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November 25, 2007
Thinking of selling apt -- does FSBO actually work?
Hi, I have a 2 bedroom in Ft. Greene. I'm thinking of trying to sell it FSBO for a couple of reasons. First, I'd rather not fork over the 6% commission, given that my building already has a flip tax. Second, I'd rather not have everyone in my building know I'm selling my apartment -- as they would if a broker were selling the place. Third, I'm not in a rush to sell. Does this sound reasonable? Does anyone ever successfully sell their apartments w/ out a broker?
Comments
Yes, FSBO is possible and especially if you aren't in a rush, you can always go the broker route if it doesn't work. Take great pictures and post an ad on NYTimes Real Estate online. But if you are having an open house or showing your place, do you really think you can keep it from your building? Also, is it a coop or condo? Wouldn't they have to know at some point?
Posted by: guest at November 25, 2007 12:28 PM
FSBO is easy. Just post lots of good pictures on NY Times and Craigslist. You can even do a Flickr set, like my friend did. Once you accept an offer, you just hand it over to your lawyer.
Posted by: guest at November 25, 2007 1:01 PM
Friends of mine recently sold a 2 family house FSBO and it was a big roller coaster ride. Several deals were close, but than fell thru. It took a serious amount of time & effort, and was very stressful at times, but in the long run they're glad to have saved money. If you have the time, patience and skills to deal directly with all sorts of buyers and their issues, it's certainly a good way to save money.
When I sold my coop in 2005 I negotiated to pay 5% commission. My broker also negotiated a much better price than I could have, which helped offset the potential FSBO savings by alot. So speaking for myself only, (i can hear the collective wrath of brownstoner readers as i type), I would rather focus on my work, as a self employed photographer & web designer, and use a realtor to sell my house.
Bear in mind that doing an FSBO will incur some expenses, so you won't be saving a full 6%. You'll need to allocate some marketing resources, setup a basic but prof. looking website, advertising in the NYT online + Sunday printed version. You'll also probably
use more billable hours with your RE attorney for advice &/or to handle things that a broker would normally take care of. Selling a condo/coop might be less complicated than a selling 2 family house, although if you're dealing with a coop board, who knows.
Posted by: rd684 at November 25, 2007 3:14 PM
if you were trying to sell your apartment, why would you want LESS people to know it's for sale?
Posted by: guest at November 25, 2007 4:22 PM
I have to agree with 4:22 - you WANT the neighbors to know. Maybe one of them is looking to upgrade from a 1BR to a 2, or has a friend or famiy member who would be interested in looking at your place.
If it's the Nosy Neighbor factor ("you're asking WHAT?!? And you didn't even upgrade the bathroom!"), that's just a fact of real-estate life.
Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at November 25, 2007 4:55 PM
Meant to add to the above:
We FSBO'd a Manhattan apartment back in 1998 when all you had to do was put an ad in the Times. We sold to a neighbor's friend, who had asked the neighbor to keep an eye out for him for any apartments for sale in the "H" line because he liked the layout. Never would have heard about the guy without the Nosy Neighbor to put us together.
This time, we used a broker for our Brooklyn Heights place but still got two bids from people in the building who learned about the sale through building gossip.
Don't discount the power of neighbors!
Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at November 25, 2007 5:01 PM
fsbo is super easy if you are realistic about the price and let the market (at least those that see the apartment) decide it (take the best offer most likely to go through).
I've seen a number of fsbo's get snapped up really quickly if the owner takes that approach. Maybe they could have got 5% more with a broker, but maybe it would take 2 or 3 months and two price drops. With the housing market risks right now you might be trying to catch a falling knife. Better to sell it quickly and easily to someone pretty sure they got a good deal than squeeze someone with a broker into paying tip-top dollar.
Posted by: guest at November 25, 2007 5:34 PM
i would also check out neighborhood blogs like www.onehansonplace.com or clintonhillblog.com or easybeinggreene to see if they advertise...
Posted by: ltjbukem73 at November 25, 2007 6:12 PM
FG is an increasingly popular, but a very small area, so you don't need a broker to bring in interested buyers. The issue is whether you need them for some other reason.
Could you also explain why you don't want people in the building to know? I'm considering selling my PS coop soon. I assume others in the coop will recognize that the more I get for my place, the more they can get for theirs. Maybe you've thought of something I haven't.
Posted by: guest at November 25, 2007 6:56 PM
The reason I don't want the whole building knowing is just that-- the nosy neighbor problem. But maybe that's stupid and I should get over it. Thanks for the comments. Think I'll give the FSBO a whirl!
Posted by: dianabanana at November 25, 2007 8:33 PM
Usually the fsbo owner's mess it up in terms of pricing, negotiating their best possible deal, juggling more than one seriously interested buyer, and also by moving forward with buyers who aren't qualified and then not having a backup buyer in place. But some get lucky. Most don't. And then they list with an agent and it feels really stale and that crop of buyers have moved on and so it takes a while to get any momentum with the next crop of buyers. But it is certainly possible to go fsbo. But odds aren't with you that you will get the best price. But sure, you can sell it.
Posted by: guest at November 26, 2007 9:38 AM
Do an FSBO, but be willing to pay any agent that brings you a buyer, that closes of course, 2-3%. You will get more action that way. Good luck.
Posted by: guest at November 26, 2007 8:57 PM
hi--i know a couple looking! and i'm not in your building! ;)
happy to speak to you..or email...but not sure how without making contact info public..
agree with all-- great photos, nyt, craigs, blogs, neighbors, AND would add e-mails to all friends and acquaintances in bklyn,manhattan,etc--don't discount that!
did it and sold in 10 days.
Posted by: guest at November 27, 2007 4:40 PM
If your place is nice and priced right, you should be able to do it, if you are willing to put in the work. If it is nice, I don't think you need a website, just a NYTimes ad. But your ad has to have GOOD looking pics AND a floorplan. Floorplan doesn't have to be perfect, but you need to give people a sense of the layout and room sizes. And yes, offer brokers 3% - exclusives are never good for sellers.
And as to 9:38's comment about messing up pricing, best deal, juggling too many unqualified buyers at once - sounds like what my broker tried to do with my place. Had to keep broker from pricing too LOW (got full price offers immediately); had to point out who was not qualified that broker thought was (perhaps was greedy when unqualified one came with no broker, so my broker would get whole fee, no split); had to point out who was indeed qualified when broker thought not. You have to be involved in the process even when you use a broker.
Posted by: guest at November 27, 2007 7:04 PM
I highly recommend you do a FSBO. I just had a very bad experience with an incompentent broker and my prime property is still sitting on the market. I can confirm that brokers can be everything from useless to a liability.
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 5:50 PM
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