Full disclosure, my wife's a local Realtor, but I'm not trying to sell her services to the wider world here. So take this for what it's worth.

There are good realtors (a few) and a lot of people with the credential but not so good. Your job is to be able to tell the difference. Just like with a doctor or lawyer. Remember, someone always finished last in their class.

You can act as your own agent, doctor or lawyer. Probably 90% of it you can do or fake reasonably well too, if you take the time to learn.
The problem is, you don't know what you don't know, and the little subtle things you learn from experience in any occupation make all the difference.

If something ever happened to my wife before me and I needed to sell my house, I'd contact one of the competent Realtors I know.

The comments in these threads are always similar.

Hey, you can sell your house without an agent. Sure you can. Will you get the best deal and make what you should? Maybe.

Massachusetts is an attorney state so, yes, you can avoid lots of pitfalls with the lawyer. If you know mortgages you can avoid those pitfalls too. But there are things to know...

Appraisal means shit to the market. If you have a cash offer with proof of funds, go for it. If you are happy getting appraised value, great. But in a low inventory market, do you know how much over appraisal you could get? Your realtor does. Do you know how the buyer will cover the gap when the mortgage isn't approved?

Do you know the type of mortgage? Will your deal fall apart on closing day because you didn't fix the chipped paint for an FHA buyer?

There are a ton of things that can go wrong that a realtor can help with. I'm not saying it can't be done. I had the same attitude of no realtor for years, until I married one. The amount of deals I've seen her save is incredible. The amount of money I've seen her make for clients is amazing. On the other hand, I've seen her do market analysis for many houses, lose the listing, then see it FSBO. Then she sees it on the market for 5 months and sold way lower than she would have gotten.

Remember, the buyer doesn't give a shit what you know about your house. If it's price/sq ft. doesn't match the market the rest doesn't matter much. (There's always the exceptional buyer looking for certain things, but without a realtor they may never see your house).

Points taken gentlemen. I would not be opposed to paying a buyer's agent 2% out of the sale proceeds assuming they aren't a pain in my ass and help the transaction move along smoothly.

smlsig: Born and raised in Salem, NH. That's why the Tuscan rentals are so vital to our property values. I can't believe he's getting $5-6k per month for some of the higher sq rentals (still under 2000 sq feet!). I also had a good laugh when they charge pets rent too. $75/month per dog or cat? I should make flyers and start handing them out to people walking their dogs around the village. Hell, I'll pay them a referral fee if they know of someone in their building who wants to more space and privacy for less money while building equity in a property they own.

What about paying a listing agent to MLS the property only, and let you handle the rest with a lawyer.

Should cost about $500 to list and $1500 for attorney review.

This would get you the most online exposure, and yes you would need to offer the buyers agent commission, set that at 2.5%

The only problem is if you get a buyer buying for more than they can afford, you won't know that and the deal will ultimately die. Cash buyers are king but they often pay less than loan borrowers.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
No way I'd pay someone to sell the house that I know more about than anyone.

But that’s not the point.

The Realtor gets their cut because they’re doing a lot of behind the scenes work that you don’t really see or want to be involved with. Lots of paperwork too and dealing with all the buyers and buyers agents as well.

If you think they’re just showing up and doing nothing yet taking that commission, you don’t really know how any of this works.

I’ve sold two properties and would never try doing it all myself.

Over the years I've bought 7 and sold 6 residential properties (the one property that I still have was purchased through the listing realtor simply because I found it on their "land for sale" insert in the newspaper 24 years ago.) The other 12 buying and selling transactions I did myself. I've purchased 4 and sold 2 commercial properties w/o a realtor.
No way in hell I'm paying someone $20,000 to $24,000 to sell for example a $400,000 property.

^^^^

Not knowing your level of knowledge I can’t say if this is true for you. But most people would lose more than they pay in commission by not having a qualified realtor providing the best sales knowledge.

Also @Timdogg: my first reply mentioned exactly what you said. Find a realtor to list and pay buyers broker. At the very least you want the largest buyers pool.

My biggest caution to any seller is not to overprice. All the guys saying, “I know more about my house than any realtor. “ are the guys that overprice, then wonder why they have no offers. Meanwhile the house next door that’s priced correctly is having bidding wars.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
^^^^

Not knowing your level of knowledge I can’t say if this is true for you. But most people would lose more than they pay in commission by not having a qualified realtor providing the best sales knowledge.....

