Any success stories with selling your home "by owner"? (how much, attorneys)
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I sold my home 8 years ago by myself, everything went smoothly. It helped that I knew the buyer, and we both went out of our way to keep each other informed. Why pay thousands of dollars to an agent, who only cares about their commission, and takes your check and laughs all the way to the bank? Only if you have some complications, and the agent may have contacts who can help. Or, if you are daunted by the task. Either way, there will be aggravation, there always is. Find a good attorney, who specializes in real estate transactions, not just a lawyer who does other things and says "yeah, I can do it". They are the ones who screw things up. Them, and title companies that drag their feet.
Keep in mind that eight years ago it was a sellers market. It was pretty easy to stick a sign on the lawn and get your home sold. At the time, for agents, listings were valuable and buyers were "a dime a dozen". Today, it's just the opposite and buyers are more valuable then sellers.
Most people need all the help they can get finding serious qualified buyers. In addition to being able to list on MLS (through which the vast majority of homes are sold), most good agents have serveral buyers under exclusive buyer broker agreements, and several more that they know are looking for specific types of properties or in specific areas. They also actively network through their own offices and others so they have a much higher probabilty of finding a buyer for your home then you do.
Also, back then, the banks were much more eager to lend, appraisals were loose, certificate of occupancy issues were overlooked, etc. Again, today the pendulum has swung the other way. A good agent can negotiate all of these issues because he or she does it every day and knows exactly what to do.
Your advice about finding an attorney who specializes in real estate is sound. I've seen more deals screwed up by attorneys that "also do real estate" then by anyone else. BTW - if you think the title company was dragging it's feet, your attorney was probably lying to you. Where title issues become problems is when the sellers attorney waits until close to the closing to order title (happens all the time). Then they get the report and there is an issue that has to be dealt with, delaying the closing and frustrating everybody.
Keep in mind that eight years ago it was a sellers market. It was pretty easy to stick a sign on the lawn and get your home sold. At the time, for agents, listings were valuable and buyers were "a dime a dozen". Today, it's just the opposite and buyers are more valuable then sellers.
Most people need all the help they can get finding serious qualified buyers. In addition to being able to list on MLS (through which the vast majority of homes are sold), most good agents have serveral buyers under exclusive buyer broker agreements, and several more that they know are looking for specific types of properties or in specific areas. They also actively network through their own offices and others so they have a much higher probabilty of finding a buyer for your home then you do.
Also, back then, the banks were much more eager to lend, appraisals were loose, certificate of occupancy issues were overlooked, etc. Again, today the pendulum has swung the other way. A good agent can negotiate all of these issues because he or she does it every day and knows exactly what to do.
Your advice about finding an attorney who specializes in real estate is sound. I've seen more deals screwed up by attorneys that "also do real estate" then by anyone else. BTW - if you think the title company was dragging it's feet, your attorney was probably lying to you. Where title issues become problems is when the sellers attorney waits until close to the closing to order title (happens all the time). Then they get the report and there is an issue that has to be dealt with, delaying the closing and frustrating everybody.
Quite honestly Tom I don't think you should bring yourself into this conversation considering you are a RE agent and obviously incredibly biased. OF COURSE you would say its important to have an agent.
Quite honestly Tom I don't think you should bring yourself into this conversation considering you are a RE agent and obviously incredibly biased. OF COURSE you would say its important to have an agent.
I held back for quite a while as, obviously, I have a vested interest in the industry. I was simply trying to point out the differences in the market between the time stated by the previous poster and today. As far as I'm concerned, people are welcome to go FSBO and I wouldn't try to discourage them. Many do give it a go and some succeed. It's not like I would change anyone's opinion anyway. I know this board to well! As alway, just trying to educate.
Sorry Tom but that doesn't fly. If you have a shred of integrity you will delete your posting and then I will do the same so your biased opinion is kept out of this conversation.
Here we go again, questioning my integrity. I have been on this board for several years and have never ever done anything except try to be helpful. Your threats are meaningless and your alias is telling. I will continue to try to educate people about real estate, whether they are using an agent or not. People can listen or not, but I will not be told by you what I can and cannot do.
I was in fact, hesitant to post, because I knew that a couple of people on here truly hate real estate agents and would immediately attack me personally. (What do you know? It happened!) However, even if someone is selling FSBO, I felt it would be helpful for them to get an agent's perspective.
2. I do not hate RE estate agents. My buyers agent was awesome and I have given him numerous referrals over the years.
3. This is a topic you should NOT have gotten involved in and it does show you have no integrity by posting in it. Sorry, but that's a fact. You are way to biased considering you are a RE agent to be giving your opinion in this thread.
No. I have plenty of "integrity". Unlike many others I use my real name and state my profession up front, so people can take my opinions as they see fit. (By the way, I did not express an opinion at all in this thread).
Most people on here hide behind aliases and do not reveal what they do for a living. Then, they express "opinions" on all kinds of things. Who knows what their hidden agenda is? Funny, that I am one of the only people here who is completely transparent, yet I am accused of having "no integrity".
You have no integrity because you are a biased party in a topic like this. You even admitted that you thought twice before posting, so you have to know that your opinion would be frowned upon in this thread.
As far as you saying you have not expressed any opinions, may I recommend you take Journalism 101 at a community college so you can learn the difference between a fact and an opinion.
I am leaving this conversation because you have taken it way off topic, which is a disservice to those who actually want to learn something or contribute constructively. It's exactly what I was afraid would happen.
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