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September 10, 2009
FSBO or Not?
I'm thinking of putting my 3b/2b floor-thru apt in a prime Park Slope brownstone on the market and am debating whether to try to go the "For Sale By Owner" route. Anybody have recent experience doing this and have any words of wisdom?
I'm a designer, so can draw up plans myself, feel confident with staging and photographs. It's the rest of it I find daunting, but am having a hard time justifying 6% to a broker . I feel like the apt is pretty special, don't see anything quite like it on the market, but am under no delusions this will be easy. Again, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
Um, not to state the obvious or anything but you could always *try* the FSBO route and then find yourself a broker if that isn't working for you.
Posted by: serpentor at September 10, 2009 3:11 PM
That's more than likely what I would do, but am wondering if there are any pitfalls to trying to do it myself from a marketing and negotiating point of view. I don't need to sell it, so am not in a hurry, thus think I can play with the option. Wonder if anyone has tried FSBO and then went to a broker when they had no luck or realized they were in too deep? On a $1M+ apt, $60k to brokers is hard to swallow. Are brokers negotiating fees these days?
Posted by: archigoddess at September 10, 2009 3:31 PM
seems like the biggest problem with FSBO is they tend to price to what they percceive to be the value rather than comps or to the market. if you price it right, then FSBO should probably work for you.
Posted by: CG_ups at September 10, 2009 3:45 PM
Determining the right price is the easiest part. Brokers will gladly take a look at it and give their opinion in the hope of getting your business. They may even give you a print of the comps.
Posted by: starfish1948 at September 10, 2009 3:53 PM
I bought FSBO, and was ultimately happy with the negotiations and the process (especially at the absence of brokers during close). Just be realistic about pricing and stage it well, and people will come. Submit it here as a hotd. But "$1M+" might be a very hard comp to find for a single floor through in this market, even in prime Park Slope. Try pricing the commission out of it. That'll get you more attention than most brokers' marketing skills.
Posted by: Frederick Law Homestead at September 10, 2009 4:16 PM
Appreciate the advice! The apt is in a 25' wide brownstone, so bigger footprint than most floor thrus. In pristine condition. Also has beautiful and exclusive roof deck accessed directly from apt with fab views. I've looked at a lot of apts for comps, but most don't have the amenities this place does. Will keeping looking at comps as things come on the market.
Posted by: archigoddess at September 10, 2009 4:55 PM
I sold FSBO, and was happy I did. The biggest mistake I see FSBO making is they price too high. Make sure your ad says "No brokers please." Also, the one area I think real estate agents can be helpful is when it comes to negotiating a price with interested parties.
Posted by: mopar at September 10, 2009 5:52 PM
I would say, based on your skill set, you should maybe consider going the FSBO route at first. However, as the other posters have said, most FSBO's overprice their homes so be wary. I would also say that you should consider an open listing where you can offer 3% to buyer's brokers, if the property is over a million, maybe even 2.5%, the extra buyers and bids they bring may more than make up for the fee you may have to pay.
Posted by: Crownlfc at September 11, 2009 1:34 AM
Hi Crown- That's an interesting idea. I have seen FSBO listings that say brokers welcome and always wondered why, if they had no vested interest in selling, they would even bother. Perhaps that's the potential arrangement.
Posted by: archigoddess at September 11, 2009 8:04 AM
Back in the bubble days (2004), we tried to sell our b'stone co-op apt FSBO. Much less common then. Everyone thought they could lowball us because we would be willin gto split the 6% savings with them and because they thought we might not know the market well enough. We gave up after 3 weeks. We listed with 2 brokers and we sold for about 12% higher than the highest FSBO offer we got.
If you are in no hurry, go the FSBO route, but know your comps really well. No point in doing all that work and giving away the broker fee to the buyer.
Posted by: slopefarm at September 11, 2009 8:52 AM
To avoid having to accept the lowball offers from people thinking you're more vulnerable just because you're FSBO, firmly counter those low offers and tell the buyers you're only keeping the property on the market as a FSBO for a couple weeks then you're listing it with a major broker, after which point who knows what the price will be.
Posted by: traditionalmod at September 11, 2009 9:43 AM
Do FSBO but offer 3 percent to agents who agents who bring buyers.. I think you will see alot more offers...
