BiggerPockets

Whatever you choose, be sure the home will show up on realtor.com and the MLS if possible. You need broad exposure, expecially in this market.

Realtors do bring value:
1. Help with negotiation. It can be difficult when you are emotionally involved.
2. An experienced eye regarding quick fix-ups, staging, etc. that can help the home sell better
3. You won't have to be tied to your home for showings and open houses, or field the phone calls.
4. A good Realtor will help you price the home realistically, preparing a CMA.
5. A Realtor should bring qualified buyers to view your home. For Sale by Owner, you have no idea who is coming into your home, or if they are qualified. It is also difficult to hear negative comments about your home from potential buyers.
6. An agent can protect you from potential litigation. You must be very careful not to misrepresent anything regarding your home.
7. An agent can bring more exposure to your home, through newspaper advertising, Home magazine, agent office tours, broker websites, etc. You can do all this on your own, but it can be pricey.

All this being said, I have chosen to sell several personal homes "For Sale by Owner", and have been very successful at it. Of course I have a real estate license, so had the experience and tools available to help me. I also did some large display ads in our local newspaper.

Weigh the pros and cons. I wish you luck on selling, whether you do it yourself or with an agent. I hope you post and let us know what you decide and how it's going.

Jackie

Why waste your time putting it on the MLS? Realtors are just bumblingbolcks in the middle of your transaction. Market your home to BUYERS. On your flyer you can advertise that you will pay a 3% commission if a realtor brings a Buyer. It won't do you any good! I advertised a 2% fee to realtors for a $1.6M apartment complex. The realtor wanted 6% as she needed to "put bread on her table". Needless to say she put her greed in front of her obligation to provide info to her clients. Her Buyer looking for an apartment complex did not get the opportunity to even see the apartment complex.

best way is to put a bunch of signs and sell it your own.

In my experience, and in this market, serious buyers are using buyer's agents, and buyer's agents are going to present properties listed on the MLS, not FSBO.

I think anyone who tries selling real estate in this market without putting it on the MLS is doing themselves a tremendous disservice. I just can't think of a good reason to eliminate between 50-90% of your potential customers by not spending a couple hundred bucks for a flat-fee listing.

That just seems like a bad business decision to me...

I am a licensed realtor and unlike many realtors, I offer flat fee listing services. Your listing will not only be on the MLS, but it will also for through a listing hub that I am signed up with that lists your property on 60 more online websites which include realtor.com, zillow, to name a few. A complete list is on my website which is www.globalrealestategroup.org. I charge $495.00 but will work with you if you have multiple properties. I wish you the best of luck either way. Not all of us realtors are bad. Some aren't just willing to adapt to the changing market.

Hmmm, that's really strange reafding the post. I thought the world of the National Association of Realtors had collapsed and owner could now list their own properties on the MLS without a listing agent....but after reading the posts, all is well!