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Coastie as long as the buyer and seller are reasonable folks FSBO's can be very easy and smooth transactions. I also think as long as buyers and sellers use a form generated by an attorney, such as Steven Ness, those transactions are fine.
FSBO transactions become nightmares with the handwritten contract on the yellow legal pad paper.
As MsFancyPants said there are many resources out there for FSBO's and how to do things yourself. A real estate attorney doing a quick review to make sure you don't do something to harm yourself is a good idea.
Dee2e, I agree that many buyers don't represent themselves well, but it gets old for agents to make assumptions that all buyers are incapable of making good decisions for themselves. Some actually read and research, and do just fine without us. Let's not disparage that group of folks for actually being informed.
Our job is to help those that don't want to do those things for themselves or don't feel comfortable doing so. Bentlebee makes numerous negative comments about real estate agents and has for a long time...not worth your time to argue.
This kind of a post is what makes your advice so valuable around here.
I totally agree that MOST (and I'll go even further than you and say MOST) people could benefit greatly from using a realtor. But if a buyer and seller have met the terms and price, then they would probably benefit more from a good escrow/title person than a realtor at that point.
Thank you all very much for your responses. I would have replied on here sooner but there's been just too much going on.
I just finished placing an offer on the FSBO home and could really use some insight from those that have done this before and are more savvy than me.
I feel like I've looked at enough homes and followed my local market enough to get an accurate feel for a home's value. The home I'm interested in is FSBO at $325K. To make a long story short, my research indicated the home would be worth $320K, and I was right on, as the owner told me that was his bottom line price.
This is where things get dicey:
Should I as the buyer expect any kind of discount from the $320K fair market value price of the home since the owner will not be paying the customary 6% realtor's commission? I offered $310,400 which is exactly 3% (customary buyer's agent fee) less than the fair market value.
Was this a bad move on my part? I suppose from a buyer's perspective, a $320K house is a $320K house, regardless if it's an FSBO or realtor's listing. I guess I was expecting the seller to have a little more negotiation room considering he's not paying ~18K in realtor fees like his neighbors did when they sold.
We (me and the seller) don't dispute the house is worth $320K. I just thought it would have been reasonable for us to split what would have been the 6% realtor commission.
Thank you all very much for your responses. I would have replied on here sooner but there's been just too much going on.
I just finished placing an offer on the FSBO home and could really use some insight from those that have done this before and are more savvy than me.
I feel like I've looked at enough homes and followed my local market enough to get an accurate feel for a home's value. The home I'm interested in is FSBO at $325K. To make a long story short, my research indicated the home would be worth $320K, and I was right on, as the owner told me that was his bottom line price.
This is where things get dicey:
Should I as the buyer expect any kind of discount from the $320K fair market value price of the home since the owner will not be paying the customary 6% realtor's commission? I offered $310,400 which is exactly 3% (customary buyer's agent fee) less than the fair market value.
Was this a bad move on my part? I suppose from a buyer's perspective, a $320K house is a $320K house, regardless if it's an FSBO or realtor's listing. I guess I was expecting the seller to have a little more negotiation room considering he's not paying ~18K in realtor fees like his neighbors did when they sold.
We (me and the seller) don't dispute the house is worth $320K. I just thought it would have been reasonable for us to split what would have been the 6% realtor commission.
Your thoughts?
When you deal with a FSBO, you have to know that the Seller is almost always trying to save paying any commission at all, if possible.
They didn't put the home on the market planning to share a non-existent commission they did not plan to pay in the first place.
That is not always the truth...the seller isn't only trying to save that money for him self..maybe you should consider that always the buyer is the one with the bag of money and the one who really comes up with the money...just as in a grocery store...the customer is paying for advertisement, goods to be tranfered to the stores...it is the buyer who is paying for it in the end!
