For Sale by Owner

[bacon#1]

We are currently in the process of updating my father's house for sale. Once complete it will be extremely nice with modern finishes. I believe the house will sell itself. Nice established neighborhood, dead end street, highly desirable school system, on 3/4 of an acre. These days with all the technology at our disposal, why have a real estate agent? My plan is to hire a real estate lawyer and post the house on Zillow amongst other sites. Anyone have experience with listing there house for sale by owner?

 

[phylodog]

I sold my second house myself. Put a sign in the yard and in less than a week had a couple show up, take a look and made me an offer. I accepted and they went through their bank and got everything set up for the closing. All I did was get the payoff amount from my mortgage company, show up at closing, sign the papers, get the check and walked away. I don't recall any part of it being difficult or stressful.

 

[ChrisK]

You don’t even need a lawyer, a title company can handle everything for you.

 

[SAILORGOLF46]

Yes to the above, have sold two myself and used a Title Co. for closing.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Realtor fees are just insane. They serve a purpose and many are really good, but you pay the same even for bad ones. Who buys a house now that they would never found if not for the realtor telling them about it? If you’re confident on the value of your home probably don’t need a realtor. You won’t be writing offers anyway. You’re also not obligated to pay the seller’s agent anything are you? I hunk you’re supposed to list what their agent receives in the MLS listing but I could be wrong

 

[femurphy77]

We bought our current home FSBO without any problems. The way houses are selling right now an agent isn't necessary. My old boss sold his FSBO recently and the buyer had been working thru an agent when they spotted his. It was a little award for the buyer because his agent wanted commission so my boss raised the selling price to cover the commission and everybody walked away happy.

 

[doddg]

I sold my second house myself, back in 1985: 11%. Yes, really. You don't want to know what kind of interest it was to buy a car.
A washer and dryer we were going to buy was at 25% interest. Didn't.
We showed up to buy at a special 10% interest rate but you had to put $100 down ($500 purchase).
When I asked them if we could finance the whole thing, they said yes.
Fortunately, I knew how to read at that point and when I looked for the % rate for full financing, and questioned them, they acted like I was out of line.
My wife and I ran.
Interest has always been "the enemy" for me in buying anything.

When I had a buyer lined up, the local bank that had the mortgage took care of everything.

 

[bacon#1]

Appreciate the info. I'll skip the lawyer.

 

[hoosierdoc]

The caveat i’d Add is this is for residential areas in populated areas. If you’re more rural or a unique situation it may be worth a realtor to advertise it more

 

[bacon#1]

The caveat i’d Add is this is for residential areas in populated areas. If you’re more rural or a unique situation it may be worth a realtor to advertise it more

The house is in Avon. Once it's done I'll post it in here also. I may even break down and sign up for Facebook.

 

[phylodog]

You shouldn't have any issues selling it yourself unless a realtor "finds" it for their clients and wants a cut. The simple answer, due to the current seller's market, is "no" unless the buyers want to pay a finder's fee to their realtor on top of the purchase price. Either way, not your problem.

 

[amboy49]

I sold my second house myself. Put a sign in the yard and in less than a week had a couple show up, take a look and made me an offer. I accepted and they went through their bank and got everything set up for the closing. All I did was get the payoff amount from my mortgage company, show up at closing, sign the papers, get the check and walked away. I don't recall any part of it being difficult or stressful.

Who orderd the owners title policy ?

 

[amboy49]

If you put your own for sale sign in the front yard I can practically guarantee one or more realtors will contact you to request you let them list the house. They’ll tell you:

You don’t have the experience or the expertise to sell the home yourself
They are professionals who understand real estate and they can sell your house for more than you can
They have multiple prequalified buyers lined up just waiting for the realtor to find a house for them
Some will even tell you it’s illegal for you to sell your own house. (It’s not)

Please remember, all realtors are whores. They only get paid if the house sells. AND, the seller pays the commission to the realtor, not the buyer.

If you don’t use a realtor YOU must be prepared to:

Provide the buyer with an owners title policy- and be prepared to clear any liens or encumbrances of record including ordering a mortgage payoff
Provide the buyer with a warranty deed
Probably need to provide the buyer with a metes and bounds or improvement location survey
Coordinate any home inspections, or at the very least, be prepared to respond to any issues that may be discovered
Be capable of writing a purchase agreement that is legally binding
Understand the nuances of real estate property tax and when the buyer should assume paying the installment(s) due
Trust the buyer is capable of obtaining their own financing. Ask if they have been prequalified
Be prepared to require earnest money as part of the purchase agreement. If they aren’t comfortable with you holding it until the closing you may need to find a third party to hold it. Say, a title company.
See if the prior title work and survey, if any, can be located. This will speed up the acquisition of new documents and most likely reduce the cost

I could list several other criteria but you begin to get the idea. Caveat: Insist on an insured closing with a title company acting as the fiduciary agent to include accepting the seller’s funds and issuing you a check for the net proceeds.

