Other Resources My Cup of Joe » Educate me on some house selling stuff... Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, the bear, DerekL, alicefoeller Reply
2008-09-12 12:07 PM

User image

Champion
8766
5000200010005001001002525
Evergreen, Colorado
Subject: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

Okay, so I need to sell my house.  I know they sell books to tell you all about it, but the books don't always talk about everything or give the biggest pros/cons or personal experience.  So I need some advice.  Obviously, with the housing market in a shambles I need to do this as "cheaply" as possible.

A few questions.

I found a very discount realtor who charges 3% (as in, he gets 1.5 and so does the other realtor) but all he does is list the house on MLS.  No open houses, no advertising, etc.

QUESTION #1: Is having the house listed on MLS how OTHER realtors find out about it?  As in, if it's in MLS will other realtors be able to show it?  What would be the benefit of paying 3% for this service?

Another place in town does a flat rate...I think it's something like $3k...they will do all the open  houses, advertisting, etc.  The only thing they DO NOT do....is put it on MLS. 

QUESTION #2: Has anyone had success with THAT option?

Finally, my first plans are to try to sell it "by owner" for a few weeks.  Hey, it's worth a shot, right?  If I'm lucky I might get a realtor to pick it up by offering me a discounted rate or something.  If I'm really lucky, it sells.

QUESTION #3: What are the most popular "for sale by owner" websites?

QUESTION #4: If you're going to put money into advertising, what are the best places?

Lastly, I know what I "need" to sell it for to "break even"--by break even I mean not make or lose any money on the deal when factoring in how much it would have cost me to rent.  But I don't know how much the house will appraise for.

QUESTION #5: How do you decide how much to sell your house for?????



2008-09-12 12:46 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

I have been a licensed realtor for 13 years.  Here are my very generalized answers.  My general recommendation is only sell if you have to right now, but I don't know your market.  I.e., even in my "great" market, I just calculated the absorption rate for home in $550,000-$600,000 for a client to be 52 months. (that's 52 months to sell current inventory at current rate of sales.)

QUESTION #1: Is having the house listed on MLS how OTHER realtors find out about it?  As in, if it's in MLS will other realtors be able to show it?  What would be the benefit of paying 3% for this service?

Yes, the MLS is how they find out about it.  They show it either through appointment with you (I doubt your agent will show it) or through access via a lockbox (recommended).  Be aware that by appointment only homes rarely - if ever - are shown.  (Exception being the luxury home market.)

It's a buyers market.  There are so many homes listed right now, that quite frankly agents don't need to show a for sale by owner home (FSBO) and won't.  Plus most qualified buyers work with agents, especially in this market.  I personally would much rather deal with another agent than directly with a homeowner.  And with so much inventory there is no FSBO home on the market that offers anything better than what is already listed.  In a seller's market (not enough inventory) you would have a much greater chance of selling your home FSBO.  Sure, one person will chime in and say they did, but it is the exception, not the rule.

And, you may want to check and see what's being offered for commission by other homeowners.  I hate to say it, but it is true.  Most agents' # of transactions are much lower.  So, if virtually all the other listings are paying 2-4% and bonuses to the selling agent, your 1.5% won't get an agent to walk a qualified buyer through the door.

Another place in town does a flat rate...I think it's something like $3k...they will do all the open  houses, advertisting, etc.  The only thing they DO NOT do....is put it on MLS.

NEVER pay up front.  Go with the first one.  Why can't you do the open house? (Let them know you are the seller not the agent).  You can pay directly to advertise in the local paper - but preferably online.  Make sure the MLS listing is linked to realtor.com.  There are other ad tricks, but I can't give my away.   PM me.

QUESTION #2: Has anyone had success with THAT option?

Which option? I can tell you in my market I looked at expired listings (those that did not sell in the time frame) and oer 60% were discount broker listings.   I still say it wasn't discounting directly, but a problem with price or condition or both.  But, homes get listed overpriced because the homeowner isn't counselled enough by their agent on good price. (and that is related to discounting.)

Finally, my first plans are to try to sell it "by owner" for a few weeks.  Hey, it's worth a shot, right?  If I'm lucky I might get a realtor to pick it up by offering me a discounted rate or something.  If I'm really lucky, it sells.

