How do I sell a house without a realtor? (1 Viewer)

geoffspins

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Many of you know me and are aware I am English. My wife and I bought our first house here about 10 years ago and want to move on. Is there a practical way we can sell the house without a realtor?

When I was a boy and my Mum sold her house in England she just put an ad in the local paper, got an offer, went to the bank and the deal was done. No ridiculous realtor fees.

Possible here?

I appreciate any advice you can provide.

Geoff
 
Yes, absolutely possible here.
I just bought a small house from an individual. We got a lawyer for the title search and he helped with the paperwork, wasn't much.
It was very simple here but might not be where you are.
 
Total rubbish!

I actually sold my house without a realtor, however, i do advise that you make sure you are willing to do the work necessary.

I had an open house EVERY weekend and made sure i answered every call. In today's market, people think that without a realtor they can get a better price, and they may be right. But i think that is something you need to think about as well. Are you going to list it a price that is right at or near your rock bottom price? Itis actually a good tool to be able to say, "i am listed at a price ready to sell." Most buyers will acknowledge that....especially when the house around the corner is listed for $15,000 more.

I also advise that you make sure that you are willing to pay a BUYERS realtor in the event that they have a realtor. I would even negotiate that you would add their commission on top, but you want to make it known that you are willing to deal with a realtor, otherwise they wont show their client your house...some realtors can be serious butts! Put "agent protected" on your sign to let the agents know they can come look at your house.

Finally, i would put yourself on a time frame. Say 6-8 weeks. If you dont have any serious interest, i would just bite the bullett and get the realtor. You can work your price upwards to cover agent commission, but you will realize after those 6-8 weeks why Realtors get paid the way they do...it can be burdemsome. But also, you want to be sure you are ON THE MARKET with a realtor during the busy season which strikes up late March, early April. If you wait too long, it could be a long process.

I actually sold my house the DAY before my contract went into place to hand it over to a realtor. So i consider myself lucky.

Key to all of this...HAVE A PLAN and stick to it.
 
I've sold about 40 lots and 10 houses without a realtor. My advise is to have a closing attorney in mind. The buyer bank will probably make the buyer use a specific one. I like to have one in mind just in case the buyer asks. The closing attorney will do everything a realtor gets credit for anyway. I've never had an issue. Put up a sign and open it by appointment only. Always be careful when meeting strangers. If the buyer wants to use a real-estate agent, that's fine but they pay.
 
I've sold about 40 lots and 10 houses without a realtor. My advise is to have a closing attorney in mind. The buyer bank will probably make the buyer use a specific one. I like to have one in mind just in case the buyer asks. The closing attorney will do everything a realtor gets credit for anyway. I've never had an issue. Put up a sign and open it by appointment only. Always be careful when meeting strangers. If the buyer wants to use a real-estate agent, that's fine but they pay.
I used to know a guy that moved around a lot due to an Air Force engineering job.
He told me that he never bought or sold a house through a Realtor. When the other person brought up Realtor fees he always pointed out that they were were the one to hire a Realtor, not him. If they insisted, he told them that he wasn't interested in paying a fee for a service that he didn't use and there are other houses for sale.
Worked well for him.
 
Most of the times I ever dealt with a realtor, it just cost me time and a whole bunch of money.

Should have found a better realtor. ;)

The last two homes I've sold were sold within days ( the first sold in a day, the second sold in a week). Both of them were sold thanks to aggressive marketing by the realtor, and a realtor who knew how to close a deal.

Going back to an earlier post. Someone said they sold a house without a realtor, and they did an open house every weekend. Then, they mentioned a timeframe of 6-8 weeks. On a $100,000 that's up to 16 weekend days given up to save $3,000. To me, that isn't worth the money.

Also...one other thing to think about...a good realtor will also help you price your hosue correctly, and will find ways to increase your end result (such as my last realtor telling the buyer that the only way we'd accept their offer was if they picked up a certain amount of the closing costs---which happend to be 1/4 the value of the agent's commission). If you pay a realtor $5,000 to sell your house, and because of the realtor's work, your house sells for $6,000 more than it would have without them....you didn't really lose anything did you?
 
Here is a trick a lot of realtors use." I can get 300k for that house. I have two couples interested in one just like it. Let me list it. Three weeks later... The market has changed drastically and I think you should take a 145 k offer. But I still want my 6%. The secret is that if they don't bring the asking price you can re-negotiate the commission. Realtors hate when you come back and tell em, ok but you'll get 1,5% at that price.
 
Most of the times I ever dealt with a realtor, it just cost me time and a whole bunch of money.



Here is a trick a lot of realtors use." I can get 300k for that house. I have two couples interested in one just like it. Let me list it. Three weeks later... The market has changed drastically and I think you should take a 145 k offer. But I still want my 6%. The secret is that if they don't bring the asking price you can re-negotiate the commission. Realtors hate when you come back and tell em, ok but you'll get 1,5% at that price.








you've either been associating with some really shady people, or you're incredibly cynical.. or both.
 
you've either been associating with some really shady people, or you're incredibly cynical.. or both.

Both!!, you have to know that's a very common practice. They bring a bunch of recent comps in a professional package to prove it. Seen it over and over. I buy and sell a lot of property and find realtors to be complete scammers who don't want real jobs.
 

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