Tips on FSBO?
I’m looking for some advise from anyone who has done a successful FSBO. I have a wonderful condo in a great building and my husband and I were planning on staying here for a while, but we just seem to have too many children to fit in here and need another bedroom (and/or an office…
I’m looking for some advise from anyone who has done a successful FSBO. I have a wonderful condo in a great building and my husband and I were planning on staying here for a while, but we just seem to have too many children to fit in here and need another bedroom (and/or an office since I work from home as well). Since the real estate market is down at the moment we’ve decided to try and sell ourselves rather than having to pay a broker fee.
So far I’ve created a blog for the condo and listed it on nytimes real estate for the open houses. We have a lawyer that can do the contracts and closings for us. Any advise is welcome as we really hope to be able to sell and get a fair price.
Thanks.
Photos look good. Your ask seems a bit high though, especially for that area. I have sold 3 apartments FSBO, two in South Slope and one on a PS name street (that was the most recent, sold in August). Make sure you keep all contact info of everyone that comes through, follow-up in a tasteful way, know your building and make showings very easy (hold lots of open houses, even some on weeknights). One thing I realized in our last sale was that a broker seems to smooth over the appraisal process (not sure this is legal or still happening) and when we sold in August low appraisals were coming in and we almost lost our sale a few weeks before closing. I think FSBO is possible still in this climate, but it does take work. I agree it is like project management, but I think you can do it. Good luck!
I think your packaging looks very good. I’m not sure about your asking price, since I don’t know your area and what you are using for comps. I priced mine about 3 % lower than what my comps showed and in the end I took an offer about 6% lower than my asking price. But my buyer was all cash, and that was worth it to me to be certain that the deal would fly. Make sure you qualify your buyer; don’t be shy about asking about their assets, salaries, etc.
Curiously, the brokers who were interested in listing were recommending that I drop the price to a number 25K lower than what I ultimately sold it for!
As a former broker, I have a prejudiced view. You can successfully sell your own property if you’re extremely knowledgable about the market, and how to follow through on a real-estate transaction.
There’s a lot more to selling a property than advertising. Listing at the right price is key, and this doesn’t mean comparing only to existing similar properties on the market, but also looking at the price that similar properties sold at. You can get that information at sites like Propertyshark.com.
The whole process is like Project Management. If you have the knowledge and time, you can do it.
In terms of commissions, it varies. You can expect anywhere from 3 – 6%. Interview a number of Brokers (if you decide to go that route) and ask them to explain the process to you, and what role he/she plays throughout the entire transaction until closing.
At the end of those discussions, you should have a good idea if this is something you feel comfortable doing on your own.
I just saw the apartment listing with photos and description.
It was beautifully done.
I wish you the best of luck.
I think you did a fantastic job with the staging and photos. The website is nice too. I would double check some of your comps on price, though. It seems a little high to me for the location.
I sold my coop FSBO but it was in Queens where there is no multiple listing service and the brokers don’t add anything. Take good photos, price realistically, make sure you pick a buyer who won’t have trouble getting financing or PMI. A broker is helpful for the negotiating part.
Any idea how low a broker would possibly go on their fee? I certainly believe that a good broker should be able to sell this place, but I do need to have some money in my pocket to be able to move on to somewhere else.
When I sold my place, I extensively researched FSBO vs. broker and was convinced that a broker was worth it. In this market, I think that’s even more true since deals are harder and harder to close and you really need someone who can negotiate on your behalf. That said, you really need the RIGHT broker and they vary greatly. Some are ignorant and still living in the bubble, others saavy and understand how to sell at best price (and most realistic one to close sale) in this climate. Perhaps you could negotiate a lower commission? I know this isn’t what you’re asking but I had several friends start with FSBO only to break down and use a broker later but it would have been better for the property if they’d gone with a broker from the get-go.
Know your comps and the market well. People think they can get a bargain on a FSBO because they think the owner doesn’t know the market and they think the owner might be more willing to negotiate down because of the broker fee savings. But you also don’t want to miss a reasonably good offer.
We tried to sell our coop FSBO in 2004 and buyers tried to lowball us. We had decent pictures and a good Times ad. We got much higher offers after we listed with brokers. More than made up for the fee. If anything, I imagine buyers are in even more of a bargain hunting mood now.