freeindeed Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 We are planning to sell our house. In the past, we've always used a realtor when selling our home, but we're considering trying to sell our current home on our own. I am a bit overwhelmed when reading about it online. The majority of the work will fall on me because my hubby works long hours. Also, I should confess that I am already stressed with housework, homeschooling, parenting, being a special needs mom, driving to doctors' appointments, and sometimes just life in general. I don't want this to be the thing that will put me over the edge! So, is it worth it? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 It really depends on the market. I would not do it in a buyer's market. I sold by owner once, but I hired a realtor for a flat fee to do the paper work and walk us through closing. I think it was like $500. Some realtors specialize in this kind of thing. I ran the ads and open houses, etc. It was a strong seller's market, a cute starter home in a nice neighborhood, and I sold it within 2-3 weeks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I suspect if it was easy to do, there would not be realtors. If you do not know what you are doing, it could get expensive. Plus I suspect buyers will assume they can weasel you down more on price since you are not having to share profit with a realtor. I would not want to deal directly with buyers! Let the realtor handle them. Your sanity is worth more than any realtor fee. You have enough on your plate already. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoast Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 We had the same experience as Wooly but used an attorney to look over all the paper work. We were in a seller's market, knew going prices, & were in a very desirable neighborhood. If you don't have those things, than get a realtor. The hardest part for me whether I sell by owner or use a realtor is keeping the house show ready with kids and homeschooling. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Depends on the market in your area. When dh was military, we sold (had a contract) our home with a yard sign in less than a week to another military family. Here and today, it wouldn't be easy. We had a real estate lawyer handle the sale for us once the contract was in hand, and the buyer had a real estate agent btw. Locally we have a company called, For Sale By Owner and they charge less than a realtor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 It was pretty easy for us 13 years ago. We thought the house would sell pretty easily (sold within 2 weeks) and didn't think there would be enough work/effort to justify a realtor making a hefty profit off of us. There is a local realty company that does FSBO's for a flat fee. The people who bought our house were also selling their house by owner through the same company. Fees were very low compared to commission--saved us thousands. We would do it again if we had to because we have a very desirable home (not fancy, just newer single level in an era where 95% of new builds are two story). We have realtors mail us postcards or letters saying they have a buyer if we want to sell. But I don't think I would do it in a market where homes just aren't moving. And incidentally we did by owner with two toddlers, one severely disabled. We did have to put work and effort into getting the house ready, getting an inspection (really helps negotiations to know if there are any issues), making fliers, having one open house, and showing the house a few times. It was clean and uncluttered but not professionally staged--my kiddos still had their toy corner for instance. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebbyribs Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 We just bought a FSBO house. It was never actually listed as for sale. The sellers approached us after an open house for a similar house nearby. They said they were getting ready to put their slightly larger house on the market, and would we like to take a look. We did, and talked it over and got back to them several days later. We had it inspected and then started the buying process. The sellers and I pretty much took care of everything using a title company, but it didn't go off without a few hitches: (1) The property appraised for less than the sale price, and so the mortgage company would only lend us a smaller amount. (2) The sellers realized AT CLOSING that they got 2 property tax bills because their lot was actually 2 separate parcels. We had to do the closing all over again! On the other hand, in my area, there are often multiple offers and bidding wars for houses. We got to miss out on all that. Houses are usually staged for sale, and the sellers didn't need to do that or do lots of painting and minor repairs. We both saved on real estate agent commissions. Also, we ended up talking with the sellers quite a bit and can ask them questions if there are any quirks we discover later on or let them know if we discover something they left behind (or get in the mail later). It worked out well, but it was nerve-wracking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 The title company can be a very, very good resource for you. When we've sold by owner, they pretty much walked us through everything like a realtor would, telling us what would/should happen when and what we needed to do. We didn't use a lawyer, but it's probably a pretty good idea to do so. Their fee compared to a realtor's fee is quite a bit lower. There are times to use a realtor and times when it's not as necessary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 We sold ours by owner at the height of the sellers market in 2003. It was cake! We bought a manual on-line, the title company does the bulk of the work, and we had a very enthusiastic buyer. But I wouldn't do it now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 Thanks for the input. I am still pondering if selling ourselves vs. a realtor would save us enough money to make a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 In a different "life stage," I would probably sell a house FSBO. But as a busy homeschool mom, especially in your situation with a child who has special needs, I probably would choose to use a realtor if I was in your shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I suspect if it was easy to do, there would not be realtors. If you do not know what you are doing, it could get expensive. Plus I suspect buyers will assume they can weasel you down more on price since you are not having to share profit with a realtor. I would not