Relocating and want to sell our Custom Sun Prairie House? (Madison: flat fee, for sale by owner)

[financewizard]

We are relocating to Florida and wanted to know if anyone has tried to sell an upscaled house in this market? We know we can't get what it appraised for a year ago, but we also do not want to just give it away.

Has anyone had luck selling on their own and not paying 6% commission? I think I could give 3%, but 6% may not price the house competitve enough for a quick sale.

With interest rates so low I though people would be picking up upscale homes on the cheap. Am I missing something?

Also, where would someone post a house for sale besides craigslist?

Thanks in advance.

[Megan1967]

Originally Posted by financewizard

Also, where would someone post a house for sale besides craigslist?

What about FSBOMadison.com?

If you're talking a $500K or up house, however, I think you can pretty much rule out Craig's list viewers as your target audience.

[Dairylander]

First of all, the sooner you get listed, the better. The market peaks in April/May.
You have several options.

-For $150, you can listed on fsbomadison.com, which is a well run, nationally recognized "for sale by owner" website.This is cheap, but the exposure is limited, and you'll need a real estate attorney to review offers and closing documents.
-Megan's right, craigslist is a longshot.
-For a high-end home, getting on the MLS (multiple listing service) is key, because the majority of high-end buyers have a realtor whom will primarily (and sometimes exclusively) use the MLS to find listings.
-For $400, you can get a flat fee listing on the MLS by madcityhomes.com. You will have to pay the buyer's realtor 3% of your sales price, but you'll keep the seller's agent's commission, because you'll be your own seller's agent.
The madcity people take care of all the details of getting your house listed, but you'll need to field phone calls and arrange showings with realtors, as well as consult a real estate attorney to review offers and closing documents. If you have the time, this will save you a lot of money.
-Your third option is to call a few realtors and have them look at your house and ask them if they'll take a reduced commission to list your home. Due to the challenged housing market, seller's agents are taking reduced commissions such as 1.5% to list homes and they'll do all the leg work for you. In this case you'd lose 4.5% total. (I would still suggest you take the documents to a licensed attorney)

You might invite a few realtors to look at your house regardless of which option you choose, since their opinions of the market value of your home will help you price it. But make sure they know you are just "interviewing" several realtors and won't sign anything yet.
Also beware of hiring the realtor that says they can get the most money for your house, they will lie about what its worth to get you to sign with them, then pressure you to lower the price after you're committed to them.
You can also do short term listing contracts. If a realtor is convinced that they can sell your home for 10% more than the other people, sign a two month contract and make them prove it.