Want to sell - Realtor now or later?

[LJSquishy]

We are interested in selling our house that we bought just before the big crash (purchased May 2007). We are fine with just breaking even on what we currently owe just to get out of the house.

We've done a ton of huge improvements since we've owned it (new plumbing, new kitchen & appliances, laundry room floor leveled and tiled, bathroom facelift, new vinyl fence, faux wood blinds throughout, completely landscaped, sprinkler system, etc). We are literally right in the middle of constructing a pergola and redoing the patio we put in a few years ago and have a few small projects to complete like filling small holes from old curtain rods, touch up paint, etc...just little things.

My question is, do we have realtors come over to our home now to at least get an idea of what they think it could sell for, or do we wait until we complete these little projects (four gain rid holes, etc) and the patio before contacting agents? We wouldn't be ready to put it on the market for at least a month or two minimum probably so we can complete these projects and also we are having a section of sewer line replaced so the grass seed needs time to grow where it will be dug up.

We need to know if we even CAN sell it...such as can we break even (or even make a little money) or will it only be worth $115k when we owe $130k which would mean we can't sell.

 

[Sadie22]

Have several Realtors come over NOW and look over the property so they can make suggestions to you on what you really need to do to get the property sold versus what you want to do. They may be able to help you save some time and money. Have several make presentations to you, and then you can go with the one you like the best. They're used to this competition.

If your potential market is parents with schoolchildren, now is the prime time for those who want to be moved in to a new location before school starts to be looking. If you take the time to do some of the projects you have in mind, you may find you waited too long to list the house.

 

[manateesmom]

I think I'd wait until it's in sale-ready condition.

FWIW, you might consider using something like an MLS-listing service, which is a step above FSBO but nets you more money than using a listing agent. Keep in mind that, if you list with a realtor, 5-6% of the sale price will be paid to the realtor (usually to be split with the buyer's agent). If you can find a flat-fee MLS listing service in your area, they'll list it as if you're represented by a realtor, but for a flat fee instead of a commission (ours was $400). You would still pay the buyer's agent a commission, but half of what you'd pay if you have two agents involved. You'd be responsible for arranging showings (you can buy a key box). But IMO, we sold faster and got better service by promoting the house ourselves, and having it listed on MLS, than working with a realtor. We did our own multi-page color brochures, did run a few newspaper ads, and the MLS listing puts it in every realtor's inbox and on websites like realtor.com.

 

[jedijill]

Call the Realtor now. They can give you some valuable advice so you know whether to even list or not.

Jill in CO

 

[sherreis]

We contacted a couple of realtors when we started getting ready to sell our house 1 1/2 yrs ago. They were very helpful and ran comps for us and looked at the upgrades we had done as well as the few things left on our "to do" list to get it ready. Just because they come over does not mean you have to sign anything until you are ready. Our previous house, we sold ourselves and the buyer had an agent and we paid her 2% and she accepted it.

 

[RitaE]

Well, it doesn't cost anything to have a Realtor come over and do a sales analysis for you so there's no reason not to that I can see. If a couple of realtors tell you that you won't get anywhere near your mortgage balance, then you'll know pretty quickly.

Things like painting and filling in drywall holes will probably have to be done to get the house ready to show. If something is wrong with your sewer line then it either needs to be repaired or you'll have to disclose it in the listing, and will hamper your ability to sell the house. But some of your other projects like constructing a Pergola, I'd definitely get the opinion of an expert before putting too much more money into the project. Those types of things are great if you're going to be living in a house, but they don't really do much to increase the value of your house.

 

[BCV2003]

We just went through this. We were planning on selling our house and we had a realtor come out to give us an idea of what our house was worth then and what her suggestions were for improvements. We had planned on finishing some projects including paint and and new carpeting. She told us not to bother with either of those things but agreed with the other items on the list and gave us a few other suggestions. She told us what she thought she would list it at after we did the work. We called her to schedule about six weeks later to list our house and she was pleasantly surprised when she came back to see and actually increased the listing by $15,000 over what her original estimate was and the house sold within a week.

Our inspection is tomorrow so crossing our fingers that everything goes well with that.

So bottom line, definitely have someone come out now to tell you what they think it would go for before and after the improvements.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

You can get a general idea of it's value by checking Zillow.com or Trulia.com These sites are pretty accurate for our area but your mileage may vary. It will tell you what houses in your area have sold for in the last 12 months.

 

[Ranger111]

ORDISNEYFANS tells you true about Zillow, etal.

One thing additional....probably just me, but I would NOT tell the realtor what "you need" to get for the house.

If they are worth "their commission," they have (hopefully) already done the research and know what you paid (that is usually public record, but not always, YMMV, etc.).

Anyway, if they are competent, they already know. If they are not, you don't want them to set false expectations (it is a bit like buying a car and the salesman asks what you want for a trade-in value for your old car -- magically, they often manipulate numbers so you "get" the trade-in value you named.)>

Anyway, you want an honest number from them, and telling them what you need could influence their appraisal in an effort to gain business (yes, I know, an ethical agent would not do this -- but people are people and even ethical agents might be swayed a bit <unintentionall> if they knew you were looking for particular numbers).

Just me, and just throwing it out. I am sure others disagree. I also try not to let a "second opinion" doctor know what the first doctor said...

 

[goofyisinphilly]

We are going through the same process. I talked to an agent today and he ran some comps. With the numbers he came back with I'm pretty sure he's blowing smoke up my skirt. It totally wasn't in line with what has sold on our street recently, zillow, or anything else I've been able to come up with. Why is it that men seem to think a woman is going to get taken for a ride? Guess I'll find a different office to work with.