So most sell-by-owners then unknowlingly under price their home by what it should sell for, then under even more by an additional 5-6% for the realtor?

quote:

....My biggest caution to any seller is not to overprice. All the guys saying, “I know more about my house than any realtor. “ are the guys that overprice, then wonder why they have no offers....

Exactly what realtors do, the *listing realtor* over prices the home to get the listing contract, to justify their commission. But after the overpriced property doesn't sell the *buyers realtors* work the price down. Then misled seller pays commission to both realtors!

It's impossible to under price a home if it sells for the appraised value (or more). The entire purpose of an appraisal is to give a snapshot of what comparable properties have sold for in the last 3-6 months. I'm not looking to break the housing ceiling and set new highs. I'm content to get market or 5-10% over if there's strong interest with motivated buyers. Any realtor who thinks they can get more can agree to it on paper. I'll sign any realtor if they are so confident in their abilities that they will guarantee to get me more than 10% of the appraised value. Anything less, they work for free. Let's see how many are willing to live up to that contract.

I've done it both ways. If you've got time and skills do it yourself - and it sounds like you have done your homework.

Real estate agents can make things go faster and will often make their % either in speed of closing or getting a higher price. Time value of money and all that.

I'd go with a realtor is my first impulse.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
^^^^

Not knowing your level of knowledge I can’t say if this is true for you. But most people would lose more than they pay in commission by not having a qualified realtor providing the best sales knowledge.....

So most sell-by-owners then unknowlingly under price their home by what it should sell for, then under even more by an additional 5-6% for the realtor?

quote:

....My biggest caution to any seller is not to overprice. All the guys saying, “I know more about my house than any realtor. “ are the guys that overprice, then wonder why they have no offers....

Exactly what realtors do, the *listing realtor* over prices the home to get the listing contract, to justify their commission. But after the overpriced property doesn't sell the *buyers realtors* work the price down. Then misled seller pays commission to both realtors!

Exactly opposite in both situations. Most FSBO people overprice their homes. A good realtor prices it competitively. Of course, the seller dictates the price so it’s not always going to be what the realtor recommends. Sellers often think it’s worth more than it is. Especially the “ I got more than that into it” types.

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
It's impossible to under price a home if it sells for the appraised value (or more). The entire purpose of an appraisal is to give a snapshot of what comparable properties have sold for in the last 3-6 months. I'm not looking to break the housing ceiling and set new highs. I'm content to get market or 5-10% over if there's strong interest with motivated buyers. Any realtor who thinks they can get more can agree to it on paper. I'll sign any realtor if they are so confident in their abilities that they will guarantee to get me more than 10% of the appraised value. Anything less, they work for free. Let's see how many are willing to live up to that contract.

Never understood why people think realtors should work for free. If you can do it yourself and are happy that’s great. But my wife has a few thousand into a listing from the beginning. Pictures and marketing alone are that much. Then she’s dealing with all sorts of issues at all hours, 7 days a week.

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
It's impossible to under price a home if it sells for the appraised value (or more). The entire purpose of an appraisal is to give a snapshot of what comparable properties have sold for in the last 3-6 months. I'm not looking to break the housing ceiling and set new highs. I'm content to get market or 5-10% over if there's strong interest with motivated buyers. Any realtor who thinks they can get more can agree to it on paper. I'll sign any realtor if they are so confident in their abilities that they will guarantee to get me more than 10% of the appraised value. Anything less, they work for free. Let's see how many are willing to live up to that contract.

Never understood why people think realtors should work for free. If you can do it yourself and are happy that’s great. But my wife has a few thousand into a listing from the beginning. Pictures and marketing alone are that much. Then she’s dealing with all sorts of issues at all hours, 7 days a week.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:

There are good realtors (a few) and a lot of people with the credential but not so good. Your job is to be able to tell the difference.

I'd contact one of the competent Realtors I know.

