Sell house by owner? (Houston: for sale by owner, real estate, lawyer)

[starwars2]

The realtors will charge 6% from the seller, it's a huge amount of money. Are there a way to sell by owner, and the buyer also buy by owner to avoid this 6%?

[Lost_In_Translation]

Sure there's plenty of sites that will do MLS style listing, but then you have to handle showings and negotiation and your pool of buyers will be limited because realtors won't necessarily steer consumers your way. You'll have to offer a discount conpared with regular listings to spur interest. It's a shame the system is set up the way it is given its very one size fits all, but it will be a large hassle to try and handle it on your own.

[starwars2]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Sure there's plenty of sites that will do MLS style listing, but then you have to handle showings and negotiation and your pool of buyers will be limited because realtors won't necessarily steer consumers your way. You'll have to offer a discount conpared with regular listings to spur interest. It's a shame the system is set up the way it is given its very one size fits all, but it will be a large hassle to try and handle it on your own.

For a 300k house, 6% is 18k. I don't think it's that easy for the house value to increase 6% in Houston. There have a lot of spaces for new house building.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by starwars2

For a 300k house, 6% is 18k. I don't think it's that easy for the house value to increase 6% in Houston. There have a lot of spaces for new house building.

Your math is correct. I'm just saying you'll have a hard time selling without an agent. You might get lucky or you might waste alot of time dealing with non-buyers. But for $500 or so you can get it listed on MLS and other sites. Good luck.

Edit: if you're in a hot investor area where people are buying for lot value, it could be best to go FSBO. Flippers and builders looking for locations won't be as big a hassle as individuals as long as you're reasonable on price.

[MagWest]

You can try For Sale by Owner. For a fee you can get a package deal which includes the home showing option which is basically the same thing a realtor will set up for you. It may be more work, but it will save you 6%.

[travelguy_73]

I don't like paying a commission any more than other sellers, but among other pains of selling a house yourself, I'm not convinced you actually make any more money. After (1) your time is factored in, (2) the buyers' expectation of a discount (knowing that you aren't paying a commission, they want a reduced price), and (3) the likelihood that most buyers are going to bring their realtor, so you really can't escape some commission, it's probably a wash at best.

Maybe if you live in a hot area with low inventory, then maybe it makes sense.

I'm sure there are people out there it has worked out well for, so for those, I would see what factors went in to their sale that made it successful--it was surely a lot more than buying a spot on the MLS.

[iamCraigHenry]

@starwars2. yes, getting an agent to sell your home is something that will take approx 18K out of your pocket.

So the ForSaleByOwner route, you put it on the website for maybe $100. (I don't know the exact figure.) It's only on the website mind you. Not on the MLS. You marketed in that FSBO magazine that everyone passes on the way out of the grocery store. You tell your friends on Facebook and Twitter about it. You print up some flyers and you hold an open house. It sells. You saved yourself 18K. Now you must negotiate contracts with the agent who brought the buyers or if (GOD forbid) a buyer didn't have an agent either, then you SHOULD hire a lawyer to at least draw up the contracts. And if the buyer has an agent who is looking out for their best interest, who's looking out for yours? I hope you are one excellent negotiator. I hope that you will be firm when the inspection comes back and they want an extra $7,000 off the price, because these things occur.

Or Scenario B. It doesn't sell. It sits on the market for 30 days. 60 days. 90 days. You decide to then put it on the MLS. You pay the FSBO agent $1000 (This figure was quoted by another FSBO who has been on the market for 139 days.) You hold another open house. You print up flyers and mail them out. You Facebook and tweet about it. You market your house so well that it has to sell right? But it doesn't. You are now out of $1100 and your house hasn't sold

Scenario C. You get an agent. (It costs you absolutely nothing up front.) They list the property on the MLS, they do all the things that a good real estate agent is SUPPOSE TO DO. They market it beautifully and EVERYWHERE. They market your home in ways you didn't even think of. It sits on the market for 30 days. 60 days. 90 days. You get to 6 months and your house hasn't sold. You fire you agent (Don't pay them a dollar) and you go FSBO and try your hand there.

Scenario D. You hire an agent. (Again, cost you absolutely nothing up front.) They list the property everywhere. Do exactly the same thing as the agent in Scenario C. The house sells in 30 days. You pay 3% to your agent and 3% to the buyers agent. You have your agent who is going head to head with the buyers agent on every little thing so your agent can get you the maximum profit. That's what you are eventually paying them for.

Which scenario causes you the least amount of aggravation?

[tenwest23]

^Well put.

[cheryjohns]

LOL. Scenario #3 - it's the price or the house.

I think everyone that leans toward FSBO should at least try it. It's an eye-opener.

[iamCraigHenry]

Yep. @cheryjohns I agree. It is definitely an eye opener. You find out one of two things. Either our job is not nearly as easy as people say it is, or you priced your house too low. hahahaha.