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I'm hiring an agent to market my house (hot area) without advertising or listing it officially. If it doesn't sell that way, then I'll go ahead and officially do the MLS thing. The reason is that I'm hoping a cash buyer or flipper would buy it....fast sale, not have to worry about inspections (old house), etc. This is happening a lot in our area.
I could put a fsbo sign out and try to sell it myself, but when I've seen that done in my area, a real estate sign pops up on it, anyway, after not being sold by the owner. So I thought I'd bypass that fsbo step.
Anyway, when the agent presented me w/a contract for the short time period covered (2 mos.), it's the standard listing agreement, with paragraphs to check off that it's not going to be listed in MLS and such. This concerns me. I was expecting a specialized agreement. Best of all, I wanted them just to bring me a buyer, and present an agreement for that buyer only before showing.
I don't have an attorney.
Anyone experienced with this sort of thing? Should I just try to sell it myself? Is this agreement standard for a unique type of marketing like I describe?
Maybe I'd be better off just MLS listing it (but the commission is higher for that).
You want a specialized custom listing agreement, most likely prepared by an attorney, and you want this for a lower price than a standard form? And you want the fastest sale, without putting it on the MLS?
Since the agent will be marketing the property, just not on the MLS, they still need to execute an exclusive agency listing agreement. You would just sign paperwork that you wouldn't appear on the MLS until such and such date.
That would how we do it in my area. Listing agreements are legal documents and are written by attorneys. That is why we use check boxes for things so that we can keep attorney costs down as a brokerage. That is the customization of the listing agreement. Just to be clear, an agent cannot market your property without officially listing it. You MUST have a listing agreement in place, but that doesn't mean it has to be on the MLS. You can choose to exclude your home from the MLS which is just one, of many, marketing options for listing agents.
So, if you want them to bring you a one-time showing agreement, then that is different than having that agent actively market your home to investors and flippers in the area.
I have a feeling the OP is misunderstanding the purpose of MLS.
The Multiple Listing Service concept carries NO requirements that the seller engage in any kind of disclosures, warranties, or offers that involve financing. It is entirely possible to have a home entered into MLS that specifically states "No disclosures, no warranties, cash buyer only". This is likely the best option for the OP.
There is really no reason to believe that the OP would be better served by having an exclusive listing without MLS exposure. If they want a certain kind of buyer it makes sense to say so upfront.
The fact is every MLS has rules about the local requirements for listing, and is the best way for any seller to reach the widest range of buyers, regardless of any kind of deal that the seller may not be interested in -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multip...#United_States
You want a specialized custom listing agreement, most likely prepared by an attorney, and you want this for a lower price than a standard form? And you want the fastest sale, without putting it on the MLS?
This approach doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Yes. This is done. You don't advertise and wait for people to show interest. The agent contacts investors and builders and flippers and tells them about the property, to see if they'd be interested. As I said, this happens a lot in my area. It's undergoing extensive renovation.
You don't pay the standard commission since there is no marketing, no advertising, no costs, probably no showings. Just a few weeks of phone calls.
I have a feeling the OP is misunderstanding the purpose of MLS.
The Multiple Listing Service concept carries NO requirements that the seller engage in any kind of disclosures, warranties, or offers that involve financing. It is entirely possible to have a home entered into MLS that specifically states "No disclosures, no warranties, cash buyer only". This is likely the best option for the OP.
There is really no reason to believe that the OP would be better served by having an exclusive listing without MLS exposure. If they want a certain kind of buyer it makes sense to say so upfront.
The fact is every MLS has rules about the local requirements for listing, and is the best way for any seller to reach the widest range of buyers, regardless of any kind of deal that the seller may not be interested in -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multip...#United_States
I see.
But I am doing it in two ways. My area has a lot of builders, flippers, investors buying up properties in my hot area. The sales are at a lower price, but are easy sales. I want this done...to see if an investor would be interested in my property. That is phase #1.
If and when I put it on MLS and open it up to anyone, including regular people, the price would be higher, and the commission would be more. That is phase #2.
The investors will likely not buy it after it's on MLS, and compete with regular buyers at the normal market value. They don't have to. They have properties to buy that are being marketed under the phase #1, so they get the properties for less.
I contacted a couple of investors myself last year. They were interested, but only at really lowball offers. So I think it might be better to have an agent as an intermediary. I think the investors were trying to take advantage of me, thinking I wouldn't know better. However, I'd like to know once and for all if any of them would want my property at a reasonable price (but still a deal, compared to the listing price that it WILL be in the future).
Yes. This is done. You don't advertise and wait for people to show interest. The agent contacts investors and builders and flippers and tells them about the property, to see if they'd be interested. As I said, this happens a lot in my area. It's undergoing extensive renovation.
You don't pay the standard commission since there is no marketing, no advertising, no costs, probably no showings. Just a few weeks of phone calls.
You are talking about WAY more work than a regular listing, and you think this is worth less money?
The house, in a hot market with the right price, ought to sell in DAYS on the MLS.
You are only limiting yourself with this alternate arrangement you're trying to cook up.
I think the OP means there would be no buyer agent commission involved since there would be just the listing agent.
Maybe that's the goal, but I think coming up with this alternate arrangement to avoid a couple percentage points in commission is likely just slowing him down and costing him money.
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