Two very true statements here. Personal experience the poors outnumber even the average ones greatly.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
It's impossible to under price a home if it sells for the appraised value (or more). The entire purpose of an appraisal is to give a snapshot of what comparable properties have sold for in the last 3-6 months. I'm not looking to break the housing ceiling and set new highs. I'm content to get market or 5-10% over if there's strong interest with motivated buyers. Any realtor who thinks they can get more can agree to it on paper. I'll sign any realtor if they are so confident in their abilities that they will guarantee to get me more than 10% of the appraised value. Anything less, they work for free. Let's see how many are willing to live up to that contract.

Never understood why people think realtors should work for free. If you can do it yourself and are happy that’s great. But my wife has a few thousand into a listing from the beginning. Pictures and marketing alone are that much. Then she’s dealing with all sorts of issues at all hours, 7 days a week.

I never said realtors should work for free but for them to make $35-40k for a house that sells itself is excessive. I can take phone calls and emails at all hours of the day; I've done it all my life. There are NO issues with this property and it'll pass inspection with flying colors. I set the terms and if a buyer or their agent want to get cute with me, they can buy another house. Here's the active listings for my town: Link

There's 4 comparable houses for sale in my price range and 3 are contingent. I'm pretty confident I'm the one with the leverage here. I get an appraisal, ask for 5-10% over it then let the market decide. I have no issue giving full disclosure and selling my home as is. If the buyers agree and I'm confident they can come up with the funds my real estate lawyer should have the contract/closing process locked down. Besides market exposure (which I can get for under $2k) what exactly is a selling realtor supposed to do for me? Get 10%+ over appraised value? Like I said before, any realtor who guarantees they can get 10% over appraisal I'll be happy to sign them.

quote:

what exactly is a selling realtor supposed to do for me? Get 10%+ over appraised value? Like I said before, any realtor who guarantees they can get 10% over appraisal I'll be happy to sign them.

A guarantee has to be backed up.
No one can "guarantee" a particular price unless they are willing to buy it themselves for that price if it's not met by a specified date.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

what exactly is a selling realtor supposed to do for me? Get 10%+ over appraised value? Like I said before, any realtor who guarantees they can get 10% over appraisal I'll be happy to sign them.

A guarantee has to be backed up.
No one can "guarantee" a particular price unless they are willing to buy it themselves for that price if it's not met by a specified date.

Businesses offer guarantees all the time. If my house is worth $500k and a seller's realtor is willing to guarantee they can sell it for $550k+ or else they don't charge a fee then if it sells for $530k guess who isn't getting paid.

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
Businesses offer guarantees all the time. If my house is worth $500k and a seller's realtor is willing to guarantee they can sell it for $550k+ or else they don't charge a fee then if it sells for $530k guess who isn't getting paid.

Yes, I understand.
In that circumstance they have absolutely no incentive to bring you the offer for $530k when they aren't getting paid.

In my local market, FSBO types eventually give up and hire a listing agent.

There is a real (and probably unethical) trend that results in buyers getting steered away from FSBO and reduced commission properties and toward listings with a favorable commission.

I have in laws who are in leadership at NAR, and the entire industry is fighting to keep 6% commission splits a thing.(Big time Democrats and total assholes to boot, go figure).

Buyers who really do their research and know the area aren't going to be out of the running. But the market has slowed a bit in some places and solid offers without silly concession demands are harder and harder to find.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
Businesses offer guarantees all the time. If my house is worth $500k and a seller's realtor is willing to guarantee they can sell it for $550k+ or else they don't charge a fee then if it sells for $530k guess who isn't getting paid.

Yes, I understand.
In that circumstance they have absolutely no incentive to bring you the offer for $530k when they aren't getting paid.

So much for ethics, which are different than morals.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:

Exactly opposite in both situations. Most FSBO people overprice their homes. A good realtor prices it competitively. Of course, the seller dictates the price so it’s not always going to be what the realtor recommends. Sellers often think it’s worth more than it is. Especially the “ I got more than that into it” types.

In order to get your listing, and make it appear that using their service isn't really going to cost you, realtors generally mislead by saying "I can probably get more $ for your home to offset my commission, and "I have clients right now looking for property like yours" to get you to sign with them.

LOL crazy that someone would say that because what one has in it has no bearing with what anything is worth.

I just find it crazy how much money realtors take in the process of selling and buying a property. In this day and age, especially with the internet to use, it's easier than ever to research what your home's worth, sell, or buy w/o a realtor.