[advice needed] For Sale by Owner

The advantage is you save on real estate fees (5-6%). The disadvantage is you could be screwing yourself if you don't know exactly what you're doing.

You should not be locked in just by interviewing a realtor. Just don;t sign anything.

Codell's wife is a realtor as is Rockets Red Glare's wife. I also worked with a realtor who was very good if you need a referral.

 

I sent you an e-mail with my wife's contact information. Just talking to a realtor will not lock you into anything. You can get a comparitave market analyis from her for free even if you want to sell it yourself.....she would be happy to help you out. Her e-mail is angelabrown@kw.com

 

Sounds good. Whenever you are ready just shoot her an e-mail, she is not at all the type to try to try to give you a "hard sell" or anything like that.

 

Picking a realtor is like anything else - you should have standards and requirements. You want the best person for the job. I think it's good to interview 3 agents. It's good to get a CMA from each, and ask, what are you going to do for me? You have to evaluate how well they have measured the particular local market for your property. Then :

Things to balance :

Max sale price
minimum sale time
minimum hassles : pre-listing home prep and repairs needed
home staging ?
marketing strategy
showing rules
contract requirements
qualified buyers
disclosures and liability mitigation

If you can get all that, go ahead and sell FSBO. It's not that hard, if you have some experience, in a good market like the Heights. You should know what you're doing, though. I know from your previous posts that you're pretty darn smart. Still, re-educate yourself on contracts and disclosures and market expectations before you hang it out there.

If you only need a minimum level of service, but still want to list it, ask for a lower commission. You may well be able to shave 1% off the deal, when that's fair. It's not so uncommon.

I'm a broker too, but don't really know that market. I'm more Southhampton/West U/ Bellaire/Braes Heights. Tell us what's going down, there, what's common, if you get time. Just curious.

Best wishes.

p

 

Don't mean to derail your thread, but I figured the people responding to this would be able to give me some advice. If/when we decide to sell our house, we're planning on moving to the other side of town. In situations like this is it best to use two seperate realators? One that knows the area and will have more interested clients in the area you are selling, and one that knows the area that you're looking to buy in?

 

I think it's important to find someone very familiar with a particular area. I would not go with the Realtor who claims they are an expert in West U and Sugar Land and Memorial and the Woodlands.

Yes they can find comparable sales data in local neighborhoods but so can you. It's all public record.

The key will be providing a little insight about what's going on around the area - local homeowner's association rules, schools, potential building projects, builders, traffic issues and the neighborhood in general.

My first question to a realtor would be: What area do you specialize in? If they say everywhere, I'd cross them off immediately. I'd also ask how many houses they've bought or sold in the neghborhood.

 

I may be wrong but I think the better opportunities for a better home can be with the "for sale by owners". If their organized enough to sell their own properties, then chances are they take care of their properties. I've been looking for homes off of MLS listings and, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that 99% of the homes on MLS listings are crap homes where the realtor representing the seller has embellished on the actual condition of the home.

I'm starting to think I'll have better luck if I do drive-bys finding FSBO homes rather than trying to find a home on MLS listings. MLS listings are where homes go that nobody wants is what I have discovered. The good homes are sold before they even go on the listings or are not around long to be listed.

Finding a home to buy sucks. I think I'm just going to try driving around neighborhoods looking for FSBO homes next cause MLS is getting me nowhere.

 

Oh just build a new one like I did.

 

My opinion is exactly the opposite.

As a buyer, I have absolutely no incentive to purchase a house FSBO unless I knew I was getting a better deal (saving 3% of what the house would have sold for).

Based on my experience in the Northeast, FSBO generally price their house the same, if not more, than the market.

Realtors may initially inflate the price of the house to tempt a seller to use their services. However, they also have the incentive to price it realistically so the house will sell.

I looked for about a year, went to 70 open houses, some FSBO.

They tend to overvalue their own property because they are emotionally attached (similiar to the way a sports fan overvalues local players). Also, many FSBO's are more frugal and tend to cut corners on home improvements. They often take the cheaper way, with cheaper short term fixes than going for quality.

Im not saying FSBO is bad, but as a buyer, why should I forego the benefits of working with a professional just to save the seller some $$, especially if the price is the same.

And despite what people may think they know, working with an experienced realtor can provide huge benefits.

 

Hey...I may just end up there but that seems like it can be more expensive because first you have to buy some land lot. I've looked at buying a new home in a new subdivision but it's ridiculous how these new homes are going up these days. They put these new homes on small lots where the back yards are public display areas with everyone able to see in everyone else's back yards. Plus, the damn back yards are rinky dink small and the new neighborhoods lack character. New homes in new subdivisions disgust me. Even the homes look all the same and they all have the same design with small front yards and small back yards. Plus, there is no room between the homes and they build two stories in with one stories so you have no privacy. Every new subdivision I've visited in the city areas is like that. The exceptions are the subdivisions being built out in Podunk, Tx where it's not convenient to anything.

I'm basically resigned to the fact that I have to buy an older home to get a decent size lot and a private back yard. I can't have an on display public back yard with two Ridgeback dogs running around. They would bark non-stop and I don't want to hang out in my back yard with all my neighbors peering in, either. I can't believe the people who buy new homes actually accept the fact that they can have a row of neighbors seeing each other in their own back yards. Why even have a back yard? Why not just have a community back yard, then?

 

What you say is probably true. I've seen a lot of crap on MLS, though, and I'm disgusted. At this point, I'm looking for any opportunity to buy a home and I'm striking out. I do have a real estate agent representing me so if a FSBO is trying to outsmart me...then they have the wrong buyer. I'm not going to buy some overpriced home that is not taken care of. It's supposed to be a buyer's market but I'm spoon fed a bunch of crap homes in the areas I'm looking in(not Houston). I've kind of been waiting patiently for something to come along at this point in this supposed buyer's market. LOL

 

I know exactly what you mean. The house I'm currently in is older, but the backyard area is not very private. I'm on a corner lot and have a detatched garage, so there is just about a 4 foot high brick fence that faces the street and connects from my house to the garage. I hate not having total privacy when I'm in my backyard. Plus I have two beagles that like to bark anytime someone walks by, so it's a pain in the ass. I'm looking at moving soon and one of my big sticking points will be finding a house with a good fence and a private backyard.

 

The funniest and worst thing I've seen lately while considering homes with pools is not even the backyards with pools are private. These backyards have pools and hot tubs that are openly viewable by the neighbors. Is it really natural for people to want to swim in their own pool or sit in their own hot tub with several neighbors able to watch them? I guess it could be good under the right conditions. LOL