FSBO home sale experience? (Madison: days on market, real estate, condo)

[pcsanders]

We're selling and moving west, with late spring/early summer as a target timeframe. Anyone here sold your house on your own? What was your experience? Do you wish you had done anything differently?

Thanks for any insight!

[GreggT]

We sold our Florida condo without a realtor and have sold homes the same way. It times where it is a buyers market, if one lives in an extreme rural area, or the house and property is particularly unique, I would say one is better off with a realtor.
The key on selling it oneself is have a competent title company to assist with the paperwork and live in an area where you can expect traffic.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by pcsanders

We're selling and moving west, with late spring/early summer as a target timeframe. Anyone here sold your house on your own? What was your experience? Do you wish you had done anything differently?

Thanks for any insight!

With the Seller's market it is today, I doubt you'll have difficulty selling your home.

The first issue is to negotiate the commission with buyer's agent, so you'll need a % number in mind. Other than that, the question is how to price your home correctly? But if you do your research on Zillow, Refin, etc., I think you'll have a pretty good idea what they are. If you price it low, you may invite a bidding war.

Good luck.

[pcsanders]

We looked at Zillow and comps in the area. We paid for an appraisal, and it's only like 5k from what Zillow told us.


I've heard things here in Madison are a bit crazy where folks are offering OVER the asking price. I think that's insane. We'll price our home a little below Zillow (matching the appraisal) to ensure we get traction in a very busy market.


Again, thanks for the feedback...

[GreggT]

Originally Posted by pcsanders

We looked at Zillow and comps in the area. We paid for an appraisal, and it's only like 5k from what Zillow told us.


I've heard things here in Madison are a bit crazy where folks are offering OVER the asking price. I think that's insane. We'll price our home a little below Zillow (matching the appraisal) to ensure we get traction in a very busy market.


Again, thanks for the feedback...

If you end up dealing with a buyers agent, you can insist the buyer pay the commission.

[dwhisent]

Originally Posted by pcsanders

I've heard things here in Madison are a bit crazy where folks are offering OVER the asking price. I think that's insane. We'll price our home a little below Zillow (matching the appraisal) to ensure we get traction in a very busy market.

Yeah, I said the same thing a couple of years ago... then we found the house we wanted, and there were multiple offers within 2 days of it going on the market. Not only did we end up offering more than the asking price, it turned out to be more than the appraisal. And even with that, our realtor was almost surprised we got it (she felt that it was likely because we waived it having to appraise for the offered amount). And this was in Limestone County, not in Madison (our kids are grown, no school concerns for us). Just sayin', don't sell yourself short.

[cptnD]

Originally Posted by pcsanders

We looked at Zillow and comps in the area. We paid for an appraisal, and it's only like 5k from what Zillow told us.


I've heard things here in Madison are a bit crazy where folks are offering OVER the asking price. I think that's insane. We'll price our home a little below Zillow (matching the appraisal) to ensure we get traction in a very busy market.


Again, thanks for the feedback...

Here's what I've run into in this market:

I've heard and read almost word for word what you've written here. Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, etc. are priced with algorithms and don't take into account things like demand in this current market. Not to mention, demand on top of demand..in this current market. Additionally, they are behind by as much as months. I've had clients call me up for homes that say "available" but were actually sold 2 months prior. It's not just Madison where things are crazy. It's everywhere across the US. Some cities much more than others. Pricing below Zillow isn't necessarily going to give you traction. You may get some potential buyers that offer slightly above your asking, yes. But here's some things to consider. Are they all going to be validated, qualified buyers? Are you going to accept the first or second offer over your list price? Are you willing to entertain contingencies? What's your marketing plan? Are you sure your home won't go for $100k over your asking to a qualified buyer that has lost out on multiple properties, and very hungry to win this one with their agent? All serious questions.

You can definitely do it yourself no doubt. However, the typical FSBO sells for roughly 25% less than an agent assisted home sale. By having an agent market your home, you're tossing a 16OZ steak into an entire den of hungry wolves. Your agent will have your best interest in mind (i.e. push for higher).They're going to naturally fight over it (multiple offer situation). Top dollar will win.

[GreggT]

Originally Posted by cptnD

Here's what I've run into in this market:

I've heard and read almost word for word what you've written here. Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, etc. are priced with algorithms and don't take into account things like demand in this current market. Not to mention, demand on top of demand..in this current market. Additionally, they are behind by as much as months. I've had clients call me up for homes that say "available" but were actually sold 2 months prior. It's not just Madison where things are crazy. It's everywhere across the US. Some cities much more than others. Pricing below Zillow isn't necessarily going to give you traction. You may get some potential buyers that offer slightly above your asking, yes. But here's some things to consider. Are they all going to be validated, qualified buyers? Are you going to accept the first or second offer over your list price? Are you willing to entertain contingencies? What's your marketing plan? Are you sure your home won't go for $100k over your asking to a qualified buyer that has lost out on multiple properties, and very hungry to win this one with their agent? All serious questions.

You can definitely do it yourself no doubt. However, the typical FSBO sells for roughly 25% less than an agent assisted home sale. By having an agent market your home, you're tossing a 16OZ steak into an entire den of hungry wolves. Your agent will have your best interest in mind (i.e. push for higher).They're going to naturally fight over it (multiple offer situation). Top dollar will win.

Do you have any facts to back up your 25% claim? Quite honestly, I think the actual number is closer to 2-3%. It is easy to check the comps, similar houses and what they sold for. They have already gotten an appraisal which is a good start on pricing, not really sure in a hot market what a realtor has to offer.

[cptnD]

Originally Posted by GreggT

Do you have any facts to back up your 25% claim? Quite honestly, I think the actual number is closer to 2-3%. It is easy to check the comps, similar houses and what they sold for. They have already gotten an appraisal which is a good start on pricing, not really sure in a hot market what a realtor has to offer.

It's easy to look at an engine after popping the hood and think 'I can work on this.' I don't need to tell you how many moving parts there are between signing a listing agreement/contract and closing. Where are you finding the most accurate, up-to-date comps? The MLS is updated within hours at most. Third party sites struggle to keep up. Especially in this market. By the time you think you've got the right LP from those comps, your home has gone up another 5-10% in value. Sure, the appraisal is a start. Hopefully it's a local appraiser that is familiar with the area and it's appreciation. But even appraisals can be way off. In the last year I've seen some appraisals come in $90-$100K under and then over for the second appraisal, late buyers offer sellers serious cash just to break contract on top of $XXXXXX over list price, and even gifts to set them apart from 20 other offers in the first few days on market. A property is worth as much as someone is willing to pay. Don't you think you'll have the highest chance of getting top dollar with maximum exposure from an agent?

As I said before, the OP can do it themselves. Some homeowners do successfully, many end up listing with an agent. I would highly suggest scheduling a listing consultation with a local agent and then decide on whether or not to list FSBO. Either way that's my professional stance and I still wish the OP the best of luck. I truly hope no matter what they get the highest amount for their home

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and...ate-statistics

[dijkstra]

Most FSBO, cost themselves far more than the money they think they saved by not listing with an agent. Plus they do not know all the ins and outs of a real estate transaction. Zillow is fun to look at but in a market like this, it probably isn't very accurate. As they say, real estate is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Appraisals and comps really only come into play if there is financing involved. There are a lot of people out there that pay cash or have the cash to pay the difference if they like a home and run it above the appraisal. Dealing with a fast moving market and multiple offers is a lot for an inexperienced homeowner to navigate. I would list it with an agent if it were me.