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February 27, 2008
FSBO
Hi. We are thinking of going down the FSBO route. Our place is in Brooklyn Heights. It doesn't seem to be the done thing here but i am loathed to hand over 6%. Any thoughts or advice?
Comments
As someone who wants to buys FSBO, I say go for it! I am sick of being jerked around by too many brokers. What's your place like - I might be interested!
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 9:44 AM
do a search on the forum - this question is asked often and there are many people who have posted helpful responses. sounds like it's totally do-able.
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 10:17 AM
Ive said it before, and will be backed up in more detail.
NY Times ad
Floor Plans
Clean Open House
REALISTIC PRICE
REALISTIC PRICE
REALISTIC PRICE
Then you will not need a broker.
I also recommend allowing brokers to bring clients, and offering them 2.5% commission
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 10:23 AM
Please post some details about your place. I might be interested too!
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 10:28 AM
My neighbor did one in Brooklyn Heights and got a zillion people at the open house and many, many over-asking offers. She promoted the hell out of it (website, Times ad, flyers from Wall St to Park Slope, emails), Still it went for 50k over what the same apt, one floor up sold for with broker a month earlier. And she sold it in a week.
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 10:47 AM
Most people on this site are very anti-broker for a multitude of reasons. Some legitimate and some not.
FSBO is certainly a way to go and you should consider it. Everyone seems to have a story of sucessful FSBO that sold on the first day and saved the owner a bundle. If you are lucky and/or patient, you don't NEED a broker. But keep in mind you are not getting that 5% discount for free. You have to put in a lot of your own time and aggravation.
There is a lot of work involved in getting the kind of traffic you want to get the best price. Placing the ads and taking the photos is just a tiny portion of that work. What about dealing with all the people that want to see your house and the occassional crazy? Not to mention the fact that you have to be prepared to deal with a very awkward situation of people critisizing your house to your face and/or not giving you honest feedback because you are the owner. Then when you find a buyer, you won't have the same insight as to their ability to get a mortage, how serious the buyer is, etc as the owner. Particularily in a time when mortgages aren't as easy to come by, having a good broker can really be a help in knowing what you're dealing with.
Thats just my two cents on the matter.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 27, 2008 10:53 AM
A friend of mine, who is a mortgage broker, offered to vet all offers I get when I put my place on the market myself. She'll do it with no obligation to the potential buyer to use her firm. She'll run the financial checks and their potential to get a successful mortgage, etc.
Has anyone who's sold themselves done this?
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 11:24 AM
Thanks Guys, this is all great and I will keep you posted if we go down this route. We are just working out how to price it in a way that seems fair. I was thinking of just getting brokers round to see what they think and check in with streateasy.com and do some general online research. any thing else i should consider?
Posted by: natalieinc at February 27, 2008 11:50 AM
You should at least meet with a few brokers, not necessarily for their pricing advice but to see if you like them and their services.
We've had good experiences with brokers so far (2 sales) but obviously, there are good and bad ones. I will say that they are helpful in running interference and getting bids to the contract stage.
As for pricing...yes, you'll save 6% if you can pull this off, but if you aggressively underprice you might be taking some money off the table. RE agents are hungry right now, and they might be more willing to go the extra mile for you.
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 12:09 PM
I went FSBO and it's hard, but selling is hard. Cleaning, decluttering, painting etc is what really takes a million hours. You need to do that with or without brokers.
I believe in going all out for a first big open house... email everyone you know, ad everywhere, etc.
AS for the offers.. our offer sheet asked for a lot of info regarding assets, etc. You can find one online. We knew straight up who our board would approve and not. I've been a board member, know all the board members -- I don't really buy the idea that a broker helps with that. I mean, I know the situation in this particular building far better than an outsider
GL!
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 12:24 PM
Agree with 12:24 that I knew my board far better than any broker, having been on it.
Disagree with Ms. Limestone on broker having a better handle on how serious people were, or their ability to get a mortgage. I could evaluate the information presented to me by my broker on the offer sheet better than my broker could as to (1) whether they'd get a mortgage, and (2) whether my board would like their finances.
Seriousness is determined by whether they (1) get an attorney right away, (2) get an inspection right away if they are doing one, and (3) whether they push their attorney to do the due diligence quickly as as to get into contract in a timely manner. That's how you tell if they are serious - there is really no other foolproof way.
And I could deal with hearing criticism and not having honest feedback - all I cared about is getting it sold. I went with a broker, but my experience was such that I wouldn't hesitate to do it FSBO next time.
Agree, broker is useful running interference with crazies, if you get any.
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 1:53 PM
Other thing you should do - go to pen houses for similar apartments. Talk to brokers and potential buyers there - see what they say about those places. Helps with pricing, etc.
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 1:54 PM
Check on the FSBO on today's brownstoner front page. Great website, just needs more pics, but this should give you a good start.
Also, checkout the prices of recently sold places in your building, streeteasy.com is your friend.
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 3:50 PM
I never really understood what a broker does besides advertise for you....when clearly in this day and age, many can do it themselves.
If you don't know how to set up a website, have a friend or a friends kid help you. It's not as hard as it appears.
Tell your local merchants that you're selling your house. My brother-in-law bought his house from an elderly man who told the owner of the laundermat. The owner of the laundermat told my brother. No broker. Never went on the market.
Good luck!
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 4:22 PM
Advertising/marketing your apartment IS what they do, and what you pay them for.
The rest is minor, and you can do it, as long as you are comfortable with the various tasks (showing by appointment, holding open houses, collecting and evaluating financial information from potential buyers, and negotiating offers.) I was comfortable with all that, and though I used a broker last year, I would do it myself next time if I had more time available to me. Some people are not comfortable with doing all that (I do it for my job, but I recognize not everybody has my level of comfort with negotiation, and asking financial questions.)
You can sell with a NYTimes ad - but you DO have to get decent pictures taken. I don't think candid shots work well. And a floorplan sure helps.
Also, I found that most of the "serious and ready to make an offer folks" who came to see my place were the ones brought by their brokers (I went with a broker who cobrokes) in response to the REBNY email that my broker sent each week to participating brokers. I say this, not as a plug for brokers, but because it surprised me - I did have one who made a decent offer who just came to the open house, but I was surprised by how many offers were from people who were specifically brought by their brokers, either to the open house, or to see it by appointment.
Posted by: guest at February 27, 2008 4:44 PM
thanks all, you've been incredibly helpful.
Posted by: natalieinc at February 27, 2008 7:04 PM
Try this site:
http://www.nyflatfeemlslisting.com Should be good for a fsbo mls in NY.
Posted by: guest at May 24, 2008 6:02 AM
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