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Well all the papers are signed and the house is going on the market in a few days. Our realtor is wonderful, knowledgeable, and really knows her stuff....and everyone knows her so we're confident if anyone can sell our home she can. But....5%! If we sell our home for say, 400,000, thats 20,000! And please...no offense to any of our realtors on the forum...I'm quite sure most of us couldn't manage without you. This is our first home so we have no experience with this process...none whatsoever. I'm just curious did anyone sell their home without a realtor? Do potential buyers shy away when a home is for sale by the owner? We truly believe we need this person in order to get this house sold, but I was curious if anyone did it without, or feels that they could have.... I would like to hear from the realtors on this board also. Thanks for any and all input. Jeannie
Well all the papers are signed and the house is going on the market in a few days. Our realtor is wonderful, knowledgeable, and really knows her stuff....and everyone knows her so we're confident if anyone can sell our home she can. But....5%! If we sell our home for say, 400,000, thats 20,000! And please...no offense to any of our realtors on the forum...I'm quite sure most of us couldn't manage without you. This is our first home so we have no experience with this process...none whatsoever. I'm just curious did anyone sell their home without a realtor? Do potential buyers shy away when a home is for sale by the owner? We truly believe we need this person in order to get this house sold, but I was curious if anyone did it without, or feels that they could have.... I would like to hear from the realtors on this board also. Thanks for any and all input. Jeannie
Jeannie,
You will most likely have TWO Realtors involved. The one who lists your home, and the one who brings the buyer.
Somewhere in your listing agreement, if you are in NC, or if it is similar to NC's standard form, you will see the amount of that 5% the Listing agent will offer to share with another agent who brings a successful buyer. It will be a large portion of the 5%.
Some people are attracted to FSBO's, but many of them are time-wasters who would be culled out by a capable real estate agent.
And many FSBO's go quite well. It is hard to recommend that you go FSBO on your first home. Learn what you can from the process, and maybe next time. Maybe not.
The more buyers who your home is exposed to, the better your chances of a quick and profitable sale. Realtors generally provide that exposure far better than anyone else.
In a soft market, a realtor may get your property sold much quicker and for a better price than a FSBO. In a seller's market, you may do OK w/o a broker.
Be aware that you will need a good real estate lawyer both with and without a broker. If you go FSBO, you need to get the lawyer involved from the beginning so you are properly protected.
Jeannie,
You will most likely have TWO Realtors involved. The one who lists your home, and the one who brings the buyer.
Somewhere in your listing agreement, if you are in NC, or if it is similar to NC's standard form, you will see the amount of that 5% the Listing agent will offer to share with another agent who brings a successful buyer. It will be a large portion of the 5%.
Some people are attracted to FSBO's, but many of them are time-wasters who would be culled out by a capable real estate agent.
And many FSBO's go quite well. It is hard to recommend that you go FSBO on your first home. Learn what you can from the process, and maybe next time. Maybe not.
The more buyers who your home is exposed to, the better your chances of a quick and profitable sale. Realtors generally provide that exposure far better than anyone else.
Thank you Mike. I don't think we would dare to venture this on our own, especially our first time....so the 5% is the fee for the realtors on both sides? Now I see....makes more sense.
Hey, 5% isn't that bad. I'm paying 6%! We've been on the market 4.5 months, but things seem to be picking up for us as we've had 4 showings in the past 2 weeks (hey, that's a LOT for us) and we even have our first 2nd showing coming today. However, I'm not attributing this pick-up to anything our realtor has done. We even asked her yesterday if she had done something different to induce all these showings and she said no.
If my house sells, then great, but I'm seriously considering using an MLS only service after this if it doesn't sell within my contract period so I can lower my price more. Besides that, I'm not really sure what a realtor is really doing for me at this point. I wouldn't try to sell it without MLS though because then nobody would even know our house was on the market. I see people do it in more high traffic areas by just putting out a sign, but on my street nobody would know we were there.
