Questions about selling a house by owner in TV
 

Would like thoughts from those that have sold a house by owner here. I’ve put my home on Zillow, a few By Owner websites on Facebook, word of mouth and have a sign in the window. I’m offering a buyer’s agent commission, too. Most of my inquiries so far have been agents looking for listings and scam artists. How did you market your home? Did an ad on TOTV work for you? Home is in a great location, good floor plan, fair price and newer (3 yrs old) but my problem is getting eyes on it. Help!

Daily Sun ad and an open house. The newspaper may not be "newsy" but it's the real estate marketing link to folks.
Also, tell your neighbors/friends to pass the world, they may know someone in the market.

Ad should state no listing agents. They will say anything to meet in person and annoy you. Put a professional video up!! Goldwingnut may offer the service. Will cull the time wasters. Use google voice and disposable email.You can permanently block numbers.

It’s a grind right now

Is that "fair price" determined by you or by an independent party? Post the address here and I'm sure you will get a good indication on whether it's a fair price. Marketing IS important but price is so much more important. You need to get on the MLS. Pay a company like Beycome $99 to get on the MLS and you will get more leads. However, if it's not priced right, you will just get more of the same, realtors that will try and "buy" the listing.

Good advise. My friend is an MLS Realtor here and would have priced it 15K higher. I just listed it this weekend so just looking for more ways to market it.

There is no such thing as a buyer's agent commission. Buyers don't have agents, sellers do. Also, if someone makes an offer, do you have a sales contract for them to sign and a third party, like a title company, to accept and deposit the earnest money into an escrow account? Why not just list the house with an experienced professional real estate agent?

Realtors overprice it to get the listing. Then you are stuck for 3 months.You need at least three opinions with recent comps. I had one joker says my house worth 100k more. Rarely works in your favor,

The only reality in selling is price solves the problem. Better taking 5 percent off now than paying a commission. Buyer is going to expect it anyway.

I know people who several times have listed a house in MLS through an inexpensive listing service. They tell me finding and paying a good professional photographer/videographer is key. They, too, will pay the buyer's agent's commission. By statue, buyers agents are allowed in Florida.

"(a) Authorized brokerage relationships.—A real estate licensee in this state may enter into a brokerage relationship as either a transaction broker or as a single agent with potential buyers and sellers."

From: Statutes & Constitution
:View Statutes
:

Online Sunshine

"The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) is a professional organization of real estate buyer agents and buyer brokers who only represent home buyers.
Members of NAEBA do not accept listings, advertise properties for sale or represent sellers at any time. By providing exclusive fiduciary duties to home buyers, NAEBA members avoid the conflict of interests that arise when the same firm attempts to represent both buyers and sellers.

NAEBA was formed in the mid-1990s after industry lobbyists redefined how agency works. The creation of dual agency was a big win for traditional real estate brokerages, allowing the collection of real estate commissions from both the buying and selling side of the transaction, but it left home buyers at a serious disadvantage.

NAEBA was created to fill the void faced by home buyers and to provide a professional association that would further the standards and ethics of fiduciary duty to buyer-clients. Exclusive Buyer Agents are recommended by HUD, Kiplingers, Consumer Reports, the Consumer Federation of America, NerdWallet and many other entities and publications." From: About - NAEBA

Buyers agents are allowed by law, but rarely does a buyer pay a commission on a real estate sale. In almost all transactions I have seen, the commission is paid by the seller.

That is so for me as well. The buyer's agent is paid from funds received from the sale. I cannot recall a buyer paying an agent separately although it may happen on rare occasions.

If the agent overprices the house, and they bring you a lower offer, you can renegotiate the commission. I did that on the last house I sold. Also, I always insist on a clause in the listing agreement that, if I lose confidence in the agent or the broker, I can fire them. No three month or six month lock in.

A house going stale due to overpricing many times results in it eventually selling for a lower price than it would have brought had it been initially priced correctly. Add the carrying cost for several months and it is a lose-lose proposition.

Perhaps I am wording it wrong. We will pay the buyers agent 2.5%. So, we are willing to work with an MLS agent if an agent brings us a buyer.

The point of my post is to get successful marketing ideas.

In The Villages, it seems like frequent open houses are the way to go.

Your original post is clear.