It won't, but give it a try! (pre-qualify them by getting the name and number of their loan officer, you don't want a wacko walking through the door.)  You might get an agent to offer a discount, but probably not as much as it sounds like you might need.  A lot of "full service' companies (including mine) have created an alacarte service to deal with the growing problem of homeowners who are upside down in their homes.  You might want to check around and see if anyone offers this.  PM me and I will send you my alacarte service schedule.  Even if they don't have this, if you show them ours they may consider offering it to you.

QUESTION #3: What are the most popular "for sale by owner" websites?

Don't know that one.

QUESTION #4: If you're going to put money into advertising, what are the best places?

Lastly, I know what I "need" to sell it for to "break even"--by break even I mean not make or lose any money on the deal when factoring in how much it would have cost me to rent.  But I don't know how much the house will appraise for.

You need to get a copy of the comparable sales in the area, preferably within the last 6 months but sooner if you can.

QUESTION #5: How do you decide how much to sell your house for?????

PM me on this one.



Edited by Anditrigirl 2008-09-12 12:51 PM
2008-09-12 12:58 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Veteran
150
1002525
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...
Hope this helps, this is what we did. We had the house on the market for about a month.
1. Yes, mostly. You can specify in the listing how you want it handled. For example, will your house half a lock box or will realtors need to call you to arrange a showing? Putting an ad in the paper also alerts them as well. You can also email local realtors your listing. Be prepared because they will all want you to hire them.
2. Bypassed the process, we did fsbo. I had a realtor friend run a market study to give us an idea of what to list the house for.
3. We went to Lowe's and bought a FSBO sign. You can go directly to forsalebyowner.com to put in your listing, set up your flier, etc. I think it cost us about $9.99 to do it all.
4. We looked in the phone book and found realtors within our area of town and them emailed them the listing information. We also put an ad in the paper and did one open house. Don't forget the for sale sign. We got a lot of traffic and had to keep up with putting fliers in the tube.
5. We looked on the county tax roll for houses that had recently sold in our neighborhood. We looked on local sales sites to see area sales prices. The best site for us was zillow.com which will give you recent comps in your area and help you set a price based on the county taxes. We had two prices, one for people with realtors and ones without. We also set a higher % for realtors to get more showings. That worked really well. They brought in a lot of traffic.

Good luck!!
2008-09-12 1:00 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Elite
3471
200010001001001001002525
Evergreen, CO
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

In Jefferson County you can get comparable sales in your neighborhood on the assessor's website -- maybe you have the same resource in your county.

I see a lot of FSBO signs for a company around here that assists w/ FSBOs for what I assume is less in fees than the realtor gets.  If you go with a realtor, make sure they have experience.  Last I heard, turnover rate for realtors was 90% -- which means 90% of them have no experience.  And some of the experienced ones still are bad at their job.   But there are awesome ones too that make selling your home a breeze and are worth every penny.

Good luck!

2008-09-12 1:01 PM
in reply to: #1670723

User image

Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

gilmurray - 2008-09-12 1:58 PM Hope this helps, this is what we did. We had the house on the market for about a month. 1. Yes, mostly. You can specify in the listing how you want it handled. For example, will your house half a lock box or will realtors need to call you to arrange a showing? Putting an ad in the paper also alerts them as well. You can also email local realtors your listing. Be prepared because they will all want you to hire them. 2. Bypassed the process, we did fsbo. I had a realtor friend run a market study to give us an idea of what to list the house for. 3. We went to Lowe's and bought a FSBO sign. You can go directly to forsalebyowner.com to put in your listing, set up your flier, etc. I think it cost us about $9.99 to do it all. 4. We looked in the phone book and found realtors within our area of town and them emailed them the listing information. We also put an ad in the paper and did one open house. Don't forget the for sale sign. We got a lot of traffic and had to keep up with putting fliers in the tube. 5. We looked on the county tax roll for houses that had recently sold in our neighborhood. We looked on local sales sites to see area sales prices. The best site for us was zillow.com which will give you recent comps in your area and help you set a price based on the county taxes. We had two prices, one for people with realtors and ones without. We also set a higher % for realtors to get more showings. That worked really well. They brought in a lot of traffic. Good luck!!

If you are like me, all those emails go in my junkbox... and depending on what company you use, it can cost $30-$50 to send a bunch of junk mail.  I don't know any agent that reads those emails anymore, they're ubiquitous.

Just sayin...

