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.