Selling house - options?

[pinkytoe]

The time has finally come to put our house on the market. Our goal is to move to a less expensive area where we can use the equity from this house and pay cash for the next one. I realize this is a very situation dependent question but wondering how you would sell yours with so many options out there? Full price MLS listing with 6% to realtors, non MLS listing with lower commissions, FSBO, partial FSBO, walk down the street to one of the developers knocking down houses and have them make an offer? There are so many options these days that is hard to pick a course. Realizing though that a 6% commission is around $25-30K might motivate us to do ourselves as we have done in the past with other houses but things are more complicated now. Just needing some objective advice on how your would approach this onerous task given the fact that it will sell within a week regardless of the method.

[Tenngal]

if it will sell within a week, go for the least costly method.

[Williamsmith]

I had a contract on mine in six days. I hired a real estate broker. Glad I did. Too many unexpected problems. If you don't mind the hassles, FSBO.

[Reyes]

I think a lot depends on the market in your area. Some areas are more successful at FSBO than others. Have you had a market analysis to get a sense of your listing price?

[razz]

It depends on so many issues.

When I sold mine, I wanted to ensure that the down payment was substantial, legal terms were precise, expectations were clearly defined, financing was definite, conditional clauses were few and well-phrased. I also used an exclusive listing which is 4%. The property sold in 3 days, confirmed in a week with so many benefits in my favour that I was delighted. I had checked out the realtor very carefully. I didn't begrudge a single penny in commission.

[rodeosweetheart]

That was my experience, that the right realtor can make it happen. My last two properties had offers the first day on each of them. But if the realtors had not been there, I don't think the deals would have happened. Too complicated; they earned every pennyy.

[Teacher Terry]

I would see what a Realtor wants to list it at looking at comparables and then what a developer wants to pay. Compare the choices and take the best one.

[JaneV2.0]

It's a good time to sell in many locations. A friend of mine in Portland put their house up for sale, got three offers the first week, and sold it for nine thousand over asking price. The downside of a hot market comes if you want to buy in the same area; otherwise, you can just take the money and run. I bought my first place in a FSBO deal, and it went smoothly, but at this point, I just want ease and convenience, so I'd probably go with a realtor.

[SteveinMN]

I would see what a Realtor wants to list it at looking at comparables and then what a developer wants to pay. Compare the choices and take the best one.
My experience with real estate agents is that most of them will leave the sale price up to the seller. They'll provide guidance; they'll probably nix a price that's way too low or unreasonable based on comps. But at least the ones I've encountered really don't want to get into having sellers think they left money on the table by the agent setting the price too low and selling immediately or think that they're trying to maximize their own commission by pushing the sale price too high and letting the house sit on the market.

I would have a couple of real estate agents come in and suggest prices. It's also possible to negotiate that 6% if you know the house will sell at the price you want. Whichever RE agent you go with, put the house on MLS. Houses which are not on MLS have a tendency to be invisible to buyers. And, unless you're an RE lawyer, going FSBO is a pain; safety will call for hiring a lawyer for the fine print and closing anyway, so are you saving much? Chat with the developer, but be aware that buying your house and knocking it down will cost them and likely be a deviation from their usual workflow, and their offer will reflect that. OTOH it likely will be a smoother transaction, but if you're confident the house will sell fast anyway, it may not save you much time and it may cost you a lot of money.

[mschrisgo2]

I agree that the real estate agents earned every penny when I bought and sold.

The market is different here now: properties sell the day they are first open for viewing. If I were a seller I might engage a real estate attorney instead of a realtor, but only if s/he were very available, i.e. could respond to issues within the half-day. Otherwise, I would be checking to see who in my area is actually closing on similar properties and interviewing them, as suggested above.

[Simplemind]

Selling off my parents homes and property was so fraught with issues that I would have never attempted it on my own and I am frugal to the max. My agent was worth every cent.

