2023 Real Estate Observations (walk away, clean, individual)

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

High volume for sure, at the time it felt like she sold half the homes in town. That and she was the seller's babysitter at one point 40 years ago.

Sounds like it was a win win for all. You got a home at a price you were happy with, so did sellers and agent taking a slight cut in commission on the one of many homes she sells will get that paid back and then some by word of mouth for her good deed from their friend/client!

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by redplum33

I'm guessing she likely leaves money on the table.

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

No, I don't. I already have a pretty good idea what my homes will sell for and if it's more than what the set price is...the buyers will decide that by offering over which I have had happen. Before I list I usually interview a few local agents to check my research up against what they have to say. I compare their CMA's, suggested list price to my data. I also tell them that I decided I'll be doing FSBO but am offering commission so if they have buyers feel free to bring them. It gives those handful of agents I interviewed a sneak preview and starts to build a little buzz where they can say to their clients...hey I know of this home going on the market soon in your price range/ area. Then I pay to get in the MLS and offer a 2% buyer's agent commission. Couple days later....I'm usually under agreement and on my way to making an offer on my next place.

Just because you got the expected results and you're satisfied, it doesn't mean you didn't possibly leave money on the table. A realtor is going to bring in more people - which gives you a better chance of an unexpected bidding war.


"I also tell them that I decided I'll be doing FSBO but am offering commission so if they have buyers feel free to bring them"

^ this is not the same as using a realtor

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by redplum33

"I also tell them that I decided I'll be doing FSBO but am offering commission so if they have buyers feel free to bring them"

^ this is not the same as using a realtor

And why would they care about the commission you're offering? It's obviously going to be less than they could make on a different house they were hired to sell.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by redplum33

And why would they care about the commission you're offering? It's obviously going to be less than they could make on a different house they were hired to sell.

Some FSBO don't offer agent commissions. 2-2.5% per transaction side is usually the standard commission an agent on either side of the table gets. The fact that I offer 2% means they would be more motivated to bring buyers by to my listing....it's what they'd be getting if it was listed by an agent. The only way they'd be getting more is if they were hired as the listing agent AND also brought the buyer.

[id77]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I've found in this world you can usually lump people into one of two categories . . . people who value time over money and people who value money over time. My mother taught me to value money over time when I was younger. She would always go to 4 different supermarkets every week so she could grab the various sale items from each one that she needed. Very time consuming but she had an excess of time. I have very little free time these days and so my time is very valuable to me. I go to the supermarket once a week and I go to one store and I pay whatever the prices are in that store that week.

Sometimes this attitude comes from what you were taught in your younger days. Sometimes it comes from life experiences (my grandparents learned a lot of habits during the Great Depression that never left them until the day they died). Sometimes people just place less value on things they have an abundance of.

Not that anyone really has an abundance of time. Nearly every one of us will have less than 5,000 weekends in our lives, but if money is even scarcer for them (as would certainly have been the case for many in the Depression) I certainly see them trading that commodity for a few dollars.

There is a third lump, too: people who don't know how to appraise what their time is worth, and those morons will do anything for a freebie even when it's an absolute time suck for nothing in return.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by redplum33

And why would they care about the commission you're offering? It's obviously going to be less than they could make on a different house they were hired to sell.

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Some FSBO don't offer agent commissions. 2-2.5% per transaction side is usually the standard commission an agent on either side of the table gets. The fact that I offer 2% means they would be more motivated to bring buyers by to my listing....it's what they'd be getting if it was listed by an agent. The only way they'd be getting more is if they were hired as the listing agent AND also brought the buyer.

How has this played out? Have they brought buyers to you?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by id77

There is a third lump, too: people who don't know how to appraise what their time is worth, and those morons will do anything for a freebie even when it's an absolute time suck for nothing in return.

There's a LOT of that these days. I've run into every kind of wannabe DIYer who blows their entire summer doing a half arse job on what could have been done in three days by a professional who actually knows what they are doing. My own time is valuable, but if I really am scrimping for cash I always have the option of working extra in what I am actually trained and skilled to do. There's a very real thing called "penny wise/pound foolish".

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Time is not an issue for me. I WFH so can accommodate showings, cleaning/staging/taking my own pics. Let's face it, some folks don't know how to talk to other people, they could have things spewing out of their mouth that buyers don't need to hear, etc. and wouldn't be great at doing FSBO. Lots of folks (including some agents ) also don't know how to clean/stage/take clear photographs of the homes either. That makes a huge difference too. Can't tell you how many blurry, bad photos I see on listings by agents.

IDK, even if you WFH it's hard to manage stuff like open houses which I would imagine are to your advantage in all but the most exceptional homes. But maybe not these days?

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by massnative71

IDK, even if you WFH it's hard to manage stuff like open houses which I would imagine are to your advantage in all but the most exceptional homes. But maybe not these days?

I've never done an open house at my previous properties that I've sold. Open houses a lot of times are for the lookie loos, not so much serious buyers although yes, they can be in the mix and attend too. Serious buyers are more apt to call their agent and make an appt to see the place.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by redplum33

How has this played out? Have they brought buyers to you?

As mentioned, I got all my previous properties that I've done FSBO under agreement in a matter of days. These were buyers who were represented by agents and they were happy to submit offers to me for their clients and get a 2% commission check at closing.
First few days you usually have the most activity and that's when I got multiple offers within a day or two of each other. I went back and told the agents I had multiple offers, some upped their bids and others waived some contingencies (like no inspection). I even lucked out one time and got an all cash buyer, no contingencies at all, plus over list price to boot.