My suggestion is get some professional photos taken and use an inexpensive listing service to get it into MLS with the high quality photos taken by the pro. The folks I know last paid about $800 maybe three years ago. These days a video is also likely important. Get photos and videos from a drone showing how the house, yard and neighborhood look. Get photos and videos of a nice view, sunrise/sunset. "One picture is worth a thousand words" as we all know. IMO low quality photos lose deals. They are worse than no photos at all.

My daughter in CA put a purchase contract on a house she had not yet visited in person in MD due to the wonderful photos in its MLS listing which really caught her attention as she had been looking for some time. She jumped on it and had her buyer's agent tour the house taking videos and making comments.

If you have photos, make sure they are real photos. I once visited a house in person, and then looked at the online photos. The flooring was different and there was wall mounted shelving in the photo that were not in the house.

Guess they did that in order to draw folks in.

I'm sure you're familiar with the famous quote about attorneys & doctors.

It's the same for folks who try to sell their own home. Doubly true, it a difficult market.

Good luck, you'll need it.

My friends who tipped me about using high quality photos never use an agent buying or selling and they have bought and sold at least a dozen houses and condominiums in CA, HI and FL over the last 25 years. They sometimes have sold a property themselves to a buyer as a FSBO without a MLS listing. At other times they used an inexpensive listing agent costing from $300 to maybe $700. Two of their sales, one in CA, the other in HI, were sold unlisted in the $2M range.

They usually freshen up the landscaping to provide 'curb appeal' and 'stage' the property by decluttering it and using minimal furniture although they did not bother to do that for their $2M sales.

While in CA, where most of their buying and selling occurred, they were able to buy purchase/sale contract forms from the MLS. Not sure if that is possible here. They also got to know a title company clerk who assisted them now and then.

Their most recent purchase was in Palm Coast. The property was under contract with several backup offers as the market was still very hot. They asked the listing agent to call them if the purchase contract fell through and that they were not represented by another broker knowing that she would get the whole commission if she sold it to them. The sale fell through so guess who the listing agent called first?

I have previously sold 3 FSBO in TV. I am currently trying to sell and am having identical problems that you are having. Wish I had the solution for both of us. I have a Florida contract and a title company for closing. Priced below what a realtor would list for. Good luck

There is such a thing as a buyer’s agent commission. If one lists a home with a listing agent, then they’re paying the listing and buyer’s agent commission. If one is listing by owner, and a potential buyer has their own agent they want to use, the FSBO offering a buyer agent commission is a good strategy. The reason most people haven’t heard of only the buyer agent commission is because most homes are sold with a listing and buying agent. Doesn’t mean that it is not a valid option.

I would recommend to the original letter writer is to do an open house. People in the Villages love open houses. It’s okay if your neighbors want to come to check it out. They have friends in other areas who may be interested in moving to the Villages. If they like the house, they’ll tell other people about it. Maybe their Realtor friend will do it for them. If not, I’ll do an open house. No long term relationship required.

did you post it on Nextdoor?

Just wanted to echo this....this is the best advice out there!

The other fantastic advice is to pay to get on the MLS. This will open so many more doors than the one you have cracked open. I never use Zillow and abhor their site, so I use Redfin exclusively. Your house will never make it over there or the hundreds of other listing sites without being on the MLS. This will be worth the ~$100 price.

Has the used market slowed down that much. I know last year this time homes were in very high demand, has that changed?

Be ready for Realtor calls
 

I did FSBO, and got inundated with calls from realtors despite putting in my write-up not to. Ended up listing with the Villages, sold in 3 days for more than what I was asking for.

I have sold 4 other properties FSBO. But in The Villages it doesn't seem to be a good way to go for some reason.

Michigan has buyer’s agents and seller’s agent. The realtor signs an agreement stating who they are representing. Other states, except Florida, probably do the same.

The market dropped a lot last October and hasn’t recovered, thanks to interest rates. I expected my house here to sell in days. A couple months earlier and it would have. Instead it took about four months, and I lowered the price $75,000. There were a lot of open houses. I didn’t like paying the agents around $30,000, but they worked hard for the money and did a lot of advertising. If I’d tried to do it myself, it might still be on the market. This is really not a good time to try to sell a house on your own. The other suggestions made here are good ones.

I think the price is important. Especially when a buyer can get a new home for a lower price than an old one. I'm currently looking for a home, but when I see that some seller
want to make a big profit (don't get me wrong, it is o.k. if they try) by selling a house after two years for more than $ 100'000 over the buying price this is for me not o.k.
and I don't play this game.

