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When I did my FSBO's, the RE agents who were looking for listings became the biggest pain in the butt.
I agree. There are agents who specialize in marketing to FSBO listings. They are persistent, and many are could be considered jerks, but they do get a lot of listings that way. I couldn't work that way.
i appreciate everyone's advice, even if it's biased; that simply comes with the territory of posting on a public forum.
Comps are difficult in our area, given the range of housing. There are million dollar homes across the street & not too far away, there are 1500 sf older houses with asphalt shingles. I'd hate to overprice our house and not get a single offer. Yes, I do have emotional value invested in the place, we've done a TON of work and it's became our home.
An identical house sold across the street in November for 225K. Everything was original from 1987. Then in March, an identical house 1 street away sold for 280K, which had updated kitchen, bathrooms and was next to a wash, so only 1 neighbor.
Our place is on a corner lot, next to the wash, 1 neighbor, and updated bathrooms - tile showers, new cabinets granite. We also have a new outdoor kitchen, diving pool, new outdoor AC & indoor air handler, new landscaping, new dripper system, new above ground pool plumbing & pump, new paint throughout, removed pop corn ceiling, all new hardware, new electrical. Only thing that's not updated is kitchen.
Only reason i'd go for 280K is because of the March sale and the advice of our walk through listing agent. Maybe 270K would be more reasonable, especially since FSBO's supposedly are over priced?
Again, I'm struggling finding what we would be out after a few weeks of trying.
Given that the kitchen is considered to be the most important room to most buyers, and that your's is not upgraded, I'd figure out what it would cost to update the kitchen to the standards of the $280K house, and drop by that amount.
But most FSBO's do tend to over price. If one is in my area, i will usually call, identify myself as a Realtor, and ask the price. I don't solicit their listing; I just want to know the price in case one of my buyer clients ask. Almost all of the ones I have called on are over priced.
The reason I had declined to be primarily a listing agent several years ago was that even those who were listing, and not considering going FSBO would argue with the comps and want to overprice their home. (I am changing and am becoming a listing agent in a limited geographical area) And of course, there are listing agents who will take overpriced listings just to get a sign in the ground to get buyer calls.
The OP is smart. He is doing research and I doubt if he will over price his home.
I would agree that a listing agent who is a bad agent, and I've seen many listings on the mls that shout out -- bad agent --, may have no value over putting it on the mls, and they don't even do a good job of that.
However, those who think that the bulk of value from a listing agent is access to the MLS have no conception of what a good listing agent does for the client.
Marketing is only one aspect, but an important one: There is expensive marketing that a good listing agent does that will present the home to more buyers, and that good agent will present it in a highly professional manner. If I may brag a moment, my listing sheets are a good example of how listings should be presented, which include good descriptions, room measurements, professional photos by a professional photographer experienced at photographing homes for sale, and professional virtual tours.
Also, only 1% of agents will pay $1,800 a year to have their listings as Featured Homes on Realtor.com, or pay monthly fees for other top marketing efforts. Buyers start their search on many different internet search sites, and many of them have to be submitted from another source, such as Tour Factory, by the agent.
Then going through the transaction from buyer negotiation to closing looks easy until things start going downhill; and things can get out of control extremely fast without someone providing guidance based on experience and knowledge.
I've said this before, and it bears repeating, those who do not have experience and education in the real estate business can not know what they don't know. That's one reason why so many agents drop out after a year in the business. They think it's easy, and think they'll get rich. They learn very fast that they don't know what they thought they know, and they find out how expensive it is to remain in the business paying money to get more education and training; not to mention the cost of properly marketing listings, if they do listings.
I do agree that I'm not the most experienced in the R.E. industry by a long shot and I don't know what I don't know. And I suspect a good listing agent does more than I know, having never had one. I came to this forum last fall a buyer with no buyers' agent griping about listing agents not willing to show me their listings. I soon got my own agent and sang her praises. So I did find a buyers' agent to be a good thing for me, this time. I'm willing to learn!
I'm not entirely R.E.-stupid, having the appraisal years under my belt, but I've only owned 4 homes and I'm no agent myself. But I do agree with Freakonomics that the MLS is the magic key and besides that a listing agent doesn't really (typically) "earn" 3%. Look at appraisal fees-- the money to the appraiser is down to like $150 per appraisal on average, while agents get to enjoy the % increase in home prices since their commission is %-based. I have a friend who was appraising 30 years ago for $300/pop. Now she makes about $150/pop and the homes are 10X the value. Of course, her job has gotten much easier electronically but so has the realtors'.
...I'm not entirely R.E.-stupid, having the appraisal years under my belt, but I've only owned 4 homes and I'm no agent myself. But I do agree with Freakonomics that the MLS is the magic key and besides that a listing agent doesn't really (typically) "earn" 3%. Look at appraisal fees-- the money to the appraiser is down to like $150 per appraisal on average, while agents get to enjoy the % increase in home prices since their commission is %-based. I have a friend who was appraising 30 years ago for $300/pop. Now she makes about $150/pop and the homes are 10X the value. Of course, her job has gotten much easier electronically but so has the realtors'.