Lastly, even if you don’ list with a realtor, don’t rule out letting a realtor bring you an offer. You can negotiate a realtor fee - there is nothing that says 7% is standard. Remember, selling a house is a poker game. EVERYTHING is negotiable.

Disclaimer: I am not nor have I ever been a realtor. I was, however, a commercial and residential lender for decades. I saw countless issues arise with property sales. Some transactions do go smoothly. However, there usually is at least a small hitch or two along the way. Hiring a good real estate attorney is something you may want to consider if you don’t have any experience. Good luck with your sale.

 

[bacon#1]

If you put your own for sale sign in the front yard I can practically guarantee one or more realtors will contact you to request you let them list the house. They’ll tell you:

You don’t have the experience or the expertise to sell the home yourself
They are professionals who understand real estate and they can sell your house for more than you can
They have multiple prequalified buyers lined up just waiting for the realtor to find a house for them
Some will even tell you it’s illegal for you to sell your own house. (It’s not)

Please remember, all realtors are whores. They only get paid if the house sells. AND, the seller pays the commission to the realtor, not the buyer.

If you don’t use a realtor YOU must be prepared to:

Provide the buyer with an owners title policy- and be prepared to clear any liens or encumbrances of record including ordering a mortgage payoff
Provide the buyer with a warranty deed
Probably need to provide the buyer with a metes and bounds or improvement location survey
Coordinate any home inspections, or at the very least, be prepared to respond to any issues that may be discovered
Be capable of writing a purchase agreement that is legally binding
Understand the nuances of real estate property tax and when the buyer should assume paying the installment(s) due
Trust the buyer is capable of obtaining their own financing. Ask if they have been prequalified
Be prepared to require earnest money as part of the purchase agreement. If they aren’t comfortable with you holding it until the closing you may need to find a third party to hold it. Say, a title company.
See if the prior title work and survey, if any, can be located. This will speed up the acquisition of new documents and most likely reduce the cost

I could list several other criteria but you begin to get the idea. Caveat: Insist on an insured closing with a title company acting as the fiduciary agent to include accepting the seller’s funds and issuing you a check for the net proceeds.

Lastly, even if you don’ list with a realtor, don’t rule out letting a realtor bring you an offer. You can negotiate a realtor fee - there is nothing that says 7% is standard. Remember, selling a house is a poker game. EVERYTHING is negotiable.

Disclaimer: I am not nor have I ever been a realtor. I was, however, a commercial and residential lender for decades. I saw countless issues arise with property sales. Some transactions do go smoothly. However, there usually is at least a small hitch or two along the way. Hiring a good real estate attorney is something you may want to consider if you don’t have any experience. Good luck with your sale.

So far all your statements about agents have come true.

The most recent was yesterday. My favorite so far.

I pay good money to Zillow for all the listings in this town. You are in over your head.

Then my favorite part.

I OWN this area!

OK buddy, there's the door!

I'm not making a blanket statement about Realtors, but there are some real gems out there.

 

[churchmouse]

So far all your statements about agents have come true.

The most recent was yesterday. My favorite so far.

I pay good money to Zillow for all the listings in this town. You are in over your head.

Then my favorite part.

I OWN this area!

OK buddy, there's the door!

I'm not making a blanket statement about Realtors, but there are some real gems out there.

My wife was in the lending side for decades and we know many realtors and have dealt with more than a few. Used car salesmen seems to cover at least 50% of those we have crossed paths with.

 

[natdscott]

It is sometimes hard to like Realtors as a group, but there really are some good and conscientious ones out there. Same as bankers and attorneys.

Unfortunately, as with lots of examples of those last two professions, you have to sort the horrible ones from the decent humans in Realty.

OP: feel free to shoot me a PM if you run into a question or two. I know some things, since I play banker and underwriter and collateral steward in exchange for my groceries.

I also don't charge for phone calls. Community banks have their perks.

 

[bacon#1]

Thanks Nate, I appreciate that.