j_mallock asked:
I have been looking at a lot of flat fee realtor services. Essentially, it is still FSBO, but I pay a flat fee and get MLS listing, signs, flyers, lockbox, paperwork, etc. Would this be a good option?
I have been looking at a lot of flat fee realtor services. Essentially, it is still FSBO, but I pay a flat fee and get MLS listing, signs, flyers, lockbox, paperwork, etc. Would this be a good option?
You can sell your house yourself but the efforts seldom result in a sale.
We sold our house with Assist-2-Sell in 2005. It was $3K flat fee, and sold it in 3 weeks at the appraisal price. We were willing to do most of the work ourselves and we lived in a desirable neighborhood where houses rarely went past 30 days.
That being said, the market has drastically changed from two years ago. Houses on the same street are going under the appraisal value, and are sitting for several months. Due to the fact that it’s November in an awful market (unless you live in a very specific hot-pocket), you may want to consider a traditional realtor. Yes, it’s a racket. Yes, there is no way they actually do 6% worth of work. Yes, most are slimy. But at the end of the day, they have the networks, relationships and resources in place to help move your house for as much as the market will bear.
There are two houses in my neighborhood that have been on ForSaleByOwner for about two years. There is another house FSBO that is on a ton of FSBO sites, I think the owner put it on every free site and a couple of the limited service sites, and it has been for sale since spring.
There have been several posters in here complaining about ByOwner.com – wanting to know how to get their money back and such.
I don’t know how successful they are. I see new signs popping up in yards around town from the various sites, but there is such a glut of these FSBO sites. I suppose if there is one that is dominating in your area, that would be the one to use.
I would advise you try straight FSBO first, see how it goes without tying up more money. If you find you need help, one of those FSBO companies will be around to take the money.
I’m not completely certain on how those programs work, but are they asking you to pay upfront? In other words, do you pay them even if you’re unable to sell your house? That’s a complete rip-off. A full service agent doesn’t expect to be paid unless they actually do their job – selling your house.
From houses I’ve looked at listed with these services, I don’t get the sense that they do much to help you price your house appropriately. To give specific examples:
I just bought a house in a mid-1950s subdivision where all of the houses are very similar, save minor updates and small additions. In this subdivision, six months ago, a home might have sold for $160K, but now average sale price is around $140K, and the other homes under contract have list prices ranging from $125-$145K.
A house right around the corner from mine, in need of more updates than mine (house is still very stuck in the 50s), just went on the market with one of these services for $159,000. Another house a couple of streets over (same subdivision), on a very busy street is listed with one of these services & they’re listed at $169K, and it’s been on the market for something like 6 months. The last house is also in need up updates. There’s nothing about it that justifies the price tag.
Yes, you can blame the owners for not having a concept of what’s an appropriate value for their homes, but part of an agent’s job is to help you price your home appropriately so that it sells in a reasonable time.