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Selling a house without a realtor- can anybody help?

A

abracadabra1

Diamond Member
Within 2 months I'm shipping off to Annapolis to report for duty (plebe summer- yeah! 😀). I'm leaving my mother behind with a two-story house that she cannot handle or manage. See, my mother has multiple sclerosis -- a degenerative neurological disorder -- and consequently has lost much of her mobility in her lower limbs. Also, she is unable to hold a steady job -- of any kind -- because she suffers from memory loss. Currently, she receives ~ $2000/m from the government (disability benefits; $1300 for her, $700 supplement for me). Once I graduate though, the government ends my benefits. My mother struggles to pay for all the bills, including medical expenses, even with $2000 comming in every month. She has accrued much debt and losing m benefits will make things even more difficult. So, we (my father and I; my father doesn't live with us) decided to sell the house so that my mother can buy an apartment or townhouse and live comfortably, while not building up any more debt.

I asked a realtor for a quote, and she came to the house, assessed its value, and gave an estimate of costs relating to the sale of the house. All in all, the realtor would make a whomping $12000 off the sale of the house ($189000 estimated sale price, $12000 realtor fee, $2000 misc. expenses listed by realtor). Both my father and I thought the quotation to be a robbery and so decided to attempt to sell the house ourselves. We listed the house in the local 'Flyer' (popular circulating magazine) and have received quite a few offers, and a deal is pending with one of the possible buyers. The offer is for $175000 (good deal IMO), in case you're interested.

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Well, now the difficult part arises. How do we go about getting all the paperwork necessary for the sale of the house completed? What kind of an agreement needs to be drafted? Are there any websites with this kind of information listed?

And lastly, have you ever sold your house without a realtor? If so, was it successful, and do you have any advice?

Thanks!

I apologize for the long story. For those of you that prefer a condensed version of the post, read from the dotted line on.
 
Good luck. Iwas trying to do a for sale by owner, but people in these parts are complete morons. I got stuff like.... "so can we just take over payments" or "you all will do the financing right" It was like I was selling a car.

The market is soft here, but if real estate is a sellers market where you are, I would definetly do a for sale by owner. I hate dealing with realtors.

Hope you checked out here for some good info.
 
6% is about the standard "fee" realtor's get when they sell a house.
I feel like there's way too much that is involved in selling a house and that the 6% you lose to the realtor isn't a huge price to pay to not have to work out all the details on your own.
 
The realtor fee looks right around the standard 6%, so the realtor is not trying to rip you off, per se. There is a lot that has to be done (and plenty of fees you will likely still have to pay) like getting a closing agent and the like, but it is definitely doable. My question is this: If the realtor was willing to sell the house at $189k, less $12k in costs, then you are looking at $177k net, which is more than the $175k offer. Not that the realtor can guarantee the $189k selling price, but it might be worth avoiding the headaches. You should be able to find a website that details all the stuff you need to do when selling a house.

EDIT: Coldwell Banker offers a new service where the realtor fee is only 2%. Basically they do nothing to advertise your house, they just have a web site that lists all the houses for sale in the program. However, if you already have an offer on an owner sale, it sounds like the house should sell and it would be another route to take. I cannot remember the exact name of the program, but it's two words and I am pretty sure one is "Blue". Not sure if it is available in your area or not.

EDIT2: Found it. It's Blue Edge, but it's only available in Pennsylvania and Illinois right now. Still think it is worth the 6% to use a realtor, unless you really need the extra money and have the time to do the extra leg work involved with selling a house yourself.
 
At least you advertised the house in a popular magazine. My buddy was trying to sell his place and the only thing he did was put a "For Sale" sign up in the window. He just couldn't figure out why nobody was making him any offers........goofball
rolleye.gif
 
Realtor- ($189000 estimated sale price, $12000 realtor fee, $2000 misc. expenses listed by realtor). Net 177K
By Owner- 175K
???
I really don't see the problem here you make 2K more without the hassle of trying to sell it? Is it you father is opposed to a realtor making 12K for thier service?

Something you may want to consider...

Try going with a local non-franchised realty company so you can negotiate a better rate say 3-4% for starters and only talk with the broker himself. All these fees are negotiable with any of them btw. Do you think a 2M dollar home gets 6%? Also, do everything you can superficial before listing it sice you have two months to help your mother out. New paint inside and out, nice landscaping, get new or get carpet shampooed, new roof etc. This will dramatically increase the curb appeal and allow for higher listing and better chance of selling.
 
Consider consulting an attorney for the paperwork and a few hours of their time. That will cost a lot less than $12,000. Also, do a search on FSBO (For Sale By Owner). You'll get a lot of links.
 
I'm with you, sell it yourself. Here's a Purchase Agreement, and you could tweak it or get others like it online, library or bookstore. I'll e-mail you one if you want!

The Title company will be doing the lion's share of the work, so shop for one of those. They can walk you through a few of the steps and maybe even get you that Purchase Agreement form as well as disclosure statements etc.

The big thing Real Estate agents have going for them is the Multiple Listing Service. Sounds like you already have buyers, so do it yourself. Have the local banks pre qualify them and you're all set. It's really not that hard! Not worth 6% of the total anyway!

If ForSaleByOwner.Com has flyers distributed in your area, at local grocery stores etc, it's a good alternative to the MLS. Not better, just another avenue. Take a look at the drug stores and grocery stores and see what FSBO flyers are there next to the Century21 and ReMAX flyers. Sign up with one of those FSBO advertisers if these current deals fall through.

Good Luck!
 
Thanks a lot for all the help and ideas...and by all means, keep them comming! 😉

I apologize for the misunderstanding, but the realtor listed $180,000 as the estimated selling price (not $189 as I had thought). Neither my father nor I saw the use in using a realtor when over $12000 was headed his/her way, so we decided to sell the house ourselves. It seems, so far, that this is a great decision. Today was the first day that the house was listed and we have already had at least 15 phone calls, 4 couples come visit the home (my mother is home all day), and one offer for $175000 (backed by a deposit). Things seem to be going very well everyone is pleased, thus far.

Although, I am a little messy inside the house (only my room and my computer room) because I have so much paperwork, I tend to keep the outside of the house trimmed nicely and well maintained. My rooms aren't dirty, but they are a little messy. Luckily, I keep things piled on desks so it shouldn't detract from the overall appearance of the house.

Thanks again!
 
"I am a little messy inside the house..."

See? That's the point. Would listing with an agent make that any different or easier? You'd still have to clean up to show the house, whether you're doing it yourself or an agent. And they really don't want you there during an Open House, so you would have strangers milling through your house without being able to keep an eye on stuff <shudder>.

That's awesome that you've had so much activity. Are you sure you asked enough!?

You probably did. One of the first rules is to price it to sell, otherwise it could sit on the market for a LONG time. You'd probably end up selling for the current price anyway after it's all over. Sounds like you've got this licked. FSBOs rock! 😛
 
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