So when it is FSBO and the seller is asking a reasonable price he is saving both sides money. Many times you will see (similar in commercial real estate or business being sold) that sellers go on craigslist or other websites and ask a lower price. Than the get all these calls from realtors who convince them to go with a realtor and have scared the hell out of them stating they will never sell without a broker....and than you see the same listing pop up for a way higher price....first to give the buyer the feeling that they have a chance to bargain some discount and next to pay for the 6% commission!
To the person stating a dentist is doing nothing but pulling teeth (or just throwing this as an example to proof how great realtors are)....I guess you mouth has never been at a dentist office...if you want to compare that with realtors who get a 64 hour course and become a realtor....I can see what your experience is.
Thank you all very much for your responses. I would have replied on here sooner but there's been just too much going on.
I just finished placing an offer on the FSBO home and could really use some insight from those that have done this before and are more savvy than me.
I feel like I've looked at enough homes and followed my local market enough to get an accurate feel for a home's value. The home I'm interested in is FSBO at $325K. To make a long story short, my research indicated the home would be worth $320K, and I was right on, as the owner told me that was his bottom line price.
This is where things get dicey:
Should I as the buyer expect any kind of discount from the $320K fair market value price of the home since the owner will not be paying the customary 6% realtor's commission? I offered $310,400 which is exactly 3% (customary buyer's agent fee) less than the fair market value.
Was this a bad move on my part? I suppose from a buyer's perspective, a $320K house is a $320K house, regardless if it's an FSBO or realtor's listing. I guess I was expecting the seller to have a little more negotiation room considering he's not paying ~18K in realtor fees like his neighbors did when they sold.
We (me and the seller) don't dispute the house is worth $320K. I just thought it would have been reasonable for us to split what would have been the 6% realtor commission.
Your thoughts?
Forgive me, but I'll repeat myself here: Price is really important, but it's not the only factor, so I can't give you a simple answer to your good question. Also, we don't know from your post if your market this week is a buyer's market or a seller's market.
Here are a few of the things an advisor would need to know - and they are nobody elses business, so please don't post the answers here, just ponder the implications. and let's hope your seller isn't reading this
Does your financing contingency specify a note rate ceiling, or use a phrase like "prevailing rate"?
Does your inspection clause have a dollar amount in it, or a phrase like "...to seller's satisfaction?"
How much traffic has the seller seen from ready willing and able buyers?
Has the seller recieved any prior offers?
Is this a cash offer or is there financing? How much are you offering to put down?
Why is the seller selling? Does the seller need to move by a date certain?
How long has the seller owned the home?
How does the property disclosure look?
Are there items needing repair which you'd anticipate needing to have done before the lender is willing to close? ...before you'd move in? ...in the first year or so?
Thank you all very much for your responses. I would have replied on here sooner but there's been just too much going on.
I just finished placing an offer on the FSBO home and could really use some insight from those that have done this before and are more savvy than me.
I feel like I've looked at enough homes and followed my local market enough to get an accurate feel for a home's value. The home I'm interested in is FSBO at $325K. To make a long story short, my research indicated the home would be worth $320K, and I was right on, as the owner told me that was his bottom line price.
This is where things get dicey:
Should I as the buyer expect any kind of discount from the $320K fair market value price of the home since the owner will not be paying the customary 6% realtor's commission? I offered $310,400 which is exactly 3% (customary buyer's agent fee) less than the fair market value.
Was this a bad move on my part? I suppose from a buyer's perspective, a $320K house is a $320K house, regardless if it's an FSBO or realtor's listing. I guess I was expecting the seller to have a little more negotiation room considering he's not paying ~18K in realtor fees like his neighbors did when they sold.
We (me and the seller) don't dispute the house is worth $320K. I just thought it would have been reasonable for us to split what would have been the 6% realtor commission.
Your thoughts?
It just depends on their mentality. Some FSBO's do it to sell their home and maximize the $ in their pocket which means they want to keep that money to themselves. Some drop the price and split, and some drop the home 6% in homes of enticing the buyer into their home at a better price (more of what I see lately).
All you can do is ask.
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and let's hope your seller isn't reading this 