 

[LJSquishy]

Thank you for your suggestions, comments, and opinions!

We will definitely contact a few realtors now (well, after we get our sewer line repaired) to see what the house is worth and ask them what improvements or changes need to be made or not made before putting it on the market.

I like the suggestion of not telling them how much we NEED to sell it for, that way they will give us a true value vs saying we can sell it for $130k when really it may only sell for $120k and waste our time. Great idea.

If we do end up listing it, we could probably hustle and have it ready during the summer well before school starts. We live just a few blocks from an elementary school and near a public pool. Our house is small, only 1400sqft and only 2bed 1bath but I guess a small family might like it, who knows.

 

[barkley]

be careful with Zillow-I don't know what they use as their "public records" source-but the numbers can be WAY off. our former home is showing as having sold for $120,000 less than what the buyers paid us for it. our current home is showing a value that no way could we get based on the comp sales in our area.

I think they use a simple formula where the value is just based on comp sales w/close to same size sq. footage/ and lot size/number of beds and baths/age of the home. this may work in some areas but can be WAY off in others-in the traditional neighborhood we sold in there were homes that would be identically valued on Zillow using this formula when in reality the junk constructed homes sold for 10's to 100's of dollars less. certain landscaping upgrades garnered large premiums as well. here in the country this formula doesn't take into account properties that sold with fully loaded shops and improved land which can greatly change a selling price.


we called in a couple realtors to interview before we sold our last house. the one we chose gave us great feedback on what we needed to do/might want to do/absolutely would be a waste of our time and money. he was also on top of what inspections we might want to have done ahead of time just so there would be no surprises that might leave a potential buyer in the position of trying to negotiate an over bloated price reduction. we never discussed beforehand with the realtor what we 'needed' to sell for, he just gave us the comps and what he felt it could sell for-then asked if we were agreeable to it (we were).

you could also find out what the trend is with fsbo or mls listing services in your area is. where we lived the local realtors highly discouraged buyers from even considering looking at these homes so sellers who went this route were at a disadvantage.

 

[disneychrista]

be careful with Zillow-I don't know what they use as their "public records" source-but the numbers can be WAY off. .

No kidding. We have two houses on my block with a Zestimate of over 800k when all the other are the more accurate 200k

 

[HookdonWDW]

Zillow and Trulia vary by over $100K for our house. The Trulia price is a lot more accurate than what Zillow has posted.

 

[barkley]

Zillow and Trulia vary by over $100K for our house. The Trulia price is a lot more accurate than what Zillow has posted.

I've never been on Trulia before so I just went on to check it out. still makes no sense to me-it has the same value for me as Zillow, but when you look at the comps it's using they show sales prices of $80,000 less a house down the street has a $30,000 difference in value between the 2 sites, but the comps both Trulia and Zillow are using show sales for between $121,000 and $150,000 less

 

[LJSquishy]

Zillow, Trulia, etc are always way off. My husband is in finance and he used to work with commercial & residential loans at a bank and everyone in his field and in real estate would joke at how pointless Zillow & Trulia are.

I tend to agree. They don't take any interior work into consideration and our house is listed as 3b 1ba but it's a 2b 1ba.

 

[lucyem]

Zillow, Trulia, etc are always way off. My husband is in finance and he used to work with commercial & residential loans at a bank and everyone in his field and in real estate would joke at how pointless Zillow & Trulia are. I tend to agree. They don't take any interior work into consideration and our house is listed as 3b 1ba but it's a 2b 1ba.

Zillow and the others work when you are comparing apples to apples such as copycat houses in subdivisions. But in many places there is no way for them to really give you an accurate number.

Start talking to agents now. See what they say. Look closely at the comps they give you. Check into how and where they advertise. Find out when the best selling season is. For us it is April-June. Then sept-oct. Mid summer slows down, thanksgiving/Christmas slows down and then we have winter where things slow down, or like this year stop completely

 

[Ranger111]

I am not "dissing" previous posters, but, for the most part, don't listen to them regarding Zillow, Trulia, etc.

There are actually five or six of the same sort of services. For the most part, they are pretty darn close.

Do they make errors. Yes. A fair amount at times and hardly at all at others. In a hot market they can be off quite a bit....but so can Realtors....

Will Realtors tell you to ignore the services. Yes, as it is in their best interest that you worship only their professional knowledge.

Do these services only work in cookie-cutter subdivisions. No. They work well in such spots, but pretty well in many others.

Are realtors and professional appraisers ever in error. Often.

Do people -- your neighbor, your friend at the coffee shop, the fabric store owner -- rant about how wrong Zillow, etal is about their neighborhood. Yes, but often these well-meaning people are wrong themselves.

Does Zillow have misinformation about properties. Yes, but it allows "fixes."

So, yes, at times those services can be a bit or a lot wrong. I tend to use all 5-6 or so and average it out. And if you get a few realtor numbers, do the same.

My experience??? Until the big meltdown, which fortunately I managed to dodge, I bought "distressed homes," repaired them and resold them. Since then, I have found other employment.

 

[LJSquishy]

Just wanted to update...

I've contacted 2 agents so far and meet with one of them on Monday. The second agent is putting together a presentation beforehand of comps, market value, etc an then we will meet with him hopefully next week as well.

I was feeling really good about listing our house, but now I'm very nervous and afraid they will say it's worth less than we owe even with all of the improvements we've done. I hope we can break even.