Setting a price for a FSBO house
 

Greetings -

I'm a newbie, renting and in the process of looking to buy a pre-owned home. A neighbor on my block has moved away and interested in selling me her home without an agent. The home is perfect for me and I'm trying to determine the right and (FAIR) price to pay the owner. I not trying to steal the house nor am I willing to throw money away.

How can I determine a cash selling price for the home in todays market that's both fair to me and the owner. ? Thanks !

I would start with a Zillow ZEstimate.

cash purchase conundrum
 

Hi, I think the fairest way would be to split the cost of an appraiser. If I remember correctly you can either pay an official appraiser who might be more expensive or you can pay a real estate agent a flat fee to determine the value of the home. That might make you and the seller the most comfortable.

Thank You, but ZILLOW does not accurately provide "CURRENT" realistic home selling prices with The Villages.

I have seen that the Zillow estimate is sometimes 30% different than the actually closing price of a home as listed on the county tax site.

Get a professional appraisal.
Small investment compared to the house value.

Totally agree, they will use comps (the most recent sales of comparable homes). You can do it yourself, but the professionals have better access to the necessary data and can make more accurate price adjustments due to unique home features. A very small price for a large investment. And if you are taking out a mortgage, the lender will require a professional appraisal anyway.

. . .

A 30 percent difference would be an extremely rare occurrence for Zillow. Typically, they are much more accurate than that. You can go to the Zillow website and click on "zestimate" at the bottom of the page. They have a complete explanation of how they estimate values and their actual accuracy rate based on their estimates versus the sale price. I don't see any real estate brokers providing that type of information about the houses they sell. But, Zillow is just an estimate, like anyone else who would provide an estimate of value.

Ask any of The Villages real estate sales persons to come and tell you what they would list your house for. They'll do this for free hoping to get your listing. MLS agents will do this also. This way you get two or three estimates and then compare that to other comparable home sales in the area.

Won't that be like stealing time from a real estate professional. Asking him / her for their time to evaluate the property with absolutely no expectation of using their listing services.

Go to Zillow.com
Change parameters to: Sold and within last 30 days
Shrink map to your general location (north of 466, between the 6's or south of 466a)
Search for homes that are most like yours (model, sqf, pool, golf course)
You have just completed how professionals get comparable sales.

Recently Sold Homes in The Villages FL - 213 Transactions | Zillow

No, it wouldn't. The agent has no obligation to do a market analysis for any house, but they do it all the time with the hope of getting a listing from you or maybe someone you know. It is a regular part of their business. They are happy to discuss houses with prospective customers, even if they don't get a listing.

hire a state licensed real estate appraiser. I have bought and sold three properties here over the last 12 years and would not trust a RE agent. First, their only concern is getting your business and they will tell you what they think you want to hear. Second, I don't believe agents have access to the same sales, neighborhood, and area data as an appraiser office does. You would have to shell out a few hundred for an appraiser, but it is a sound investment.

Using an appraisal will make everyone FEEL good, but that will not be a fair to either of you. We are not in normal times

Appraisals are performed under FanieMae rules such as selling price of comps within the past six months. Prices have increased in the past six months. Appraisal rules do not reflect the market in this weird market that we are in. Also the selling price is not the price received by the seller (commission).

The appropriate way and fair to both parties is a market analysis by real estate agents (3 or more), the fair price is that price less their five percent commission.

I just flipped a home at 16% more than purchase. I owned it for a few days because I understand this and some rely upon appraisal prices.

Important to note I did zero improvements on this home, not one drop of paint, not one screw tightened. Nothing, nada, zilch.

Do not rely on Zillow prices as they have NOT caught up with our current reality of what houses can sell for.

Our neighbor’s house on Zillow was shown to be $533K.
She just sold it for $800K.

Zillow is way behind the new prices.

Find your own comps by looking at recent sales of the same kind of homes with similar upgrades. Get busy, you are wasting your time on this site. Don’t miss the boat it might be leaving

Zillow is not a way to estimate the price of a house in any section of the country. They just appraise it on area stats and don’t know what is inside the house

Partially true. If there are pictures then you can see the interior finishes and features

Go to a Villages agent at the sales office and get prices on comparable homes for sale.
Also check out the news paper. Once a week they have a section on pre-owned homes for sale.

Research . Research, research, home values are based on the square footage, location, build quality, and the comparables of close homes Within half mile to One mile, also does the house have anything special or negative like having a one-car garage well every other house on the block has two or three cars., does it have especially location on the water or on the golf course compared to the houses across the street that were sold oh, does it have a double Car golf cart garage or no golf cart garage. Does it have extra special fancy doodads oh, and does the roof need repair or is close to needing the repair that is a big 10 to $20,000 cost here in Florida that the insurance companies practically insist on. Does it have mold? These are all things you should get someone to inspect the house for especially before you do an offer if the owners willing. Right now in Florida how is it going and selling in 24 hours to a week after being listed. So in my mind as long as you're willing to spend over $20,000 over possible valuation Jump On It

Regarding Zillow. The best way to use them is to check out what the comparables are on houses that have sold within the last 3 to 6 months oh, this will give you a reality check oh, I am sure some of the other sites do this now also

Tell the agent up front why you need the market analysis (only comps, not appraised value) and let them make the choice but I bet most will decline. Providing comps is a valuable part of what they do so why would they do it for free? Use an appraiser and pay them if you want the most accurate value.

