Looking for Home in Hemlock Farms (for sale by owner, real estate market, apartment)

[sgtgeorge]

Does anyone know of any homes for sale by owner in Hemlock Farms?

[karen_s]

I found two for you and will send you a direct message. I'm not a realtor or anything, just a helpful Googler

[BLUEDIAMOND64]

Sgt George,

A popular site now is ForSaleByOwner you may just want to plug in Hemlock Farms and see what come up. Hemlock has their own realtors or you could find one on your own. If you need more, let me know.

Hat

[poconosmama]

They have their own classifieds board, sometimes houses pop up on there
HFCA Electronic Mail Room Bulletin Board

[blender]

Hard to further help when you don't specify a price range (I know people who'd go direct who don't advertise that), but...

Unless you've exhausted all the broker listings, why would you want to limit yourself to forsalebyowner sellers? In most cases they want to be the ones to pocket the broker commission, not cut their price so you can pocket it. Forsalebyowner sellers aren't in it to save YOU money. Sellers who list with brokers are more interested in getting OUT than getting their price. And since a price drop of $20-40K hardly makes a dent in their commission, brokers have no qualms about telling their sellers to drop their price. As a former FSBO seller who actually did better paying his broker than trying to negotiate directly with bargainhunters in a GOOD market, I speak from experience: I think that a forsalebyowner situation where both the seller and prospective buyer(s) are willing to limit their prospects for what amounts to a fraction of the selling price is a recipe for bad faith and missed opportunity.

Believe me, if you have a seller trying to save money by avoiding paying a broker's commission, odds are they've cut corners on maintaining their home too, which means even if you save money by going direct you may lose money in the long run. You do get what you pay for. If I lose a direct buyer for my house because I refuse their offer even if my house is a great value in the short AND long term, so be it. I'd rather have a broker deal with the buyers anytime.

In fact, I'm now selling my Hemlock Farms ranch, which is far nicer than anything else in its price range bar none, through a broker.

[MermanMike]

I don't think it's fair to say that seller's who are going FSBO have likely cut corners on maintaining their home. That just doesn't make sense to me. Although there are probably a lot of second home owners in the pocono communities who haven't taken care of their homes very well because they rarely spend time in them. I'd think the ones who are FSBO are more likely full time and therefore better tended to.
Some people think real estate commissions are a huge rip off and would rather not participate in a system that doesn't reflect their values. Some sellers just can't afford to pay the commissions. Some buyers would rather deal with a regular person than a sales person. Not fair to make assumptions.

[I LOVE PA!]

Originally Posted by MermanMike

I don't think it's fair to say that seller's who are going FSBO have likely cut corners on maintaining their home. That just doesn't make sense to me. Although there are probably a lot of second home owners in the pocono communities who haven't taken care of their homes very well because they rarely spend time in them. I'd think the ones who are FSBO are more likely full time and therefore better tended to.
Some people think real estate commissions are a huge rip off and would rather not participate in a system that doesn't reflect their values. Some sellers just can't afford to pay the commissions. Some buyers would rather deal with a regular person than a sales person. Not fair to make assumptions.

I positively agree!! I think it is a rediculous price to pay for someone selling your home. When it is broken down to an hourly wage, it is probably more than a Doctor makes!
I have no choice but to list with a broker as my house is in a private community, doesn't get much traffic, and 'For Sale' signs are not allowed. I have sold a house before on my own with no problems. Buying a FSBO sign for $3.00 sure beats paying $15,000. to $20,000. Especially when your sells itself.

[blender]

MermanMike, you are correct about my assumption that anyone looking to save money on commission would probably have saved a few nickels and dimes here and there by, say, failing to contract with an exterminating service or having their septic serviced semiannually. That WAS unfair; for all I know, a fsbo seller needs to save on commission because he/she overspent on home improvements and maintenance. So I apologize for and withdraw that statement. HOWEVER...

I stand by my statement that fsbo sellers are looking to maximize their profits by keeping the broker's commissions for themselves. Whether they do so because they feel that broker's don't earn their commissions is IRRELEVANT. If it was truly about stiffing a broker out of a commission they shouldn't receive, the sellers would list their homes at a price lower than what they'd list with a broker so that instead of THEM making money the BUYER saves money. Some do, but most don't.

Now, is sgtgeorge asking this forum about forsalebyowner homes because he feels that broker commissions are unfair and he wants to give those poor forsalebyowner sellers a break? I THINK NOT. Whether he/she is looking for a bargain because he has an infant with high medical bills, is supporting an elderly parent, chose a low-paying but rewarding career and does volunteer work for the needy, is trying to pay off debt or is simply a cheapskate is IRRELEVANT. What's relevant is that this prospective buyer is looking to save money by going direct, and the seller is looking to make money by going direct. Sometimes that works, but oftentimes it doesn't. Who's to say that a broker showing an unqualified buyer a house they wouldn't be interested in would be more of a waste of time for both the buyer and seller?

One more thing...I don't like brokers any more than you do. I also feel that substandard practitioners in a lot of professions are overcompensated. (Bet there are a lot of folk who feel that lawyers and chiropracters are ripoffs, too.) But does that mean we should try to do what they do to save money on principal?

Also I'd be curious to know how the real estate market was when I Love PA! sold his house himself. Aside from such other factors as whether he priced fairly, whether it was a great house in a great school district in a great neighborhood, etc. One successful forsalebyowner experience could be luck. If he'd sold two or three homes directly, particularly if they were nothing special, fairly priced and in a market that WASN'T hot, and he still preferred dealing with a "regular person" rather than a "sales person" after going through the fsbo process with a few homes, then I'd be impressed and find him very credible. (Personally, I found it very debilitating dealing with "regular persons" with respect to something as personal as the sale of my own home.)

Actually, another thing about brokers - when you pay their commission, it covers their expenses for the 95% of clients who they DON'T earn a commission on. Brokers are like anyone in sales - they'll exaggerate their success rate. Wildly successful brokers are good at what they do and by definition earn their commission. Those that try living on commission and paying most of their related overhead and DON'T fail are lucky if they make as good a living as you do. If earning a real estate commission was easy - and getting lots of them were easy - EVERYONE would be a real estate broker!

[mathjak107]

we just bought a house in pa and i can tell you i would have never even seen the house we bought without a broker leading us to it.

[blender]

Just an interesting followup for those who are interested; undersold our Hemlock Farms house last February but in retrospect got out in time, prices are dropping like a lead balloon there... Just sold my Manhattan apartment direct because it was a friend of my sister's and it was a MANHATTAN APARTMENT, and STILL I slightly undersold it. Why? Because if I didn't get out of both I wouldn't have been able to get my house in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island for a ridiculously low price, which I would never have seen without my broker. So you see, sometimes using a broker works, sometimes going direct works. But you have to be flexible and not rule out any possibilities. I'm looking forward to a beautiful, wonderful life in one of the prettiest spots in the world all because I was flexible and did what I had to do, including sucking up brokers fees and underselling.