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by Pastaman on July 25th, 2003

Pastaman

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Can I sell my house on my own, or do I need to use an agent?

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  • by Pongky on November 5th, 2004

    Pongky

    What you are asking about is an FSBO sale - there are good and bad sides of doing this. Let's take a look at these points:

    When selling with no agent:
    * no agent commissions means more money for you. If a buyer comes with an agent, you will still usually fork up the 2-3% for his commission, even if you are doing all the legwork w/ the lawyers for documentation etc.
    * You have to make sure you get all the right docs and paperwork for the deal, get a lawyer, which costs some money. If you miss out on something, you can be liable to being sued - or worse, lose your property
    * you have to take and field all calls, make appointments, show the property yourself and look at offers
    * You need to setup the appointments and fees also with the title company
    * property MAY take longer to sell, since agents tend to bring you more opportunities


    When selling w/ agent
    * since the property will be listed on MLS - you will get more offers, and often, more GOOD offers - and thus, you may lose out on some $ here if you don't list with them
    * you will develop relationships with RE contacts in your area, something you may need for the future
    * you got to fork up 5-6% no matter if the buyer has own agent or not.

    If you are going to go ahead and selling without an agent, be prepared to:
    * Call RE attorneys and ask how much they charge for their services for the disclosure paperworks and drafting up legal contracts.
    * Make sure you have the time and energy to market your property, this takes money and effort too
    * You must be able to negotiate with offers, and know how tell if bad offers come in (ie.lots of contingencies, low down payment, and other weird stipulations)
    * Make sure to hold open houses

    An alternative is to use those discount services, such as fsbo.com, or HelpUSell - they take MUCH less than a traditional agent, who eats about 5-6% of the total home value. So, there are good points to both sides, you have to decide which path is right for you.

    Comments

    • Agent qualifies the buyer too.....better to sell with an agent.

      Alatea

      by Alatea on December 10th, 2005

    • Great answer. I work in Real Estate (but not as an agent)and would never reccomend anyone to try and sell a home by themselves. An agent is the way to go and the headache he or she will save you is definitely worth the money.

      Anonymoose

      by Anonymoose on November 7th, 2006

    • I disagree. Estate agents charge a fortune and often just rely on the web to market the property

      Richard_T9779

      by Richard_T9779 on June 21st, 2011

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