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Re: Can anyone offer any advice on selling home w/out an agent
Not personally, but the market being the way that it is, I would think having a good REA would up your chances of selling and getting your asking price, especially in this market.
I moved into my home in 2008 and there are some FSBO houses on my block that are still FSBO.
I would even look into hiring Beth or Christine who are LIF agents.
While I'm not in the position to sell at the moment, I've followed their posts and other raves about them and they seem like they know their stuff and are movers/shakers.
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Re: Can anyone offer any advice on selling home w/out an agent
I agree with Beth's points.
You should definitely do some research on this. There are many, many statistics showing that FSBOs get significantly less for their homes than sellers with agents, and that you would net more with an agent, even after paying a service fee.
Statistics also show that most buyers are working with agents, and many agents are leery of FSBOs because it's unclear how they will get paid. I have sold FSBOs as a buyer's agent, and I write my fee into my offer. I sold one this summer and my fee on that sale (that the FSBO paid out of sale proceeds) was in the range of my fee as a listing agent. So you have to realize - you will need to cooperate with buyer's agents (and compensate them), but they will be working for buyer (so you will be paying an agent, but still doing a lot of the work yourself and having no representation). If you don't cooperate with a buyer's agent, you will have a very limited buyer pool. You will have to rely on getting lucky and selling to a friend or neighbor... in which case, you are not selling arms' length and you won't get top dollar.
Again, as Beth said, the big internet sites that get the most traffic (including MLS) will require you to pay to be on them. If you don't market online to sites with heavy traffic, it will be difficult for you to sell.
Also, consider that even if you do find a buyer, there's a lot more to selling than just finding the buyer and even negotiating a price. So much of my job -- and where I spend my time -- comes in between the time of the accepted offer to the time of closing, when I am dealing with inspections, negotiations, dislcosures, forms, banks, attorneys, appraisals, C/Os/permits, etc. As a listing agent, I consider myself the "project manager" for the entire deal. And believe me, it takes a lot of time to stay on top of everything... and I didn't know half of what I know now when I first started in the real estate business. Do you want to invest the time necessary, and if so, do you understand that it may take you more time and there may be more at risk because of the learning curve?
Finally, think about access and safety. Access means showing the home. Do you work? Do you travel? How will people see the home? The more buyers you get through the door, the better your chances of selling for more money. A lot of FSBO don't realize that they will have to rearrange their days to be home for showings, or they will wind up waiting around on weekends for buyers who don't show. If you have an agent, they can cover showings if you are not home (you can provide a key, or a lockbox can be installed), and buyers are accompanied by agents who are vetted by the listing agents' office when they call to schedule appointments.
As far as safety, when you are a FSBO, anyone can call you or ring your doorbell to gain access to your house, with good intentions or not. If you are home alone, will you feel comfortable letting a stranger in? Again, if you have an agent, every buyer who comes through will be accompanied by a licensed agent except at open houses. And at my company, we take precautions at open houses and are trained to safeguard the seller's home and belongings, as well as be conscious of our safety as agents (e.g., we usually have 2 agents cover every open house).
Of course it's possible to sell without an agent, but I do think any seller considering this route ought to consider all aspects of it, and think about whether you will really gain anything from it. Selling a house is not as easy as people think! For most people, their house is their primary financial asset, so why not engage a professional to ensure everything is handled correctly?
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