want to deal directly with buyers! Let the realtor handle them. Your sanity is worth more than any realtor fee. You have enough on your plate already. My thoughts exactly. It is expensive because it is very specialized work that takes a special kind of person. I'm guessing most people who can sell their own home without a realtor should actually be working in real estate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Remember that the Realtor fees can be negotiable! If the market is hot and your house is desirable then you have an argument for lowering your fee. Do this when you are choosing your listing agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I opted not to do that eight years ago, even though the market was quite hot (it got multiple offers in nine days) and I have a real estate license myself. Just to much hassle to deal with while taking care of young children. I had enough to do with keeping the house ready to show and dealing with our move. The agent I used too work for says that most people end up going with an agent anyway, but I suppose it depends on the market. ETA: Years ago, when I worked in real estate (pre-babies, so 2001), my supervising agent would sometimes work out a sort of hybrid arrangement with FSBO sellers. FSBOs weren't able to be in the MLS listing service, and thus get more exposure, so they'd make some sort of arrangement where she'd get them listed but wouldn't represent them. Or she would represent them, but they'd pay a lower or no commission if they found the buyer instead of her or another agent. So you could ask a few agents about some sort of slightly alternative deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 My friend just sold her house FSBO and was able to pay a fee to get an MLS number. I don't know the specifics but I know it can be be done. If you decide to sell on your own and think you need the extra exposure, it would be worth looking into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home'scool Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Pros - You can save a lot of money. It is relatively east to make sure you price your house right. Look at the comps for houses in your area that are selling or have just sold. Divide the square footage by the selling price to get the price per square foot, and then multiply your square footage by that. Ta Da! Your house price. Take color shots of the inside and outside and print a pamphlet at your local printing store. Put these up everywhere. Every week run a color ad in your local paper advertising an open house. Have an open house every weekend -that way you will be able to somewhat control when people will come by to look at your house. If you have a Facebook page put it on there and ask people to share it. Hire a lawyer to do the closing. They will charge maybe $500. Cons: If you aren't able to sell it and end up going with a realtor people see this is as you starting to get desperate and may squeeze your more in negotiations. You will get a lot more "tire kickers" than if a realtor brought them in. -- We have sold 4 houses, always with a realtor because my husband's company was moving us, but it ALWAYS was a nightmare even with the realtor!! In my opinion they sometimes can get in the way with negotiations, etc. If you are willing to put the time and effort in I think you could sell your own house. If it's a tough market then it's a tough market for realtors too. You just have to hustle and advertise. But you can save thousand and thousands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weddell Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 We did it once in a hot market with a desirable house. We paid to get comps for our area (maybe $20? although now this may all be free online) and then came up with a pretty reasonable price. We just let a few people know through work that we were looking to sell and had a couple offers without ever having to list the house. We had a lawyer and the title company do the paperwork ($500 for lawyer, not sure about title company). We saved several thousand dollars. BUT when we went to sell our next house, we didn't even consider selling by owner. Totally different housing market. I don't think I would FSBO unless I knew we could sell with almost no effort on our part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I used an online listing service that lists it on the MLS for you. The cost was about $400, and that fed to Trulia and a gazillion other websites that pull listings from the MLS. We had it listed so that it would not "appear" or go to the MLS feeds to realtors in the area, because we didn't want to deal with the hassle of other realtors, we wanted to deal directly with customers, people looking on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 We are planning to sell our house. In the past, we've always used a realtor when selling our home, but we're considering trying to sell our current home on our own. I am a bit overwhelmed when reading about it online. The majority of the work will fall on me because my hubby works long hours. Also, I should confess that I am already stressed with housework, homeschooling, parenting, being a special needs mom, driving to doctors' appointments, and sometimes just life in general. I don't want this to be the thing that will put me over the edge! So, is it worth it? Thanks. Easy if you know what you are doing and have the legal knowledge to do it. Harder today, as buyers think they can't do this without a Realtor. Nice compromise...use a Limited Service realtor, one who does NOT have "Flat fee" in the name, which screams..."Give me low offers since I am not paying both sides of the commission!" We have one here with a regular Real estate company name, and I've sold multiple houses through them. My fee was $500 to my Realtor to get it on the MLS, and the 3.5% commission (standard here, and high!) to the Buyer's Realtor at Closing. Worked out great! Unlike some of the others, I think it is imperative that the house appear in the MLS to all brokers/Realtors if you want to get it sold. Limiting your audience is a mistake, I think, but if you have a really hot property that will sell quickly, you can just try listing that does not show to brokers, use a real estate company Purchase Agreement (again, IF you know what you are doing, because ONE WORD can mess you up) or a real estate attorney-drafted Purchase Agreement and set up a closing at a Title Company or use an attorney for closing. You can save a lot of money that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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