For Sale By Owner..Anyone Done This?

[TandJ61574]

We are thinking of selling our home ourselves. Can anyone tell me where to begin? Do I list in local paper? Should I put a sign in front of home etc?

Also, if you have done this what was your experience good or bad.

 

[bananiem]

We didn't mean to sell our last home on our own but someone contacted us as soon as they heard we were moving. You may think you'll be able to keep that realtor profit but a savvy buyer will look up the comparable homes in the neighborhood and figure out if yours is priced correctly. Then they will deduct the 7% realtor "profit" and offer you that price. In reality it benefits the buyer because they get a slightly lower mortgage. And you still have to do the paperwork and crap.

 

[LadyyRedd]

I have experienced that and LOVED it....but I was the buyer!!!

It definitely benefitted me. He didn't have a lot of people look at it because he didn't have it listed with MLS. I saw his ad in the paper and my realtor set up an appt. I'm not sure he even had any other offers. If he'd listed it, there would have been a bidding war as it's a GREAT property and he had it priced for less than anything comparable.

Kimya

 

[mcnuss]

We are thinking of selling our home ourselves. Can anyone tell me where to begin? Do I list in local paper? Should I put a sign in front of home etc?

Also, if you have done this what was your experience good or bad.

Unless you are very familiar with the process, I would not do it. You won't save nearly as much money as you think you will and the hassle is enormous. No offense, but just by the level of your questions, you are no where near ready to sell a home on your own.

 

[clh2]

I know several people who have used companies that assist homeowners to sell their homes themselves. The last one who did this used Homeowners Concept. Their website is: Homeowners Concept

While Homeowners Concept has a fairly limited market area - I do know there are other companies that do this too.

Good Luck!

 

[CherCrazy]

Can you tell the difference between a real buyer and a thief checking out your home? Realtors qualify every one they bring through your home.

 

[N.Bailey]

I have no experience with it, but I've seen it done many times in my area. I wouldn't begin to get in to the particulars, but yes, I would advertise in the local paper and I would get one of those for sale signs and stick it outside. There might even be a place to advertise the listing on the web for your area? I'd definitely google it to find out.

Have you had the property appraised lately? I'd maybe suggest you do so you know where you should start your pricing.

Good luck no matter which way you decide to go.

 

[pattyT]

We have been purchasers this way - two times... no problems -
we tried to sell one house ourselves... a two family last year... and we just slapped a sign on the lawn...
got LOTS of calls (half from realtors asking if they could list it)
One "serious Buyer"
gave a 2k deposit, had a Prequalification letter from the bank, signed a P&S
Had our tenants move out (and they were friends actually had them move into another apartment we had empty and into a friends)
Then they decided they didn't want to pay what the bank wanted
so they put a stop payment on the check
and we were left with a two family empty in the fall in MA (bot good insurance wise, heating wise, etc) so we listed it with a realtor who had it under agreement in two days. (with an aquiantence of ours who didn't know we were selling!)
Personally i would look around for a realtor who will work for a lower percentage and give them the headaches... (usually if they do not work for a large company they can work for whatever they want - but they won't publish ads etc...)

 

[Southern4sure]

We sold our home in Jan 05 FSBO. It is not hard to do at all. We knew what we wanted in price and before we could talk to a realtor or even advertise the house, we had an offer. The bank the buyer used took care of everything for us. We did have to pay certain things all sellers have to pay but the experience was a good one and I would do it again. The banker said our closing was the easiest closing she ever had. Everthing just fell into place with all the paper work and etc.

We did not deduct any % for supposedly realtor fees. We got exactly what we were asking.

Good Luck...

 

[Lil_Tink]

I would not do it where I live, to many thiefs scoping it out. But best of luck.

 

[kidzmom3]

here are some things to think about when trying to do a for sale by owner
Are you prepared to negotiate the contract?
Do you know what the legal responsibilities of the seller are in your area? Who will write the contract?
Will you need to hire an attorney? If so, what will be the attorney's fees?

Tips: In addition to the sales contract, you'll need to complete a Seller's Disclosure and a Lead Based Paint Disclosure. also if you have a septic system? In massachusetts you must pass a title 5 inspection before you can sell.

People can be very rude about your decor and your maintenance, can you take some harsh words?

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Can you tell the difference between a real buyer and a thief checking out your home? Realtors qualify every one they bring through your home.

That doesn't mean that thieves aren't looking at homes thru realtors...you can show your home to whoever you want to. You can even require that a potential buyer be prequalified prior to seeing your home. I wouldn't let that comment scare you.

We sold our last home without a realtor. Because we had a 100% VA mortgage, we had no equity in the home. The realtor's fee would have been $8700...and we would have had to bring nearly $12,000 to the table to close. That, to me, is INSANE...especially when many realtors spend about 20-40 hours or less working on selling your home. Do you know anyone else who makes that kind of money?!

