<p>My brother, an editor for a major lifestyle magazine, gave me a trick. Take a picture of each room and then look at it on the computer. For some reason it’s easier to pick out what to fix or delete from the space if the image of the room is in picture form. It works.</p>
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I’ve sold a house myself and purchased a house sans realtors. I actually wrote up the contract on the house I sold and the house I purchased, opened escrow, etc. It was fine - went smoothly, saved the ridiculous realtor commission, and it was a better deal for all involved. I’d readily do it again.</p>
<p>I don’t get the comment that ‘looking at it’d be more trouble than it’s worth’. It’s the exact same house but likely (not always) at a lower price. I sure wouldn’t hesitate looking at one just because of who the salesperson was (i.e. owner or realtor).</p>
<p>I understand the “why” no realtor but around here at least frequently the “fsbo” don’t seem like they really want to sell…like they list thinking “if I get a good enough price then, maybe…” but turns out when push comes to shove they really aren’t ready. The same houses fsbo go on and off the market over and over.</p>
<p>I would say having a realtor depends on what the housing market is like where you live.
We live in a big suburb town. There are literally hundreds of houses for sale (over 600 when last I checked). The lion’s share are being sold by realtors.
I think some home shoppers are apprehensive of the “For Sale by Owner” signs. If you’re in a community with lots of houses for sale, I think most will tend to shop for those listed w/ a realtor.</p>
<p>We sold our twenty-six year old house last year. We painted inside and out (including the garage which we also cleaned out) and don’t forget to paint the insides of your closets …makes a big difference, updated kitchen and baths, new windows, new hvac, new carpet, new light fixtures in formal areas and baths, fixed the drooping backyard fence and put a new gate on. We put it on the market in the early spring when our yard was the prettiest. It sold after 24 days on the market.<br>
We hated the realtors fee too but really wanted to sell quickly and move on. We thought a realtor was our best option. In the 24 days it was on the market, it was shown 13 times. We got two offers on the same day.</p>
<p>There are certainly pros and cons to using a realtor. DH has a broker’s license, so he always represents us when we buy and gets a price reduction in the amount of his commission. When we sold our last house, he wanted to list it himself, but I wasn’t comfortable with that at our price point and in our particular market. So we did list it, but our agent reduced her commission as a professional courtesy. The eventual buyer whipped into town on one weekend he had set aside for the purpose and went to a list of open houses he found by going to the big real estate agencies’ web sites for their open houses in his target area during that particular week. He had set aside one day only to find his house. It is unlikely he would have found our house had we not listed with a realtor who decided to hold an open house and advertised it on her web site. DH is not a fan of open houses, but in this particular instance, it sold our house, and due to the particular situation of the buyer, enabled us to get far more than the market value for our home. </p>
<p>Next time, DH might forgo the realtor. Will just depend.</p>
<p>One comment about FSBOs: Most home owners exaggerate the value of their own home. DH is just as guilty as the next person. You know what you need for it, what you have put into it, what you owe on it, what it’s going to take to move on to the next place. You are likely emotionally invested in it and not remotely objective about its value and appeal to buyers. A realtor is often needed to bring the seller back to earth and face the realities of the market. In my experience in calling on FSBOs, they are often grossly overpriced in comparison to other homes on the market, they often don’t budge. Because they are often so out of touch with reality, I hesitate to even call on a FSBO unless it’s just really calling out to me. Then I prepare myself for a pain in the neck. Of course that 's not always the case, just a generalization made on the basis of my own experiences.</p>
<p>You should talk to a realtor to understand what buyers are looking for in your market. I’m in a NYC suburb and most buyers are young families coming here from Brooklyn and want move-in ready at our price range.</p>
<p>A good friend is a realtor and she is unhappy at the amount of staging that goes into houses in our area. She says they are dumbed down with all walls painted beige, so buyers can see a clean palette. She also noted the preference for hardwood floors v carpet, as one recent buyer told her he views carpet like someone’s towel and he wants a clean slate.</p>
<p>I agree that some FSBOs are people looking for just top dollar and aren’t that motivated to sell and some are overpriced but then that can happen when the house is listed via a realtor also. Just look at the variation in asking prices for similar homes.</p>
<p>Obviously the one I sold and the one I bought were both priced okay or the transactions wouldn’t have happened. I priced them though by looking at everything similar in the market and made sure the prices were reasonably - i.e. not way overpriced on the sale or underpriced on the purchase. The savings in the realtor commissions were reflected in the overall deals though with both seller and buyer saving on the deals.</p>
<p>As long as the FSBO prices are known and if one knows the general pricing of similar homes I think they’re worth looking at and considering. In my cases the prices were both known and easily compared.</p>
<p>Sorry for the tangent of the thread.</p>
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<p>Yes. Years ago wall-to-wall carpet was a sign of rising affluence, but now its just a sign that the owners were around years ago :).</p>
<p>I’m curious about what needs to be done to older houses to sell. </p>
<p>We have a 55 year old home, that will probably go on the market within the next few years. We bought it about 20 years ago, and made major cosmetic improvements over time, plus a new furnace, roof, etc. But, the kitchen and bathrooms are 55 years old. They’re in great mid-century shape, but still 50+ years old. Roof and furnace are now 20 years old. Bones are good. I’m assuming it will only attract a young couple (like we were 20years ago), who want a blank slate they can play with over time, or perhaps a builder who wants to rehab. and flip the house.</p>
