For Sale By Owner questions

You should be able to find someone who can do at least 2.5%

Welcome to the bullshite world of real estate agents. Not only are they given a flat % of sales when a monkey could sell it for 85% of value but they are incentivized to sell it quickly and for lower value.

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2.5%? I thought 6% was the standard.

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Well you negotiate your agents fee first. Then depending on the market you may or may not be able to negotiate the buys agents fees. But as you can imagine, agents don't want to show their clients houses who have less than 3% fees for buyers.

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For sale by owner doesn't have nearly the amount of eyes/traffic as being on a realtor website.

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huh?

I see FSBO on Zillow\trulia and I think most people search using zillow and trulia. I also search FSBOBR as a third option on weekly basis

I dont use realtor websites as they all want email addresses, etc...

Sold my last one myself, no agent. Did not list it anywhere--simply used word of mouth. It was one of the cheapest houses in a great school district. Showed it to exactly two couples; second one bought it, and were happy to wait a few months until my under-construction house was finished. If you are in an A-rated school district and a smaller town/community where people know each other, it's dead easy to sell a house. Standard, legal in LA purchase agreements are easy to complete...

By skipping the agent's commission, I was able to sell at a price that made both buyer & I happy.

It all depends on demand for houses at your pricing point in your area....if you've got lots of personal contacts & are decent at networking, you don't need a RE agent.

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huh?

I see FSBO on Zillow\trulia and I think most people search using zillow and trulia. I also search FSBOBR as a third option on weekly basis

I dont use realtor websites as they all want email addresses, etc...

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Yeah but the ones listed with realtors are being emailed to potential buyers by their agent daily. Emailed to people that are actually shopping and not someone just surfing the web

I’m regards to negotiating fees, I would assume I would have little-to-no success with say a Keller Williams/Remax agent, and better chances with a independent realtor or one with a local firm?

Did my last 3 pieces of property through Zillow and Facebook.
First house sold in 2 weeks ( 1st couple who looked)
Lot sold in 2 days (word of mouth to a family friend)
Other house sold in 3 weeks (3rd couple to come look and actually had a back up offer too)


I work in the industry and have a lot of FB friends who are also in the industry who share it. It can be done. Especially in a highly desirable neighborhood

Just closed on my FSBO BR on June 15th. This is the second FSBO I've done - both were in high traffic areas. Otherwise, I do not think it gets the exposure you may need without being in the MLS. I paid a buyer agent 2.5%. Most of the work on a real estate transaction is on the buyer. The seller has a light load.

The interwebs are chiseling away at the traditional realtor function, but they can still today be the right choice in most situations. More traffic gives you better chance to get higher offer. I only showed to two prospective buyers and one of them was the one. Perhaps I could have gotten more money, but I had a realtor list it the prior year at near the same price and it did not sell. I sold it FSBO at a list price 97.3% of the realtor's previous listing. Price, Location, and the RIGHT buyer are all factors.

I'm thinking of doing this for the short term, and if can't sell in 3-6 months, get an agent. Farily certain if we list our house at 287k instead of 305k, it would sell quite fast (most houses in our neighborhood are in the 350-400k range, ours is a little smaller and paid 305k). No sweat off our backs as I have no need to move immediately. Just looking to do so in the next 1.5 years. I could list at 305 and just see where the offers come in. Anything above 287 is more in my pocket than getting an agent. I know they are better advertisement, but again, I have the time.

I'm slightly worried about the contractual side. But not that worried. I did FSBO when buying our first house. Was a little easier as we knew the sellers. Not well, but they worked with someone we knew, so not too far out on a limb when thinking about leaving ourselves open to contractual issues.

We did the FSBO route for two months and only had a few showings. Money got tight bc we were between two homes, so I switched to an agent I knew and she sold it in a week at my asking price. $13k out of my pocket.

Zillow is free to list and is a hell of a tool. But when buyers are using agents the agents will likely not show a FSBO house unless you advertise you'll pay a buyers agent a fee (typically 2-2.5%).

Agents are in it for the money, not necessarily the buyers best interest. If a buyers sees your listing on zillow/fsbo and wants to see it, then their agent will probably show it to them but steer them in a different direction if no fee is attached.