Posted by: HOBOKENROCKS at September 11, 2009 10:15 AM
I sold my Manhattan apt FSBO some years back and was pleased. Definitely give your RE atty a heads up so he/she can be ready you advise you or draft a contract.
Posted by: tinarina at September 11, 2009 10:24 AM
Question for FSBOs: how did you show the apartment/house, and was there any awkardness if you showed it yourself? And did you do any open houses? We are considering selling FSBO down the road as well.
Posted by: setancre at September 11, 2009 10:30 AM
Do FSBO with buyer's broker welcome. Give buyer's broker his/her cut of 2 to 2.5 %. You keep the seller's share.
Lots of agents will steer their clients away from your unit if they have no incentive to come to you. I recently sold and paid full commission. I am glad the job is done but it was very difficult to write those checks. good luck.
Posted by: ClintonHillGal at September 11, 2009 11:58 AM
I had the same thoughts about the open houses/showings. We bought an apt FSBO and were shown the apt by the owner. Ended up liking them. Only tricky part was as we came to know them better, they would want to discuss the sale and logistics personally rather than let the lawyers flesh it out. That was a bit awkward. If doing it myself, would definitely not do that. I would still do open houses, but only by appt only.
Posted by: archigoddess at September 11, 2009 12:08 PM
We did a couple FSBO over the years. Each time was successful, and each time we got our asking pretty much (we determined asking by meeting with 5 different brokers and getting as many comps as we could). Only glitch was last summer when the appraisal came back much lower than contract price, but that was smoothed over by the lawyers. We did open houses, one of us ran the open house while the other took out the kids all morning. Good luck - I think it is definitely worth trying, especially in Park Slope where there seems to be a lot of FSBO and FSBO-savvy buyers.
Posted by: WTbound at September 11, 2009 1:24 PM
Hi Archigodess: That's correct. There are many buyers that are looking on their own but the fact is, most "qualified" buyers are probably working with a broker so it's a big part of the market you're missing out on if you don't.
Posted by: Crownlfc at September 11, 2009 6:17 PM
We tried FSBO of a condo many years ago. You will have every broker under the sun contacting you. We made a deal with one who ended up selling the apartment and gave her 3%. A word of caution-make sure you have a few people with you when you show the apartment. I had some bad vibes from people who appeared to be just "checking" out the place, or looking to lift something.
Posted by: Bklyn born at September 11, 2009 8:31 PM
most brokers are pretty useless. the profession tends to draw people who have flunked out of other professions. however, if you are selling FSBO, you have to look at everything objectively. buyers customize their homes for their own uses and tastes. Then they are outraged that everyone else doesn't think it's perfect. Meanwhile, buyers are wondering how much it will cost to re-do the home to their own needs and personal taste. Also, just remember that the lifetime of mementos of a fulfilled life doesnt mean anything to buyers; to them, it's just clutter that they are having to step around.
Posted by: slick at September 13, 2009 1:00 AM
Slick, you're probably right. However most people that make comments like yours tend to be failed, bitter ex-agents that lack any sort of self-motivation and thought they were going to make a quick buck but couldn't cut it but now have to crawl back to whatever "profession" where they're guaranteed a check by doing as little work as possible.
Posted by: Crownlfc at September 13, 2009 12:53 PM
I did FSBO because I was living in Queens, where there is no MLS and most of the brokers are incompetent. Absolutely nobody uses a buyer's broker. If you did, you wouldn't be able to find a place to buy, because few seller's agents would agree to split their commission.
I'm interested to hear Slopefarm's story -- wonder why that would be? Had I gone with a broker, it would have taken forever to sell the place and I doubt I would have gotten more money for it. The brokers don't have armies of buyers waiting to snap up new listings. Sellers do their own legwork and get listings off the NYT and Craigslist. Maybe it's different in Park Slope -- maybe there a few big agencies really do control the market.
If you are going to do FSBO, do not say "brokers welcome." Your phone will be ringing off the hook with brokers trying to get your business. There is no such thing as a buyer's agent in New York City, so don't be fooled into paying a seller's agent posing as one.
Posted by: mopar at September 14, 2009 2:03 PM
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