a realtor. It was obviously a frustrating experience, but I totally understand your not wanting to use a realtor because their fees are so high.

[happypamama]

Both times we've sold, we've used realtors (and I am a licensed agent, though my license has lapsed); we probably could have gotten away with not using one the last time, though, because the market was so good (2006), and it was a desirable neighborhood. We opted for the agent because we wanted the MLS exposure and a quick sale. In this market, I'd be concerned about exposure if you don't have a realtor. If it's a popular neighborhood, that would be less of a concern, but if the house is quirky or in the country or something, you might consider looking for an agent who would list it on the MLS but otherwise let you do it yourself -- that might cost you a little something but hopefully not as much as a full commission.

 

Also, when I was working in real estate, some buyers' agents wouldn't show properties that weren't listed with other agents, because they were concerned about getting *their* fee. Typically, at least in the states where I've bought and sold, the fees for both the buyers' and sellers' agents come from the sellers' proceeds. These days, I'm not sure buyers would have the extra cash to pay the buyers' agent themselves, so unless you're willing to pay the buyers' agent fee, the buyers' agents may not want to show your house, leaving you with even less exposure. (Now, if you can get plenty of exposure through the newspaper or Craigslist or whatever skip all agents completely, that's different.)

[elegantlion]

Have you looked at programs like "4 Sale By Owner" or others in your area? We have done it, but with my MIL who used to sell real estate advising us on the paperwork. There are people in the industry who will help with just the paperwork, for much smaller fee 1-3% depending on the contracts/paperwork/legwork you expect from them.

 

Dh and I sold our first house in this manner. They program gave us all the legal paperwork and pointed us towards a great lawyer for the closing. My dh has sales experience and we were motivated. It sold in two weeks. We were at a pro baseball when we negotiated the final price. Absolutely the least painful home buying/selling process we've ever had. This was several years ago.

[Liz CA]

 

But in my understanding, the job of a realtor is to help sellers and buyers find each other. They may be able to answer questions and help move things along because they are more familiar with the process than the average person, but I don't believe they handle the loan papers or title papers. If you are in a premium location or already have a buyer, then you may be able to sell it yourself.

 

Well, we may have a buyer. Our neighbors are coming by this Saturday, weather permitting (snow storm on the way). However, if they don't like it, I would still want to try to sell it without a realtor.

Prayers are much appreciated.

[Liz CA]

If it's a popular neighborhood, that would be less of a concern, but if the house is quirky or in the country or something, you might consider looking for an agent who would list it on the MLS but otherwise let you do it yourself -- that might cost you a little something but hopefully not as much as a full commission.

 

(Now, if you can get plenty of exposure through the newspaper or Craigslist or whatever skip all agents completely, that's different.)

 

The house is definitely in the country. Does that make it quirky? We have a well and septic and the last 1/4 mile to the house is unpaved - but still county maintained, i.e snow plow comes and road is fixed if necessary.

 

I could list it on Craigslist with pics but I am living here by myself right now (dh has transferred with his job) and I am a little uncomfortable having people come out here and possibly realizing it's just me and the dog. :)

Are there other websites where one can post real estate?

[LarlaB]

We used ForSaleByOwner and also paid for an MLS listing (additional $500). This was in 2008, and we sold in 8 days. After a TON of work (staging, storage unit etc, plus home improvement projects) we had an open house that first weekend. Buyers had an agent, so we made sure he knew we would give him 2% (even though they found the house etc).

[gaillardia]

We sold our first home without a realtor, to our honest, nice neighbors.:001_smile:

 

We just sold our third home without a realtor. We had a realtor, the contract expired. One of the very few prospects we had came back a few weeks later to see if we were still wanting to sell. That was actually a nightmare. We would lose too much money to make it worth selling, but I think my dh realizes that next time maybe we need a realtor to keep track of what the buyer/buyer's agent is doing.

Now that I'm reading about success stories with 4 sale by owner, I think I would check that out first.

Don't forget, Liz. Make sure it looks like your husband does live there by having his boots or clothing visible somewhere, more than one toothbrush.

[happypamama]

The house is definitely in the country. Does that make it quirky? We have a well and septic and the last 1/4 mile to the house is unpaved - but still county maintained, i.e snow plow comes and road is fixed if necessary.

 

I would define "quirky" as anything for which it's not immediately apparent what the house looks like based on its neighbors. Our first two houses were cookie cutter houses that looked just like every other one in their neighborhoods; you knew by looking at the house that it had the same 3BR, same square footage, same floor plan, etc. So for someone looking to move into those neighborhoods, it just meant picking the right price and decor. Our current house, otoh, is a rural farmhouse; it probably has a lot in common with other old farmhouses, but the listing won't tell you that all much about it -- you really have to see it. If there aren't lots of houses like yours around your area, I'd want to get as much exposure as possible.

 

Are there other websites where one can post real estate?

 

This I don't know, as I've been out of the real estate loop for several years. I'd talk to a couple of realtors, just to see what they can do for you. And I'd definitely put "by appointment only." I like the idea of making it obvious that your DH does exist, with his clothes/shoes/toothbrush/etc. You might be able to put some fliers out in front of the house with some info and a few pictures, just to help people see if they might be interested without them having to bug you.