I am considering the FSBO approach to selling my house. I have done extensive repairs/remodeling and consider it to be in good shape.
I see MLS services
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that will get you listed on relator.com. (also has PDF files of important disclosure agreements). (Not spaming, just an idea. )
How do you come up with a reasonable asking price? Homes in my area very so much in design and features the range from $240K-$320K. Hate to price it under and loose some $$$, or over and waste my time.
Hey, you may save >$10,000 so spend about $500 and get an appraisal. Tell the appraiser that you want an HONEST appraisal of Fair Market Value based upon recent comparable sales in your immediate area. Make sure to tell him/her that you are NOT going after a home equity loan and thus you do NOT want, nor need, an unjustifiable inflated appraisal!
I wouldn't spend the $500 for an appraisal, but maybe that's just my personal preference. To determine a selling price, just find a couple of brokers that offer a free, no obligation, market analysis of what your home should sell for. Keep in mind that they may all give you different figures.
i bet any decent book on fsbo has a whole chapter devoted to how to set the price. have you done any research on how to sell your house yet?
the money to be made by selling your house on your own, is earned through knowledge. otherwise you would probably be better to use an agent.
how do you come up with a reasonable price? you price it too high and see what people offer on it. its worth exactly what someone is actually willing to pay you for it.
Let me make sure I understand what it is I think you're saying.
You're saying that you are going to handle a complex land title transfer deal on your own, yet you don't even have an idea what to ask?
If that is what you're saying, I predict that this is only the start of your problems. There's a lot of hidden snakes in there, and you're about to find them the hard way.
Yep and the advice will be worth the price you paid. Agents are not in the business of selling property. They are really in the business of obtaining listing contracts. Expect a pie in the sky high price quote from the agent, they need you to think they are going to make you a lot of money, then when you list you can expect offers and or recommends of lowering your price. Even if you use an agent an independent appraisal is a good investment and an excellent sales tool. For what its worth, I've sold several properties on my own and it can be tricky. Consider a reduced fee broker (FSBO type) or at least a lawyer to help you avoid any future liabilities. Dave
Good point. I wonder if anyone has real data on the selling price of owner versus realtor listed sales. I'd be looking to save a little buying from you since no broker is involved.
The real value of any house is what someone is willing to pay for it. Setting a selling price comes down to a good guess based on experience.
We sold ours FSBO last year and it went pretty smoothly, but I think I undersold by about $10K. Our plan was to just put up a sign for one month, then the next month ads in the paper, and on the third month, list the home with a realtor. Result: we sold it in two weeks with a full price offer. We had about 5 lookers and with two open houses on other properties going on one of the weekends, we got lots of extra traffic. Was a quick and easy process, we had a lawyer friend give us a contract to use and their lender handled the rest (appraisal, title work, inspections, etc.) No hassle and no bad experiences, relatively little work involved except for keeping the house immaculate for those two weeks. We were shopping for our new house and the realtor we had showing us homes came over and said we may be priced a little low. We thought that if we ended up going to a realtor to list, the price was going to go up to make up for the commission. We mentioned that to everyone that looked at the house and maybe that motivated them to move quickly. I've seen homes on that street selling for about $30k more than we sold ours for a year ago so a realtor or an appraisal would have helped us make more money but there is a chance we could have had a harder time selling it.
Oh Chris, you're asking questions for which there are no answers.
Let me see if I can help.. at least a bit. I'm a contractor, but part of what I do is buy homes, fix them up, and sell them for profit. Been doing it for 20+ years.
Unfortunately, I've been doing it in Canada, so I am not familiar with what is or is not deductible from what in the U.S.
I always use a realtor -- they save me time, they save me aggravation, they add an insulation to the negotions, and quite often, they can get me more than I would get FSBO -- even after their commission (average 5% before discounts).
That said, there are realtors and there are realtors. In most places, the licensing requirements are such that my dog could get a license... so what you are looking for is smarts, drive, enthusiasm and a willingness to spend on your behalf. Pick one who has been in the business for ten years or more -- if he/she has survived that long, he/she probably is somewhat competent.
Here's what I mean: On our last sale, I asked three professionals (ReMax) to put a value on the house. One said list at 239, sell at
235. Two said list at 249 and take something close to list.
I picked the realtor I wanted ... had her redo her market analysis with more comparable comparables -- and finally got her to agree to a list price of $280. We spent a lot of time on the listing description -- and she brought in two professionals -- a photographer and a decorator -- at her expense. Her partner thought she was nuts and opted out of the listing (and the costs).
The house sold in ten days for $275. If I had been going FSBO, I might have gotten 235 - 240 (buyers always credit themselves with the commission saved) ... by spending 14 grand, I gained forty or so. But remember, I had to challenge them with my own view of the market ... and press them for high quality photos .. and a decorators touch.
From the questions you're asking, I'd suggest you focus on finding a good realtor -- there's just too much of a learning curve: But, don't be shy about asking hard questions and make darned sure the comparables they use are truly comparable. Get a book from the library ..on how to sell your house ... learn what you can about appraisals, learn what you can about selling. Essentially, the listing, the pictures and MLS exposure is what you are buying -- realtors do little beyond listing the property ...
One source of info we used was Selling Your Home for Dummies. Most of the info was pretty much common sense but the checklists detailed how to make your home marketable were great. The value of curbside appeal is what you should focus on the most. My lawn was the most manicured and well fertilized one on the block which made it stand out. I edged it and kept it mowed and planted lots of yellow flowers, and trimmed the bushes. We also boxed up all the clutter and tried to make the house look like a display home, we took some to store at the inlaws and the rest stacked neatly in the basement. Make the house smell nice and play a little quiet elevator music. Yellow flowers on the table. I am no marketing expert but for some reason yellow is a kind of focus color for sales. At least thats what our realtor friend told us. Seems to have worked well for us anyway. Clean clean clean!
What hasn't been discussed is the state of the market. Is it a seller's or buyer's market where you are?
If you are in a buyer's market you probably won't even get many buyers agents to show your home, and those that do will steer their clients away to a comparable home where they can work with a co-operative agent. Realtors don't like FSBOs and do all in their power to thwart a sale. They do their best to skew the statistics in order to prove that people need them. They also believe that a FSBO sale is more problematic, so more work for them. They create their own mythologies about FSBOs.
If you're in a seller's market just price your home competitively, and use a good attorney. You should be able to get comps easily enough. I use realtor.com to see what homes are listing for in my area. You can also get the records on recent sales and the actual prices from your city or county. Those are public documents, and fundamentally that's all any appraiser will do that's of any substance.
I'm a big fan of FSBO, I sold a home for asking price in 3 days once, but also had another home on the market for over a year with nothing but headaches and sabotage from local realtors because it was a buyer's market and a local contractor was handing out all kinds of perks as incentive to buy their new construction in my still developing community. Two very different scenarios, with two very different outcomes.
It's pure hell to have a home on the market that long, not to mention that the longer it sits the harder it is to make the case for the asking price.
It all depends on the individual situation and how the market in your area is.
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