FSBO Advice - Park Slope Brownstone Co-Op
FSBO properties are typically owned by people who are notoriously cheap skates, (no offense) and so you will draw cheap skate buyers. A good broker can make a way bigger difference than 12% depending on the property bc you wont have access to legit big money buyers. As a regular investor in BK, I have seen it time and time again. If you need a recommendation on who to use in the market, message me. mrohrmann at G mail dot com Good luck!
mrohrmann
in About Brooklyn 11 years and 11 months ago
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delphinez | 11 years and 11 months ago
Hello, I am looking for any advice, experiences, tips etc. for selling property without a broker involved. We’d probably be shelling out roughly 40K if we went with a broker, but is it worth it in this market where seemingly our type of unit is in demand for the vast majority of buyers who don’t have a zillion dollars. We own a 1.5 bedroom apartment in an 1890 brownstone in Park Slope. The building has 3 units – the garden level/parlor duplex, the second floor apartment (ours), and third floor apartment. it’s a great apartment in a great building, wonderful neighbors, and a lovely neighborhood. We haven’t done a lot of research on selling (it seems like we only just purchased and finished our renovation) so please go easy on us with the harsh criticisms that this website is famous for 🙂 We just want to know if any of you would say hands down sell it yourself, or definitely have a broker — pros, cons, any additional websites, blogs, articles we should read up on. We are also curious about all the taxes and fees we would be responsible for, and if any of those are being picked up by the buyer these days. What would be a logical and realistic timeline for selling, any tips on how to advertise and get the most eyeballs and people to attend an open house et al. Thanks so much! We look forward to your informed opinions and insight. D.
slopefarm | 11 years and 11 months ago
Advice may outdated, but we tried to do this with our brownstone co-op apt in 2005\. We got mostly lowball offers and I think potential buyers either figured we would sell for less because we were saving the fee or thought we might not know the market well and would accept a lowball bid. We eventually brought in two brokers and final sale price was 12% higher than best bid we got when we tried selling on a FSBO basis. I would say go for it if you have really done your homework on comps, have your lawyer in place,and can put a good, professional-looking listing together for yourselves, and, of course, have the time to deal with this. But if you are only seeing lousy offers after a week or two, bring in a broker and start over.
delphinez | 11 years and 11 months ago
Thank you so much for your advise, slopefarm!
brokelin | 11 years and 11 months ago
Well, try it for a few weeks and see what you get. But the best way to get the most eyes to your open house is to hire a broker, you know…because most buyers are working with brokers now. So, you have to decide whether you will be paying a commission to a broker who brings a buyer…you’ll get little serious buyer traffic at all if you don’t…because a buyer has nothing to lose by using a broker. I think a broker to represent you is worth that half of the brokers commission, too, unless you have all the time in the world, like messing with photos and ads, and fielding phone calls and negotiating. Some people do, have the time and like that stuff. A broker is also useful if you think your coop will be insane about approving a buyer, as they can run interference between you and the rest of the board. In many small buildings, you immediately become the enemy when you go to sell. The biggest problem you will have is that buyers will be alert for you to be a bit of a crackpot, someone who isn’t capable of acting professionally and business-like about the transaction. I must say, when I was looking at coops in small buildings, I did find this to be the case, and would be wary of tangling with a FSBO owner again as a result if my experiences then. And, I gotta say, though gently, that your question about whether buyers will be picking up taxes and fees that are usually borne by the seller puts you in this camp already, in my mind. Good luck.
mousta | 11 years and 11 months ago
I sold a very similar apt myself about a year and a half ago. Selling on your own isn’t right for everyone. I have a particular interest in real estate so I felt I had a good handle on the market in my neighborhood. I spent weeks going to open houses for similar listings withing 20 blocks. There is a lot of work involved so be prepared. It’s not as simple as throwing some pictures up online and waiting for the offers to roll in. Handling open houses and offers as the owner can be tricky also. Forget about getting the buyer to pick up your taxes and fees. Do your research and price it appropriately and list it well with good pictures and description. List it in the times, streeteasy and here. If it is a good apartment and is priced within reason you will get traffic. I would be clear about allowing buyers brokers and offer them 2-2.5%. You want as much traffic as possible. As someone said above you have to be prepared to negotiate. If you are not good at this then I would just use a broker. You will do better in the end. Then again a friend of mine just had 2 open houses and 6 offers all bid over ask so sometimes it can be easy.
dylan621 | 11 years and 11 months ago
You might as well interview some brokers to get a sense of what kind of value they will add and confirm the pricing you had in mind. Buyers will likely expect to get a discount since you won’t be paying brokers’ fee so that’s something to watch out for. Also, you might want to contact a mortgage broker to make sure your buyer won’t have a problem getting a mortgage for a small coop which can be tricky.
delphinez | 11 years and 11 months ago
Thank you, brokelin, housepoorer & dylan621\. We really appreciate your advice. We have much to consider, and a lot of homework to do.
brokelin | 11 years and 11 months ago
Yes, only certain lenders lend on small coops, as you likely know already. Brokers usually refer buyers of such to mortgage brokers who have relationships with lenders who will lend on small coops. If you don’t use a broker, or don’t pay a buyer’s broker, or in case you end up getting an inrepresented buyer even if you do advertise that you will pay a buyer’s broker, then get a few mortgage brokers lined up who DO lend in small coops, so you can refer buyers to them, in case they won’t have brokers to tell them who will lend on your place.
delphinez | 11 years and 11 months ago
Thanks again, brokelin … yes i remember having to get the “under 5 unit” waiver (which was actually quite easy at the time). Will definitely find out if that is still a concern.