Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey Everyone,

I appologize in advance, and I am sorry to clutter up the forum with an off topic question, but I know I can get straight answers here.

We are thinking of selling our house. We are kicking around the idea of trying to sell it ourselves, without a real estate agent and the 7% commission. Is this do-able, or smart? Or, are we biting off more that we should? It is a sellers market, so I think we can find a buyer, but I am concerned about all the paper-work and legal stuff.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

Jeff

It's fairly easy but requires diligence. If you've never done it before I'd recommend a good lawyer to help keep you out of trouble. Advertising in the local paper and the FSBO sign in the front yard are the standard items under normal circumstances. Be prepared to fend off the agents. Consider a weekend open house.

The downside is that you have to do the showings yourself, but it's manageable if there's someone who doesn't mind being home to take calls, schedule appointments and do the tours. Good luck and have fun.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Jeff,

we have had our house on the market now for about 90 days. We started off FSBO but switched to a realtor because we now have 2 mortgages and need to sell. I would argue that the housing market bubble is about to burst and it's quickly becoming a buyers market, but each area is diferent. With the low interest rates over the last four years, new builders have put up a ton of new houses, so now the market is flooded in many areas, and many buyers will buy new houses for about the same money.

FSBO is definitly a good option if you're not in a hurry. We sold two other houses that way. Once you have a buyer, pay a lawyer to handle the paperwork and represent you. Make sure you add lots of pics to any online advertising. Interest rates are slowly creeping up, so the longer you wait, the tougher it will be.

Good luck!

John

We just sold in a supercharged market and bought in another one. We
used realtors for both after considering fsbo. Our relator has a database
of several thousand realtor e-mail addresses, a great graphics
department and lots of insider insight. Our house sold in 3 days for WAY
over asking price. We negotiated a 5% commission in advance.
Another thing to consider is that many realtors boycott fsbo listings
because there's no fee in it for them, as well as for reasons of
professional pride. That can cut out a considerable group of serious
buyers from your pool.
One last thing; if there're problems with the transaction, it's usually the
realtor that gets sued first (as long as it's not something that you did not
disclose about the property).
-C

_________________
Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

My house is under contract now I sold it myself in 3 days strictly word of mouth. I got full price, top end of the appraisal. The lawyer is charging $500 to do all the paperwork. I have done this twice before. With a good attorney it is safe and easy. That said I agree with John this bubble is getting ready to pop so it depends how desireable your property is and how well you can promote it. Like Chas said you can negotiate a 5% commission and a good agent can give huge exposure.Good luck to you.

Hi Jeff,
In my area...Sarasota, Fl. the market is on fire. Realtors are selling houses the same day they list them. Most Realtors I know ( I have several for clients) are lowering their commission percentage greatly just to get the listing. Most are down around 3%. But again that's here in SRQ. Also some realtors are just charging a fee say $200-$300 for listing the house on MLS. No Commission or anything...they don't do anything else other than put the house on MLS. But that is money well spent because all the other realtors see the house. They get their commission from the BUYER since they are acting as a "buyers broker". You benefit by the exposure and quicker sale. As far as an attorney goes...you don't need one. What you will need is a Title Ins. Company. No one will buy your home not knowing whether or not Title is clear from encumbrances. A title company does the search and then issues a policy that in essence assures the buyer that nothing is tainting the title. Although they do make mistakes. Buyer's can't get a mortgage with out title ins. But don't get me wrong...A good Real Estate lawyer is sometimes the best investment you can make. Especially if their are contingencies or other potential problems like Mold, or soil contamination issues or even just escrow issues. I always spend the extra bucks and use a Lawyer. He's also a friend so the bucks aren't that big. But I would hire one irregardless of cost. It's money well spent for ME.

p.s. Title ins. is a cost that is usually paid by the buyer anyway. Although any of the closing costs are negotiable as to who pays them. If you get your asking price the buyer may ask you to pick up the closing costs. Again if you have an attorney they usually allocated the costs to the usual payor and everyone just accepts this as "standard" policy. Same with realtors they will tell you what costs are expected to be paid by the buyer and which are paid by the seller.Dave-SKG38547.5325

_________________
Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Jeff --

Try these folks:

http://www.forsalebyowner.com/

There's a "Fisbo" radio show on one of the local AM stations here. Dunno if it's a local broadcast or syndicated. But it's worth a listen if you can get it in your radio market.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

Hi Jeff,

You are in Oregon, right? It should be pretty easy for you to do a FSBO if you are careful and keep a few things in mind. A good attorney and a good escrow company will take care of 99% of your concerns about "paper work and legal stuff".

You most definitely need an attorney to at least look over purchase and sale agreement. It will cost a few bucks, but far less than the real estate agents commission. Find a good real estate attorney and talk to them early. That should be your first stop.


The escrow company will do most of the work for you after you bring in a purchase and sale agreement. They are a neutral third party so aren’t supposed to give advice that would compromise that position, but your next stop should be to their office to ask them what they need from you and what they can and can't provide. The escrow company is used to FSBOs so a good office should be able to help you out a lot.


In a seller's market like we are having out here a real estate agent isn't really necessary. You can do the marketing yourself. Just be sure when you advertise to include “please no real estate agents” or the sharks will be at your door. Call a title company and ask them for comparables to help determine what your asking price should be. Also ask them for a listing package. It will contain useful information such a maps, assessed values, deeds, etc that you can give copies of to perspective buyers. Be sure to be upfront and forthcoming with any problems with the property to help protect you in the future.

Good luck! Scott Thompson38548.5258796296

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Scott Thompson
Port Townsend,WA

"In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room"
-Billy Bragg