[Gardenarian]

I agree with the others who recommend using an agent. We recently sold our house and there are so many steps where you can blow the deal or make a major mistake. I fully trusted our agent and the peace of mind was fully worth the (65k) commission. I doubt we would have got as high a price (and this was in the Bay Area) without her.

You know, I also think when people see FSBO they think are expecting a bargain.

[Williamsmith]

Maybe it helps to hear an example. All the necessary issues were resolved, inspections, repairs, negotiations, staging , pre move preparations, selection of closing time and location, buyers loan approval, appraisal.......then the buyers attorney sent an intern to search the title on my home.


Found there was no clear title because the bank that inherited my loan never filed the appropriate papers when I paid off the loan 20 years ago during a refinance. Said bank, a large player in my area could care less about the inconvenience. Showed no interest in solving the problem and held up the sale for two months to where my buyer almost pulled out of the deal. The real estate agent/broker nearly lost his mind dealing with the bank and I threatened to blow the whole deal up and forget about selling altogether. But I was already too far along to justify it. I would have gone insane if I had to deal with it alone.

[sweetana3]

Yep. Strange things happen that real estate people have to deal with. We have had a variety of issues with inspections, title companies and lawyers. Once we were told one of us was deceased and the other was bankrupt due to the ineptitude of the title search and bank employees. Title problems are big ones. Thankfully I had the whole original abstract for our NY house (it was paid off) and was able to ship it to the title company to save the time and cost of the rework.

[pinkytoe]

Ideally, I would love to do it the way we bought this house. It was a FSBO and we worked with the owner to get it through the hoops. We did buy AS IS though so that inspections weren't necessary.

[Teacher Terry]

WE have bought and sold about 10 houses through the years and the agent always had a good idea on where to set the price based on comparables so I was surprised to hear that had not been Steve's experience.

[Simplemind]

We had originally listed our homes "as is" hoping for a cash buyer. Ended up not being that way and I couldn't wait for the kind of buyer I wanted. With loans come inspections and I then had to scramble to do costly repairs. My agent was great in guiding me to only the repairs I had to make to pass inspection.

[SteveinMN]

WE have bought and sold about 10 houses through the years and the agent always had a good idea on where to set the price based on comparables so I was surprised to hear that had not been Steve's experience.
I don't think I explained my point clearly.

For most houses, pretty much any agent will be able to find comps and suggest pluses or minuses in the seller's property which will adjust the price. That's a (literally) valuable skill.

But when it comes to setting the dollar figure that goes on the listing, the agent really only influences the number. The figure ultimately comes from the seller. It may be that the seller has multiple mortgages/equity lines and the money they need to get out of those is more than the house likely will sell for. It may be that the seller just wants to get out (part of an estate or divorce property settlement) and they want a sale ASAP even if they're not maximizing their profit. The agent can suggest a price. But if the seller wants a different number after all the persuasion, the agent will list it at the desired price. No agent wants to be seen as working against a seller's interest.

[iris lilies]

I think the OP is in a very hot market, so this will likely not apply. But no one should underestimate the power of a "new on the market" property priced to sell.

I see lots of over priced houses put on the market at $x because the listing agent told the sellers what they wanted to hear about list price, it's worth $x. Then as no offers come in, the price drops, and after a year no one pays attention to it because it is used goods.

[Williamsmith]

Real estate agents invariably create a persona and a reputation. With a little bit of diligent research I think you can find a well qualified, connected, hard working professional willing to assist in getting things done in a timely manner. Picking the right one is key. Remaining their friend afterward is a sign that things went as they should.

If you go to buy a property and get all the details worked out only to find that a title search reveals half of the house to be on somebody else's property way back when........it's nice to have a realtor in your back pocket that's been through the crazy surprises before. They can keep you grounded and calm under stressful circumstances. After all they don't get paid until you get closing.

[pinkytoe]

I think we have more realtors than lawyers here - thousands - so picking one even with good references isn't easy. I have reached out to several with no response yet. There is one though I got comps from last spring and she has been bugging me since so maybe she is the one - persistent. Houses kind of sell themselves just by existing so it is hard to justify full commission. Still researching...but sounds like realtor has been the choice of most.