<p>Other comparible homes in the area sell all over the place, but most are within $$75,000 of each other. At the low end are original owners now moving to retirement homes who have done very little over 50 years. At the high end are homes that have been fully updated, but they still only sell for about 50K - 75K over the low end. I’m hoping we’re in-between, but have no clue how to market it.</p>
<p>We would never get our investment back if we need to “update” the house (new kitchen, new baths, new roof, new furnace, etc.)</p>
<p>Is this the type of sale we list “as is”? I always assume there are major problems with “as-is” listings. </p>
<p>Suggestions welcome!</p>
<p>I would add getting the windows washed inside and out and then leaving the (window) screens off when showing the home. Make sure they are labeled for easy reinstallation on the frame edge using abbreviations, i.e. right side dining room (looking out) would be “DR-R”, etc., and neatly store them. Hopefully, space permits being able to do this.</p>
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<p>We did this. We had beautiful trees and landscaping in our back yard. When we took the screens off and had the windows washed, it was “WOW.” Our realtor said that was the typical reaction when people walked into the family room, which faced the back yard. Perfect example of designed to sell vs. designed for living.</p>
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House Hunters is fiction… the people “looking” have already bought a house, and the show’s producers find two other houses for them to “consider”. Sometimes they come up with the dumbest reasons for not liking something, because they have to find some reason to reject it.</p>
<p>My wife is a RE agent… after watching the level of effort and expertise needed to hold some deals together, there’s no way most people who are FSBOing could make it work. Not every deal, but a lot of them.</p>
<p>^^^I know that House Hunters has an element of fiction…but I also think that people will often say what they like and don’t like as they tour homes they already know they don’t want. The girl who was worried about ghosts…she was embarrassed and said, “i know it seems crazy, but I really want a new house because I think that older houses have ghosts.” Yeah, she did seem a little uh…unusual, and it’s possible the producers convinced her to say something to make herself look like an idiot. But it’s equally possible that her fears were what led her to buy the new house and the producers were happy to pounce on it.</p>
<p>Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. I’ve sure seen that in my nursing career.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. The new towels, rugs, and bedding sound like good ideas. You all are right about finding out about problems and then disclosing. I will have the guy who does work for us fix what we know needs to be fixed. </p>
<p>I love the idea of open houses and about looking at my pictures online. Currently, two walls in my family room are burgundy. I love it, but ANY other color would brighten that end of a dark room.</p>
<p>We are retired military and have sold two homes ourselves. However, it was needed because it was the difference between walking away with a check or walking away with nothing. I had the houses appraised, so I knew we priced them right. I had a professional paint my sign and put flyers with color pictures on them. This was nearly twenty years ago. We have been in this house 17 years, it is a good market, and we have some equity, so hiring a real estate agent will probably make everything easier.</p>
<p>Because we are in a desirable neighborhood, I may put out the word a month before we plan to list that we will be listing. Lots of people move locally to this neighborhood. If someone wants it, great. If not, we can list it. </p>
<p>I think we need some new carpeting, but we do have hardwood on the main level.</p>
<p>I go straight for “For Sale by Owner” homes, but then my husband and I know what we are doing in a home purchase or sale. Those have been my best deals, because we aren’t paying an artificial price to buy or sell, and the process isn’t muddied by Realtors.</p>
<p>One deal in which I dealt directly with the attorney representing the Sellers went well also. The Realtor informed me that I was “not allowed” to speak to him, that I needed to go through the “chain of command”. (Quoting what she said.) When she related that to the attorney, after he stopped laughing, he told her that it would be easier to deal directly with me, and that she would still get her check. She did. For nothing.</p>
<p>Not like I’m bitter or anything… 
No, just kidding. But those are easier transactions for me. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>I just wanted to counter the suggestion that one should steer clear of FSBO’s. Those are the best deals, and sometimes exactly what you want. You don’t have to hire a Realtor to buy or sell. An attorney can put the documents together for a few hundred (or free, if you know or are one), instead of thousands to a Broker.</p>
<p>Now, I do not have toddler toys to frantically put away, so it would be much easier doing FSBO. The internet also simplifies people searching. This house will sell for nearly triple the last house, so buyers’ financial situations are more crucial.</p>
<p>what about ancient ruins, burial grounds, and dinosaur bones? we worried about that in our new construction and how it might halt it…it sounds like you have prepared well- i second the go to open houses in the area and see what you like and what you don’t like will give you ideas. i also read take at least half your furniture out- kind of like half your closet and to bake cookies too</p>
<p>Except for our last home, we did FSBO. DH is not a realtor, but does have a broker’s license. Does that count as a FSBO?</p>
<p>IMO, if you sell a property on your own. without paying a commission to any one, it is FSBO. It does not matter if you are a Realtor or not.</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it the Realtor’s job to pre-qualify the buyer? How would FSBO do that? I really don’t know, just curious. I thought we were going to stay in this house forever, but we, too, will probably be moving in a few more years. We’ve bought & sold 4 homes including current one, but always used a Realtor.</p>