Any realtor will tell you that a Zillow zestimate is not accurate. I'm not a realtor but my daughter is and that is a long time fact. Since TV homes are cookie cutter maybe an independent realtor can give you an idea of what that style home is currently selling for or even a village realtor might help you out.

Zillow does not use any Villages agent sales. If I were the buyer I would offer the Zillow price. If the seller accepts it then to bad. It would have been cheaper and safer hiring an agent to sell the property

Zillow is now buying houses so their estimate will be low............

Stealing from Realtors
 

Using Realtors to come give you the market value when you have no intention of listing your home is unethical. They freely give this service in order to gain your trust and get the listing. Pay for an appraisal!

It's the seller that sets the price. Once that's done you can negotiate but it's up to the seller to determine what she'll accept.

Hi There,
I am a multi million dollar licensed realtor with Keller Williams and have bought and sold many home’s in The Villages.
I would be more than happy to perform a market analysis on the home. There are many factors to consider such as location, size, upgrades, exterior features, view, $ per square feet and most importantly, a six month analysis of the prices that similar homes sold for.
Please give me a call or send me a text/email if interested!
Best,
Marguerite Garvey
352-630-2525
M.garvey@kw.com

A fair price is what the buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept.

Zillow can be wildly inaccurate.

If you have a house advertised for sale by owner, you will have no problem finding a licensed agent to come to your house and do a free market analysis, even if you tell them that you intend to not list the house. That is not unethical. You may even get unsolicited offers to do an analysis. It's part of a sales pitch to get a listing. The agent's market analysis will probably be more accurate than one that you pay an appraiser for. Most appraisers who get paid are working for a bank, and the appraisal is done to justify the amount of the mortgage, not to set a listing price. But, as a buyer, if you don't have any idea how much a house is worth, you shouldn't even be buying one.

I think that Zillow has an unfair reputation because many real estate agents will criticize Zillow. Obviously, Zillow uses public data and does not personally visit the houses they appraise. But, their methodology and accuracy are clearly explained on their website, and they do have a good accuracy track record. The Zestimate for my house is pretty accurate, but I wouldn't use it as the only information to determine a listing price. I would get another opinion. Anyone who appraises a house can only provide an estimated value. It is just an estimate. The actual value is the amount a buyer is willing to pay for the house.

Zillow
 

We listed with Zillow for $625,000 in June 2021. Zillow stated next to our price Zestimates it to be worth $571,000 so of course we immediately got lots of low offers. We turned it over to "The Villages" in June 2021 & sold it in 3 days for $649,000.
Each month after our cancelation with Zillow they re-post & more calls, calls, calls. I'll never use Zillow again !!!

Obviously a difficult problem. Most things we buy there is a price, you can choose another similar product and it is more or less. A home is far different. First of all far more money than most people typically buy and sell. Fair? Fair is in the eye of the beholder. After a deal is struck-contract etc, both the buyer and the seller have the same thought. The buyer-I could have gotten more. The seller-I could have paid less.
Add to that the seller and the buyer are likely amateurs.

For sale by owners. Assuming the sales commission is 7%. Both the buyer and the seller think they will BOTH save the same 7% obviously that is not possible. We bought new from the builder. I have previously looked at for sale by owner the ones I've seen are over priced. I do not claim to be an expert.

Ask what they want for it, using same model home in that area look for homes sold and then you make an offer! Remember a FSBO does not pay commission so you have 5% room for asking price! Good luck! I’m listing 1666 sf expanded Charlotte in Piedmont in 2 weeks FYI

As a seller, you can ask whatever you want for your property. But if it is not a competitive price (similar houses in your area) it will probably not sell, so you have to lower your price until you get a buyer. If I am the buyer, I don’t care much about the market prices, personally, as a home is not a business investment for me. I asses the home in terms of what it is worth to ME. If I like it I buy it.

Be very carefull on flipper that invest in cheap material to upgrade a home.
 

What these buyer and sells do is cosmetic repairs which are not up to code.

Have you not lived a full life??

So if what you are saying is true, you could tell the agent up front that there is absolutely no way they are going to get the listing, they would be happy to do it? :ohdear:

Yes, because they wouldn't believe you. Also, they think that, if you like them, you may refer them to someone you know who wants to hire an agent. Real estate agents are salespeople who understand the concept of getting their foot in the door. A good salesperson will do almost anything for an opportunity to meet potential clients to get exposure and to advertise their product. It's salesmanship 101.