[kib]

You might be able to negotiate who pays the realtor fee with the buyer, if the market is that hot.

[rodeosweetheart]

You might be able to negotiate who pays the realtor fee with the buyer, if the market is that hot.

Another option is to go see a real estate lawyer and find out what's involved in selling it yourself. Then you could try it for a week or so, if the lawyer could provide all the services that the realtor could provide during the inspection/closing period.
If the market is really that hot, then it might work, and you could say the commission. But I wouldn't try it without getting a good real estate attorney to talk me through it beforehand.

[SteveinMN]

If the market is really that hot, then it might work, and you could say the commission. But I wouldn't try it without getting a good real estate attorney to talk me through it beforehand.
Worth a couple of calls, I think.

But it would be helpful in planning to know up front if there were any issues when the property was purchased. If something goes pear-shaped during the sale through closing, a real estate agent typically will absorb the extra work as part of his/her commission but a lawyer will keep the meter running for as long as it takes to straighten out the matter. You could negotiate a fixed fee, but you know whoever agrees to that will negotiate high in case things get messed up.

[JaneV2.0]

When I bought my condo--a FSBO--I just shopped banks for a loan, then was steered to a title company to do the rest The whole procedure couldn't have gone more smoothly. Maybe I was just lucky. I didn't even think about an inspection.

[pinkytoe]

I recently discovered that many of the homes for sale nearby are "pocket" listings (non MLS) - no wonder I never see any signs. My gut says do it ourselves but now that we are older, I am not as brave as I used to be. Luckily, we can stay here a bit longer financially while we figure out exactly where to move - that's a whole other can of worms. This is one of those life situations that I am going to turn over to providence. It will all work out. The hard part is we want what we have here but can no longer afford for the long haul.

[Teacher Terry]

I would figure out where you want to live first because if your house sells fast you would need to be out in 30 days. It's really a shame that you can't afford to stay where you are. If you want to stay in the area can you buy a small condo?

[iris lilies]

OP, who is the likely buyer of your house?

if it is, as you've mentioned in the past, a developer who will either tear it down or will do big time renovations, you are dealing with a pro who will not be quibbling about the broken refrigerator door and the loose railing on the back steps.

In other words, are you going to sell it "as is" ? If so, and if you have a realistic price in mind, I would try FSBO with a real estate attorney handling the contracts.

If the above isn't true, then a real estate agent is invaluable in taking care of all of the tiny details that crop up when buyers have mortgage inspections, occupancy inspections, etc. Things have to be fixed or re-negotiated. Also a good real estate agent will do a thorough preliminary check with you to identify things about your house that keep it from being a premium property. DH regularly worked on houses about ready to go on the market, but details needed to be fixed to optimize how it looked.

[iris lilies]

When I bought my condo--a FSBO--I just shopped banks for a loan, then was steered to a title company to do the rest The whole procedure couldn't have gone more smoothly. Maybe I was just lucky. I didn't even think about an inspection.
Mortgage companies require an inspection.

My city requires a different inspection for occupancy.

[JaneV2.0]

Mortgage companies require an inspection.

My city requires a different inspection for occupancy.

This was years ago--but maybe they inspected it without telling me. It was so long ago that I was the first woman to buy (or maybe qualify) for a loan at that bank, and they literally showed me off around the office. I'm glad those days are history...

[pinkytoe]

OP, who is the likely buyer of your house?
Was just discussing that earlier with DH... Most likely an investor/developer who can knock it down and build new for a professional couple with zero kids. Or a professional couple who wants to rehab it to their own liking. Lastly, a young or empty nester couple who like it just the way it is with minor updates.

