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If your loan requires that the seller pay the broker, wouldn't you just add the broker fees to your offer? E.g. if you think the house is worth 200k, offer 207, and stipulate that they pay 3% to your broker.
That's what I was thinking. They are selling it FSBO to get out of paying a commission and might not want to pay it out of their pocket. Only danger you might run into if the appraisal doesn't match.
I think a lot of people who list FSBO do it to save the 3% on the sellers agents fee. Most are probably prepared to pay the commission to a buyers agent- or at least some of it.
I've sold and purchased homes this way and it was not difficult nor was any of the deals over priced. If anything, they were fair market value because we didn't have to pay an agent $20,000+ Or their percentage.
I feel when negative comments are made that you will have problems, you'll lose money, you won't get as much traffic, I mean really, where do you get those stats?
I really don't want to give away a nice chunk of change. I could always list with an agent if it doesn't work out.
I would go look at a home listed by owner as long as the price was reasonable to the comps in area, and the Photos and online representation were what I am looking for.
Anyone thinking of selling in today's market would be foolish to not try FSBO first. I can see not doing that first if you don't have the time or need to sell quick.
I would imagine real estate peeps will not like my comments. Now let's play nice and not take anything personal. It's all about business and the bottom $$$ for sellers, buyers, and agents alike.
Real Estate Sales Commissions are always paid by the seller. If you choose to engage the services of a 'Buyer's Agent', you may be committing yourself to an agent fee, but, otherwise not. If you are only looking at FSBO's because the VA will not pay 'sales commissions', you need to understand how this works! FSBO's really put the unknowledgeable buyer at a disadvantage!
Perhaps the seller is calculating a 5-6% sales commission and believes that an FSBO listing entitles him to incorporate that into his sales price. Even if that is the case, the seller needs to understand that the 'market price' of the property, is determined by the market, NOT by the 'market' PLUS the sales commission. Optionally, the seller may be 'padding' the price in order to give himself room to negotiate.
Your best bet on determining 'comps' by yourself, is to check the County Property Tax Appraiser's web site. This will show you what properties in the area are actually SELLING for ... NOT, what various sellers are ASKING for their property. (NOTE: You do not have to 'justify' your offer).
Finally, as others have said, make your offer based on what you feel comfortable with. If you believe the seller is playing 'padding games', you may want to offer $10-$20K LESS than you may ultimately be prepared to pay ... so that you have some room to negotiate. As far as 'tips' are concerned, a good strategy is to let the seller know that you have looked at the 'comps', but, would like to know what 'comps' he is using (rather than simply lay your entire hand on the table).
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