Craig

Let’s face it sales is a numbers game. The more people who see the house the more likely you are to sell. It’s not some special voodoo that only realtors have. So, if I get a CMA, price within reality (based on my CMA and amenities) have an MLS listing, an internet site, ads in the local and or regional papers, do open houses and showings and stage the home properly where do you fit in? I’ve lived in the community, my kids go to school there, built and lived in the home for 8 years and know every nook and cranny of it…Who better to sell it than me. Many of you have never stepped foot into a property until I call and ask for a showing. Where does your expertise help me? I can’t count the number of homes I’ve looked at over the last 20 years with a broker and they knew nothing about the property except what was on the “sheet”. Come on! $20000.00 of my hard earned equity for that! Sorry my kids could do a better job.

Beware realtors, it’s a new day in the home sales market like it or not. There are a lot of buyers and sellers out there who need your hand holding. However, as buyers and sellers become better educated and confident the way houses are bought and sold will continue to change. Get your collective heads out of the clouds and bring your commissions down to a reasonable level (2.5-3%) or continue to lose business to the FSBO’s.

FSBO’s get a good attorney and the process is easier than you think not easy but not anywhere near as complicated as many would lead you to believe!

Mike

Where are you? You may want a “lockbox 4 u” service that is cheaper than 1%, if you are going to drastically reduce your price and undercut everyone in your building. Those services are paid for whether the property sells or not. Still…depending on sale price, up front flat fee might be an option you should look into, before considering a lower percentage option.

But don’t chintz on the BA fee if you do. Save the money on your side of the fence, and not the mls offering fee, as that would likely be counter-productive in your case. Make sure your offering is equivalent to the units that are selling, whatever that may be.

If nothing in your building is selling, and condos in other buildings are, you may want to get an advance copy of the Resale Certificate from the management company. Maybe there is something going on in your building, like a soon to be announced special assessment, that is holding up all sales in your building. If that is the case, it might be better to wait that out if you can, than dropping the price to compensate for a temporary negative issue.

That’s the best I can do without knowing the State and town you are talking about. Also remember to price based on what has SOLD and not what other units are “asking”. If your asking price is much higher than sold prices, doesn’t matter that it is the lowest of “asking” prices. Sometimes ALL of the “asking prices” are too high. So value off comps and pending sales, not “for sale” properties.

Good luck!

I think over the next 2-3 years you will see a larger upswing in FSBO listings. Many of the people selling their homes won’t have the equity needed to make a decent profit and will try to sell themselves.

The question agents have is this. Does the for sale by owner seller, expect the buyer’s agent (who comes with a buyer) to represent the seller AND the buyer for that 50% of the “normal” fee?

Many do. Many sellers who save the listing fee, expect the agent to give the seller advices for that “buyer agent fee”, which creates a problem for the agent and the buyer. Not just because of the money…but because of the dual agency of it.

Is it OK to a For Sale By Owner, for the buyer agent to treat the seller as “representing himself” and not give seller advices? Out on the street…that is not the norm. The seller wants the agent to explain escrow and other facets of the transaction. The seller want the agent to explain the contract to them, and what everything means. Saving 50% to “represent yourself”…fine. But saving 50% and then expecting the agent to “do both sides”…not OK.