Of course you're not RE stupid and I certainly did not mean that to be the case.
I disagree with Freakonomics about the MLS and the commission because I know how buyers search the internet, and I know how difficult it is for a listing to be found there. As you can read on this forum, most of the buyers here state that they are searching on Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, or some other national site. They send listings to their Realtors, many of whom don't have search sites, or search sites that go directly into the mls. It costs money to get a listing placed in various places so that it can be found by those people initially searching the internet. It also costs a lot of money to maintain agent web sites and drive traffic to them where the agents listings can be featured.
Among many other marketing expenses, I pay an annual fee to a real estate forum to be able to maintain a blog there. I can promote my listings there, and my web site where people can come to see my listings; and the blogs on that site get really good Google Juice so that someone searching for a type listing that I may have will be able to find it. It's things like that, and more, that the non-Realtors are not aware of, that go a long way to marketing a listing.
Remember that the commission is based on a "contingency" that a sale is closed. There are lots of transactions that do not close. Realtors do a lot of free work in that case.
No matter what an appraiser charges, everytime they do an appraisal they get paid. A Realtor may work for 40 hours and more with a client (and I have done that many times) and have that client decide to buy in another city that is not in your area, or take a job in another state, or decide to buy a new home and don't need you any more.
Consequently anytime one does work on a contingency, the fee is going to be higher because it has to cover the times when there is no pay. There are agents today who will work on a pay by hour basis, or on a task basis. However, most buyers would not be willing to pay on that basis, because they know they can use the agents time and expertise for free and then drop him if they decide not to buy.
When real estate prices go up, the agents do earn more; that is correct; and when prices go down, they earn less, but no one complains about that.
My buyers have been paying $400+ for appraisals. If appraisers are only getting paid $150, then someone is keeping their money and shorting them.
Again, I'm struggling finding what we would be out after a few weeks of trying.
I think Mn-Born-N-Raised hit the nail on the head. While the market is strong today, and we don't see anything slowing it down in the near future, if the interest rates increase, that could put a damper on the market.
On the other hand, it could cause an increase in buyer activity to act now before rates go even higher. I'm optimistic, as everyone here knows, but I could be wrong.
You've been given some good advice on this thread and you've been given some bad advice. You'll have to sort that out yourself.
If you elect to sell it yourself:
I suggest you give it 2 weeks.
Do declutter.
Do stage your home. You can do it yourself with a little study. You do not need to hire a stager.
Be prepared to show the home on short notice.
Answer the phone quickly, or call back within a few minutes
Make it easy for any potential buyer to view the home
The family needs to understand that this is no longer your home; it is your house that you're trying to sell. Therefore, since you have something to sell, you must be available when someone wants to consider buying it. Prepare to be inconvenienced.
Be sure you are pricing it properly for the condition.
When you show the home, do not follow the prospects around and try to show them every feature. They want to see the house alone, and do not want you to sell them on it.
Go outside and let them be there alone. That is actually a safety precaution as well. When they arrive, you walk out the door and tell them to take their time and look around. You can talk to them outside after they finish. Just ask them to give you some feedback or ask you any questions. That may start a conversation where you'll learn if they're interested or not.
Don't be offended by any negative feedback. Thank them for it so as to encourage them to not hold back.
Honest feedback from buyers is valuable
Have valuables stored somewhere other than in the home.
Remove prescription medicines from the medicine cabinets. (Yes, some people steal them)
My buyers have been paying $400+ for appraisals. If appraisers are only getting paid $150, then someone is keeping their money and shorting them.
Yes, the appraisal management companies get the balance (over 50% in most cases). It's actually not a bad set-up. Before it was that way, the appraiser got the full fee that the home buyer paid BUT they often had to do a lot of "comp checks" for free. Now, they don't do comp checks but they don't make full fee. A comp check was when a L.O. called and asked them if they could make the value the L.O. wanted. So the appraiser did a 15-min. appraisal, in effect, and if he/she could make the value they'd tell the L.O. so and only then would they get the order for the full appraisal and get paid. But an L.O. could go through 5 appraisers for a comp check before finding one that would make their value, so then the other 4 didn't get paid. But when you're an appraiser and you give any estimate of value, including a verbal comp check, that is considered a legal appraisal and you should have all your i's dotted and t's crossed, like in the appraisal forms. And of course that doesn't happen in a comp check. So it's good they're gone, even if it means there's a layer between the L.O. and the appraiser now that takes over 50% of the fee. Before appraisers only made money (got orders) if they could please the L.O.s by stretching to their values, which is obviously not what an appraiser is supposed to do. They're supposed to protect the lender's interests, not the L.O.'s commission. That conflict was part of the housing crash. Now the L.O. doesn't hire the appraiser. It goes through an impartial (non-commissioned) leg of the bank, the appraisal management company, and the appraiser never learns what the refi value the homeowner/L.O. wants is, but they do get sales contracts so they do still know of those 'target values' but they have no big incentive to reach for them. They get paid if they do or they don't now, which is as it should be.