2008-09-12 1:08 PM
in reply to: #1670732

User image

Veteran
150
1002525
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...
Anditrigirl - 2008-09-12 1:01 PM

gilmurray - 2008-09-12 1:58 PM Hope this helps, this is what we did. We had the house on the market for about a month. 1. Yes, mostly. You can specify in the listing how you want it handled. For example, will your house half a lock box or will realtors need to call you to arrange a showing? Putting an ad in the paper also alerts them as well. You can also email local realtors your listing. Be prepared because they will all want you to hire them. 2. Bypassed the process, we did fsbo. I had a realtor friend run a market study to give us an idea of what to list the house for. 3. We went to Lowe's and bought a FSBO sign. You can go directly to forsalebyowner.com to put in your listing, set up your flier, etc. I think it cost us about $9.99 to do it all. 4. We looked in the phone book and found realtors within our area of town and them emailed them the listing information. We also put an ad in the paper and did one open house. Don't forget the for sale sign. We got a lot of traffic and had to keep up with putting fliers in the tube. 5. We looked on the county tax roll for houses that had recently sold in our neighborhood. We looked on local sales sites to see area sales prices. The best site for us was zillow.com which will give you recent comps in your area and help you set a price based on the county taxes. We had two prices, one for people with realtors and ones without. We also set a higher % for realtors to get more showings. That worked really well. They brought in a lot of traffic. Good luck!!

If you are like me, all those emails go in my junkbox... and depending on what company you use, it can cost $30-$50 to send a bunch of junk mail.  I don't know any agent that reads those emails anymore, they're ubiquitous.

Just sayin...


I hear you, I guess we were lucky!! Thank goodness.


2008-09-12 1:11 PM
in reply to: #1670749

User image

Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...
gilmurray - 2008-09-12 2:08 PM
Anditrigirl - 2008-09-12 1:01 PM

gilmurray - 2008-09-12 1:58 PM Hope this helps, this is what we did. We had the house on the market for about a month. 1. Yes, mostly. You can specify in the listing how you want it handled. For example, will your house half a lock box or will realtors need to call you to arrange a showing? Putting an ad in the paper also alerts them as well. You can also email local realtors your listing. Be prepared because they will all want you to hire them. 2. Bypassed the process, we did fsbo. I had a realtor friend run a market study to give us an idea of what to list the house for. 3. We went to Lowe's and bought a FSBO sign. You can go directly to forsalebyowner.com to put in your listing, set up your flier, etc. I think it cost us about $9.99 to do it all. 4. We looked in the phone book and found realtors within our area of town and them emailed them the listing information. We also put an ad in the paper and did one open house. Don't forget the for sale sign. We got a lot of traffic and had to keep up with putting fliers in the tube. 5. We looked on the county tax roll for houses that had recently sold in our neighborhood. We looked on local sales sites to see area sales prices. The best site for us was zillow.com which will give you recent comps in your area and help you set a price based on the county taxes. We had two prices, one for people with realtors and ones without. We also set a higher % for realtors to get more showings. That worked really well. They brought in a lot of traffic. Good luck!!

If you are like me, all those emails go in my junkbox... and depending on what company you use, it can cost $30-$50 to send a bunch of junk mail.  I don't know any agent that reads those emails anymore, they're ubiquitous.

Just sayin...

I hear you, I guess we were lucky!! Thank goodness.

Yes, but it only takes one getting through!  That's why I still send them.  Sort of a necessary evil.  But if $$ is tight and the homeowner's payin... I say don't do it.  Glad you were able to get it sold!

2008-09-12 2:06 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Champion
7542
5000200050025
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Bronze member
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

Jen,

Might be helpful to ask a few more questions. 

How quickly do you need to sell? 
What's the cost of not selling in 6-months?  12-months? 

It's less important what you paid, or whether you get enough to offset the perceived cost of renting versus buying (you already bought). 

Who do you perceive as the likely buyers of your home?  (Young single, young family, first-time-buyer, empty-nester, etc. )  Are there factors that drive their decisions that you should account for?  (For example, you might think 3 weeks of FSBO won't make a difference, but it could keep your house out of the market for anyone who wants to close by the end of the year.

2008-09-12 2:42 PM
in reply to: #1670879

User image

Champion
8766
5000200010005001001002525
Evergreen, Colorado
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...
McFuzz - 2008-09-12 1:06 PM

Jen,

Might be helpful to ask a few more questions. 