Hey, 5% isn't that bad. I'm paying 6%! We've been on the market 4.5 months, but things seem to be picking up for us as we've had 4 showings in the past 2 weeks (hey, that's a LOT for us) and we even have our first 2nd showing coming today. However, I'm not attributing this pick-up to anything our realtor has done. We even asked her yesterday if she had done something different to induce all these showings and she said no.
If my house sells, then great, but I'm seriously considering using an MLS only service after this if it doesn't sell within my contract period so I can lower my price more. Besides that, I'm not really sure what a realtor is really doing for me at this point. I wouldn't try to sell it without MLS though because then nobody would even know our house was on the market. I see people do it in more high traffic areas by just putting out a sign, but on my street nobody would know we were there.
I hear you....our realtor usually does get 6%. Our house is really hidden, deep into the tail end of our town, so definately not visable to many. 4.5 months?? I'm sure it's the norm, but I really hope things move quickly for us. Best of luck to you!
I am currenty posting my home for sale in SC by a realtor. However, if I were living in my home, I would have posted by owner and offered 3% to buyer agent.
The only thing my realtor is doing is posting the house in the MLS listing, and puting a lock box and some flyers. I could have done that myself for $600. When someone want to show the house, I always get the phone calls. My agent voice mail always pick up first, so they call me. I even created a web site for the house, and I bought advertising on the internet to drive more buyers.
I don't feel the seller agent do enough work to earn that much money. I work about 180 hours a month, and I don't even make as much as I am paying him, and I am a software engineer.
Buyer agents are the one who do 90% of the work. They do the search, drive buyers around, show the houses etc.
I am currenty posting my home for sale in SC by a realtor. However, if I were living in my home, I would have posted by owner and offered 3% to buyer agent.
The only thing my realtor is doing is posting the house in the MLS listing, and puting a lock box and some flyers. I could have done that myself for $600. When someone want to show the house, I always get the phone calls. My agent voice mail always pick up first, so they call me. I even created a web site for the house, and I bought advertising on the internet to drive more buyers.
I don't feel the seller agent do enough work to earn that much money. I work about 180 hours a month, and I don't even make as much as I am paying him, and I am a software engineer.
Buyer agents are the one who do 90% of the work. They do the search, drive buyers around, show the houses etc.
Just my opinion.
Good point....my realtor in NC had us all over, in and out of houses, S/D's, etc...her car, her mileage, listings via email, etc...she is wonderful!..and she'll be doing it all over again on our next trip down...even took us out for cold drinks after...
For those of you that feel like your agent isn't doing enough, why not ASK the agent exactly WHAT she is doing?
YOU are paying HER to work for YOU. Ask. I don't get why people complain to others except to vent! However, the others aren't going to get you the answers.
In this area, Realtors do alot more than just put the house into MLS and stick a sign in the yard. I update my sellers on WHAT I'm doing and the type of advertising I'm paying for and just who I'm marketing this house to!
The biggest complaint I usually hear from others is that their agent isn't showing their house. I explain to my sellers that its not my job to SHOW their house but to MARKET it to other agents. Look at it this way...if I'm working with FIVE buyers and only ONE is in that particular price range, I'm marketing to only one. If I market to the MILLIONS of Realtors in Raleigh, don't I have a better chance of getting that house sold faster and for a better price?
Yes, I still advertise on Realtor.com and HOPE that a buyer picks up the phone and calls me and I can show my own listing.
Just my two cents' worth...as usual!
And...for those buyers that do not want to pay for a SURVEY...
I just had a survey done on a house and the fence is in TWENTY SIX FEET over the line. Now its the sellers' responsibility to move it. If my buyer had not had a survey done, it would have become her issue. I know its about $350 but its sooooo worth it.
Vicki
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If we sell our home for say, 400,000, thats 20,000!
And please...no offense to any of our realtors on the forum...I'm quite sure most of us couldn't manage without you. 
This is our first home so we have no experience with this process...none whatsoever.
Jeannie