All good points, Bill.
Yes, the appraisal management companies get the balance (over 50% in most cases). It's actually not a bad set-up. em...
I understand company overhead and profit, but it's sad that the appraiser is getting less than half of the fee. I think that's being grossly underpaid for the work they do.
.....Furthermore, do you really want to deal with the headache of dealing with a listing agent? Meaning, do you really want someone calling you and harrassing you whenever a potential buyer emerges even when you are at work or very busy with family?
When a person places their home on the market, whether FSBO or listed, they must make themselves and the house available to the buyer to have showings, answer questions, or review and respond to offers before the deadline time.
Just as the listing agent must be quickly available to the seller and potential buyers, the seller must be quickly available to the agent, so the agent can convey information, or get answers for buyers as quickly as possible.
Selling a house is like selling any other product. The seller must be available to the buyer, or the sale will be lost.
To suggest that a listing agent is "harrassing" the seller when he calls with important information about a buyer, is beyond my comprehension. The listing agent is the "agent" for the seller and is required to communicate with the seller using the best method that the seller has stated during the listing process.
The seller may have a job where he cannot communicate during the day, and in that case he would instruct his listing agent accordingly. If the seller is FSBO and can't communicate during the day, then his voice message must communicate that to the buyer. If buyers don't get answers within their time frame, they will move on. They won't beg a seller to talk to them, even in this market.
If the buyer has questions that the listing agent can answer, then the buyer will not be disturbed. If it is FSBO, the buyer must be available all the time to take calls, or return them within a few minutes, or as stated earlier, if he is not available to take calls, that must be conveyed via the voice message.
Do you really want a listing agent pressuring you to make all these changes to your home to sell it? Do you want a listing agent telling you to pay to have your home staged to sell it when staging it will make little impact on your home selling? ...
...they will also make you pay for additional services to sell your home like staging and having you address everything they perceive is wrong with the home which can also be expensive. I'm not suggesting you be cheap and have basic and functional aspects repaired (you should) but cosmetic and fringe amenities don't necessarily need to be addressed which the listing agent will have you do to ensure the homes sells (and they get their commission) regardless of how much it costs you.
Of course, they will tell you to make these changes because it will get you more money when it really won't...
Part of the listing agents job is to consult with the seller and inform them of things that should be done in order to make the home more presentable to a potential buyer. Decluttering, certain repairs, and some level of staging, all of which will help to make the home more presentable, falls within the agents consulting responsibilities. If an agent is going to spend money on a professional photographer and professional virtual tour to market the property, then the home should be prepared for the photographer to take those photos to help sell the home.
The agent recommends, but it's up to the seller to follow the recommendations or not.
These items will help to make the home show better:
Decluttering
Yard clean up, especially the front yard for curb appeal, which is the first impression of the property
Making certain repairs
Staging
Anything that helps the home be more presentable (whether FSBO or Listed) helps to sell the house.
Staging certainly helps to sell the house. That's why builders spend so much money for designers to furnish and stage their models; because it helps to sell the homes. If it didn't help, then all model homes would be vacant.
Staging does not have to be expensive, nor does one have to necessarily hire a stager. A lot of it is very simple, and many Realtors know enough about staging to provide guidance to the seller without any expense.
Let's be fair about this Cap, you are biased whether you are aware of that or not. You are a listing agent who openly admits to accepting clients on this forum through private message.
I suppose posts on the thread can be considered biased or unbiased no matter who posts them. If a non-Realtor advises against using a Realtor, could that not be considered biased?
I provide information that I feel the OP, and other readers will find useful. If some consider my posts biased, then that's fine with me.
Yes I'm fortunate that people from the forum do contact me and become my clients. Clients come to me from C-D as well as from my marketing sources.
Also, many people send me private messages just asking for advice or referrals, and as long as the request is not too time consuming I provide the information.
I also abide by the Rules that C-D has for Realtors. Here is a snippet from the rules:
Quote:
Realtors, Hello, and welcome to City-Data, we're glad you're here. We appreciate our Realtor members, they provide a wealth of insightful help to our readers…
…People seeking your professional services can find you via your public profile. Be sure you have your Realtor website and email data in your personal profile so people can get in touch.
…If you want to send a DM to a poster to offer your services, that's fine, but we ask that you send only one unsolicited DM. We've banned people for abusing the DM function...
...Please post all the info you wish about your region or other topics of interest, that's our main goal with this site, people helping people with advice about "what its like" in an area. Your Realtor code of ethics may limit the amount of negative info you can post, but we have plenty of non-realtors on here who can do that.
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