I agree. That is why I won't even look at a FSBO. They are almost always overpriced. I also agree that the new houses are a better buy than pre-owned ones, unless the pre-owned house has a very unique, premium lot.

So true. A realtor will always promote the potential buyer that will result in the highest compensation for them. It worked for me. The open house that was scheduled the next day after I submitted an offer was cancelled.

At this time inventory is low. Houses are staying on the market longer. Agents are having to be creative to sell your property. Hire an experienced agent. The newbie’s do not know how to sell in this market, what makes you think you can do it. Agents are not renewing licenses at a huge rate. The reason is now you actually have to work at selling a listing. Good luck

Think like a potential buyer. Yes price is important, but buyers also search for listings based on location, then number of beds and baths. So you want to ensure that your listing is on a service that allows buyers to search on those specific terms as well as any extras like "corner lot" "pool" or "pool ready" "backs to woods" "backs to golf course" "backs to water view", "bonus room". Photos (as others have said) are key. If your photos look flat to you it's worth hiring a pro to take great pix (something that relators do) to really give prospects a good idea of what the home looks like. Including an aerial view (especially if there's water or golf nearby), is important. Look at listings that would catch your eye and try to make yours look like those. Also look at those comp prices and consider slotting your price somewhere in the middle. (I expect you've already thought of some of these things.) Finally, make it easy for prospective buyers to tour the home either via an appointment or open house schedule included in your site. As to how to keep agents away? No idea, sorry.

I received almost double for what I paid for my home that I built two years ago, and sold in March of this year. I don’t think that would be possible at this point, and will probably never happen again. The first person who walked in bought it within hours of the appt. I was very lucky and paid a big commission, but it was worth it.

For 2.5 % get a villages agent . Cheryl McDaniel or Sonja pinson are great and worth the little extra. You will get eyes on the property.

I've sold my last three homes myself. I wasn't a fool for a client. It's not rocket science.

Interest rates don't mean "that much" if you're looking for a retirement home in The Villages. Most sales are cash sales, with no mortgage involved. The only interest a buyer would worry about is the interest they're earning by keeping their money in the bank, rather than investing it in their new house.

The buyer would also be concerned about who's going to buy the house they're moving OUT of, because of the interest rates - since most people who are looking for "non-retirement" property do take a mortgage.

But folks who've been renting, and are now looking to buy a retirement home, don't have that problem at all.

I was licensed for over 15 year up north and became a Real Estate agent because I can't stand Real Estate agents and I never wanted to have to have one represent me ever again in a transaction! That being said, if you are already willing to pay 2.5% to a buy side agent, you really should just list it with an agent...
The additional 2.5% this will potentially cost you is more then worth it for professional photography, marketing of the home, not having to wait home for no show appointments, and dealing with the closing/title/appraisal/potential mortgage documents.
Do the math and figure out how much your time is worth. A top agent will probably get you a higher price then you can get on your own too because a savey buyer is deducting the commission of a FSBO from YOUR proceeds of sale already.

The only complaint I had with a realtor (we used a outside TV realtor) we had was they put a price on it & was happy with it but when they couldn’t sell it they gave us a offer, it was $30,000. less than their original offer plus their realtor fees of coarse we said no & counter offered they took it. All I’m saying is make sure whatever the realtor appraisal price is make sure you tell them that’s a solid price I want to stick with it. Don’t let the realtor talk you into a rediculous price, they said what your house is worth so stick with it within a couple thousand dollars. Ask them to adjust their realtor fees & see what they say!

So many answers.
So I am looking to purchase a house in the next 10 days in the villages
I am on a 1031 tax exchange timeline if you’re familiar with that if not, I can explain it
But if you have a good house, that is a good price feel free to let me know what you’ve got.
Thank you Mike, 541-951-6904.

There sure can be a commission paid to the buyers agent. When I sold my last house on my own, I had a couple of agents telling me they had a buyer and if that was so, I agreed to pay a % to the buyers agent.
It is very easy to sell a house these days. I posted a simple ad in our community that said: “I’m thinking of selling my house” and I had 6 people call me within the 1st day. No pictures, no price. I had people within our community tell their friends and the frenzy started.
I would do the same here, I would also post an ad in TTOTV, Facebook marketplace, Facebook in NYC, LA, San Fran, Portland, Seattle, and in more places. I would also use the mls if I could find a way to place it, but that would be last resort. Do not list it on Craigslist, too many problems using that site