[JaneV2.0]

Come to think of it, this place wasn't inspected either--at least by anyone competent. If it had been, I would have been advised of the failing window seals and the flakey electrical system, and all the other details that make this house a home.:D

[iris lilies]

Was just discussing that earlier with DH... Most likely an investor/developer who can knock it down and build new for a professional couple with zero kids. Or a professional couple who wants to rehab it to their own liking. Lastly, a young or empty nester couple who like it just the way it is with minor updates.

Those are three VERY different markets.

if you are going to FSBO how will you market it?

[SteveinMN]

I would figure out where you want to live first because if your house sells fast you would need to be out in 30 days.
That, along with pretty much everything else in the contract, is negotiable and can be written/amended any way you like. I agree totally that OP should take some time to figure out where they might land if they find themselves between houses. But if they need 60 days to get out, or if they can get out but some furniture/antique car/whatever has to stay on the property for some period of time, all of that can be written into the contract to buy. All that's needed is for the seller and buyer to agree about it.

[Williamsmith]

Because the sale of my house was being held up by a bank that wasn't even involved in lending and had no financial interest in the transaction (they were claiming a lien on my property that had been satisfied 20 years ago but not recorded) ........Both the buyers of my house and the sellers of the house I was purchasing were being inconvenienced along with me. So the sellers of the house I was contracted to buy, moved to an apartment and I moved out of my house and moved in on simply an agreement.

So at one time we had two families living in places that weren't theirs pending the release of my title from an illegal lien. If it went on for long you can imagine the headaches with insurance and taxes. You can also imagine that if one party decided they were tired waiting and wanted to pull out of the deal.......what a mess. There was a huge leap of faith that occurred and fortunately it only took a couple,weeks to resolve but in those couple,weeks, my stress level,went up and I was threatening to sue the bank that was holding the title.

And of course the of course the real estate agents involved had a ton of hours into it and we're not going to get paid until the bank triggered everything to happen.

[rodeosweetheart]

Just one question, Pinkytoe, are you really sure you want or need to sell this particular house? Do you have aclear idea of what you want in its place? Why do you want to sell?

[pinkytoe]

Why do you want to sell?
Reasons to sell:
The house needs a new roof, AC and possibly sewer line ($15-20K). The kitchen is functional but poorly designed. We still have a mortgage. The property taxes are now approaching $8K annually and rise 9.99% per year as allowed. The yard is huge and we don't want to pay a lawn service $100 every month to maintain it. DH doesn't want to do DIY anymore. Million dollar homes are going up around us and fancy people are moving in. The traffic and growth in Austin has become unbearable. Our friendly neighbors have moved on. We would like to semi-retire. We could use a change.
Reasons to stay:
Everything is comfortable, close by and familiar. DD and family are fairly close by. I have invested a lot of time and love into landscapes and gardening. Mostly emotioinal stuff.
Bottom line: We could purchase a newer, well-maintained home in a cheaper location for cash. Retire.
There - that helped sort it out in my mind too.

[rodeosweetheart]

Bottom line: We could purchase a newer, well-maintained home in a cheaper location for cash. Retire.
There - that helped sort it out in my mind too.

That does sound like a very reasonable plan! I think I would be doing the same thing, and retire.

[iris lilies]

$8,000 property taxes for a middle class older home is insane. Get the hell outta Dodge.

[rodeosweetheart]

Maybe it's worth trying to identify how much you want to spend on the new house, with cash, and look at some before you leap into the sale. Or, if you can't wait to do that, then find a rental and rent for a year? (That is never anything i want to do because of our pet situation, but it seems to work well for others.)

I am thinking you might want to work on the front end, where you are going, first, and then that might give you incentive to figure out the back end, selling, what you have to do to get there.

But I think part of the hesitation with knowing how to do the sale is because you might not yet have identified a going forward plan. And you know you could really have to jump and rush once it sells, which sounds like it could be within a week!

[iris lilies]

OP are you retired yet? This kind of thing will be easier to take care of after you are retired.

If you truly do not know where you'll move to, that would have to come first, I would,think.

Moving into a rental sounds like a good idea immediately after your house sells that will cost something and then you'll have to pay moving costs again when you find permenant abode.