How quickly do you need to sell? 
What's the cost of not selling in 6-months?  12-months? 

I'm selling because the military is moving me.  Bottom line, I cannot afford to buy another house unless I sell THIS house.  I can only afford to "double pay" (be it this mortgage and a rental or 2xmortgage) for 3-4 months without breaking into long-term savings I didn't plan on touching.  So, I need to sell fairly quickly.... 

 

It's less important what you paid, or whether you get enough to offset the perceived cost of renting versus buying (you already bought). 

Who do you perceive as the likely buyers of your home?  (Young single, young family, first-time-buyer, empty-nester, etc. )  Are there factors that drive their decisions that you should account for?  (For example, you might think 3 weeks of FSBO won't make a difference, but it could keep your house out of the market for anyone who wants to close by the end of the year.

I anticipate a young family will buy my home.  That describes 90% of my neighborhood!  Going on that theory, I missed the main market of people who would have wanted to be settled before school started, but what can you do when you deploy for 6 months?

 Why do you say it would be hard to close by the end of the year?  It's usually less than about a month from accepting an offer to closing, right?  Just need to get the appraisal and loan stuff squared away....

2008-09-12 3:34 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Pro
5153
50001002525
Helena, MT
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

One thing about the discount realtor, if the buyer's agent only gets 1.5%, they will not be that motivated to show your house to their clients. Will this realtor do a comparative market analysis for you (this is how they generally figure out how to price your house) at least?

You need to be on MLS. If young people are your target audience, they will probably be looking via internet and MLS is the place to look on the internet.

Sounds to me like both these places are too much of a compromise. Maybe you can find someone at a little less of a discount who will put it on the MLS, do a little advertising and leave enough for the buyer's agent to make some money, too.

2008-09-12 3:48 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

One thing I forgot to mention, is that brokerage fee alone isn't enough information.  Some brokers charge a higher fee and net their clients more.

For instance, say you list your home for $100,000 and the fee is 3%.  Let's say the average sales price for the discount broker is 94%.  Excluding other fees you will net $91,180 on average with this broker.  Let's say another one charges 5% and has an average sales price of 97% of asking.  You'll net about $970 more on average with the higher priced broker and spend a lot less of your own time handling the transaction and marketing.

Andi



2008-09-12 3:59 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Champion
7542
5000200050025
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Bronze member
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

The FSBO gamble may cost you 1 month out of the 3-4.  You're selling into a buyer's market, so it may take 3, 4, or even 6 months to find a buyer.  I'd guess most first-time buyers (like the young family you seek) will be leery of FSBO, so the FSBO gamble doesn't make a huge amount of sense (and I'm saying this as someone who tries to do almost everything myself). 

Closing may be regional, but 30-60 days is typical around here.  Expect it to be near the long side towards the end of the year or during peak season. 

Good luck.

2008-09-12 8:00 PM
in reply to: #1670582

User image

Champion
8766
5000200010005001001002525
Evergreen, Colorado
Subject: RE: Educate me on some house selling stuff...

Oh, geez.  I think my head is going to explode.  I guess I'd better start interviewing realtors.  I will probably try to get a SMALL discount and take a loss on the house.

I just don't think it's worth the stress...especially since it looks like I won't be around most of October to show the house to anyone anyway.  If I just turn it over to a realtor he/she can work even while I'm away.  

The only thing I thought of from my own home-buying experience:

1. Yeah, I looked on MLS...but once I got to town I just went to the homes my realtor showed me...some of them were on MLS, some were not.  So if someone is using a realtor I don't see MLS being ALL that useful...which is why I was asking the questions.  To see if I was crazy or if it made sense.

2. Yeah, I wasn't going to do a FSBO when I bought my first house.  But now I might think about it.  It's a lot of work...on both ends.  I mean, if you go through a realtor to buy all you have to do is go to his office, tell him what you want, and let him drag you to houses.  If you're going it on your own you have to call up the owners, make appointments to see houses, etc. etc.  And while this "work" could save you a lot of money...I can truly see that there are some times where it's worth it.

I guess what really matters is that I know I can sell the house for more than what I currently owe the bank.  So, as long as I sell it for what I owe the bank PLUS the realtor fee...at least I'm not in debt.  Of course, then I won't have any cash to put down for my next house...but...well...I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

New Thread
Other Resources My Cup of Joe » Educate me on some house selling stuff... Rss Feed