When we move next year, we will sell our current home without a realtor. We'll pay to list it on the multi-list, which is available in most towns without paying the realtor. Additionally, we'll list in the local paper. We will list it on FSBO.com, and we may even setup a small website to tell about the house. We'll advertise at the local military base's housing office, and we'll have fliers available for everyone who comes by! We'll list our house at a price slightly lower than all the other homes in the neighborhood, and we'll take our cash away from the table...not give it to a realtor. Thanks, we'll keep our $16,000. For that amount of money, you can purchase air time on the local tv station!

LOL, can you tell I'm a little anti-realtor? Yes, I believe they are capable of doing a good job. Yes, they have knowledge...but most of it is something you can learn without paying huge fees. I think it's time for realtors to be getting paid flat fees for selling homes...and I don't think it should be much more than about 2% of the sales price. I believe that realtors are responsible for the current inflation of housing costs in this country!

OK, I'm jumping off my soapbox. Flame away if you want to. I could be wrong...but I doubt it. Realtors work to ensure the seller's interests are met in a transaction. Who is watching out for the buyers?

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

We have been purchasers this way - two times... no problems -
we tried to sell one house ourselves... a two family last year... and we just slapped a sign on the lawn...
got LOTS of calls (half from realtors asking if they could list it)
One "serious Buyer"
gave a 2k deposit, had a Prequalification letter from the bank, signed a P&S
Had our tenants move out (and they were friends actually had them move into another apartment we had empty and into a friends)
Then they decided they didn't want to pay what the bank wanted
so they put a stop payment on the check
and we were left with a two family empty in the fall in MA (bot good insurance wise, heating wise, etc) so we listed it with a realtor who had it under agreement in two days. (with an aquiantence of ours who didn't know we were selling!)

Why didn't you cash the earnest money check and put the money in escrow? That was money you should have been entitled to keep, and if they signed a contract with you stating such, you are entitled to that money legally!

 

[Cindyluwho]

The realtor's fee would have been $8700...and we would have had to bring nearly $12,000 to the table to close. That, to me, is INSANE...especially when many realtors spend about 20-40 hours or less working on selling your home. Do you know anyone else who makes that kind of money?!

Realtors work to ensure the seller's interests are met in a transaction. Who is watching out for the buyers?

***!!! Where did you get those figures??20-40 hours? Not unless you're the worst Real Estate Agent in the marketplace. And what about fuel, ad costs, printing costs, etc. And the LIABILITY!! You must have worked with some of the scummiest agents ever to come to your conclusions, and for that - I'm sorry. But lumping them all together, basically calling them all worthless. And as for flat fees - you can get that now. But remember, you get what you pay for! You can't hire a top-notch realtor without paying the price - but you can get a half-@#$ed one for next to nothing.
And NO-realtors do NOT work for the seller unless they're the listing agent on a specific property. They work for the buyer. Sheesh

 

[DennisP]

My neighbors are selling their house through FSBO .

 

[Papa Deuce]

My home price has more than doubled in the last 6 years. NO way I will pay a realtor double to sell my house. My house would sell in less than a week based on the current market. You're talking a whole lot of cash, there.

In fact, another option is to tell a realtor how much you are willing to pay them to sell your house. In my area this practice has just started. If they want to sell it they agree to YOUR terms. My housing market is on fire, though. Everything sells quickly, even homes that aren't in great shape.

SO, if they won't agree to MY terms I will sell it myself. It ain't rocket science. But it isn't a walk in the park, either. I'll hire a real estate lawyer to help. Even if I pay $250 an hour, I would still save thousands.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

And NO-realtors do NOT work for the seller unless they're the listing agent on a specific property. They work for the buyer. Sheesh

It is true. Check out any real estate contract and you will see. A realtor is paid by the seller and works for the seller. It is the nature of the real estate business.

I worked with a real estate agent to purchase our current house. She spent 8 hours with us to find a home. She showed us 6 houses. She completed an offer and did followup...but NO WHERE NEAR 40 hours. The realtor fee they made from the seller was $15,000. Her personal cut--1/2 of 60% of that fee, or $4500. Even at 45 total hours of work, that's $100 per hour. For her high school education and real estate school plus a half a tank of gas, I think it's too much. But that's my opinion. Go ahead and pay them if you think it's worth it!

 

[kerrynic78]

My DH and I sold our house FSBO and it was the easiest thing we have ever done. This was our first house to buy and sell, we used a realtor to buy the place but decided to sell it FSBO. We had no experience at all only being in our early twenties but we sold it in 2 weeks. We called our lawyer, he told us what type of document to have the prospective buyer sign and then we went to his office for the rest of the paperwork. It was so easy and we will be doing it ourselves when we sell again.

 

[Pugdog007]

And NO-realtors do NOT work for the seller unless they're the listing agent on a specific property. They work for the buyer. Sheesh

While there are now "buyer's agents" in the market, realtors historically have always worked for the seller. You should always keep that in mind when you are looking to buy.

 

[SpecialK]

We sold our home FSBO last spring. Our area was hot at the time and we found a buyer through word-of-mouth. Just make sure you have a good attorney to help you cover all the bases. Ours was a gem.