[Teacher Terry]

I agree with retire first because it will give you lots of time to downsize, make any repairs etc to get ready to move. Yes you can ask for more then 30 days but most likely it will be rejected. When people are buying they usually want to move into their new home and have to be out of theirs unless you sell to a developer. You can ask for anything you want but that does not mean you will get it.

[rodeosweetheart]

Do you want to stay in general area, but out of town?

Or do you want to move to a less expensive area? How are taxes in the general vicinity of your current home?

Are you interested in condo, less maintainance, more land, since you like to garden?

Sounds like you like some things about your house very much, like size and proximity to things in neighborhood?

[ctg492]

I thought, assumed (what are the first three letters, as the line goes), we knew it all and had been through it all with Real estate selling and buying as I can't count with out paper how many we have been through. . This past few weeks I came to realize something I semi learned selling the home in another state in September, IT changes often and every municipality is different. We had things go wrong from the git go with the ""cash"" offer got the first week of listing our current home. We put a continent offer in on the new home in another county. We did all required for our purchase. NOTHING happened on our buyers side. I started questioning what was going on. Fast forward Closing on our home we were selling was to be no later then the 7th. Realtors involved in this part of the sale could answer nothing on what was happening. I did some private searching and pulled court records for $50 a few days ago and found the cash buyer had their home foreclosed at the court in March, eviction in September with date to be out the end of January hence why the offer stipulated we had to be out at closing. I sent all this to my realestate agent, who said OH, I guess I am not surprised after how this is going. DO the buyers have money we doubt it. The realestate agent in the county we were purchasing in Used some nasty words and said it was against code to submit an offer without proof of cash funds on our sale. I told her Here is was not, we have bought three homes with cash and just showed up with the certified check. YES Hind sight is 20/20 and we will never be put in the situation again.

Fast forward, we have three days left and perhaps will not get our earnest money back. We of course lost all fees and inspection cost. The cash buyers agent here did not get earnest money for the offer so we are scre@ed.

Agent or No agent??? I just don't know anymore.

[razz]

Really sorry that this happened to you, Ctg. What a mess to deal with.

In Ontario, the rules are province-wide so few local variations to deal with but any investment is vulnerable to dubious practices from lawyers, accountants, and real estate agents. It really is Buyer Beware!

There are agents who are noted for looking at the details every step of the way. My agent has a staff that checks every detail and reports to me on the progress. Every reference I contacted with experience in dealing with him said the same thing. He stayed on top and has the reputation for doing so. There are poorly motivated agents as there are in every field.

Pinkytoe, do the research into agents of all kinds as you would any other field. It is your investment that is at stake.

[Teacher Terry]

I have never heard of not having to prove you have the cash and to put some $ down. Here they usually want a$1,000 or 500 if a property is cheap. Also when we bought for cash 4 years ago we had to prove we had the $ before the bank accepted the offer. So very sorry that this happened to you.

[pinkytoe]

So much to ponder but perhaps retirement in three and a half weeks is enough of a life event for this month. I just paid the property taxes for 2015 (sigh!!) so we have a little while to figure this out.

[ctg492]

Terry Teacher. Every local is different. If the market is cool they don't ask for much earnest deposit for an offer. $500-$1,000 in the area we are selling in. The area we are buying in is hot they wanted $10,000 down, we negotiated $3,500 plus all inspections fees. Also, a cash purchase here nothing is asked for proof, there cash offer is treated same as loan approval for showing acceptance. Live and learn....one more day to go and we find if we get what we feel we should.

Side note WHY would somebody do this? Racking my brain to understand the purpose. Really IF they had put a large earnest money down they would not have walked away with out notice. We are hoping they actually put earnest down, that the broker actually cashed and had it held in the fund. I really don't think so sadly. Our offer in the other county the earnest had to clear the bank also and everyone got proof of it.

[Teacher Terry]

I was actually wondering why someone would do that also. You can't buy a house with no $-it is bizarre.