Two birds, one stone. The exit strategy

Well, it has been a while... Since my last posting, I have been busy with attending real estate investor meet-ups, webinars, and taking classes on real estate and starting a business. I have also been working with a couple of mentors who have assigned some demanding tasks and offering sound advice. Clearly, starting a business while raising a family and holding down a full time job is not going to be easy, but I'm forging ahead. 

But I digress. This post is all about my real estate investing exit strategy, not what I've been doing for the past couple of months. 

After almost 11 years, I believe I have amassed sufficient equity in my 2 investment properties. Market conditions have recovered sufficiently, and I am now ready to sell them and use the proceeds to fund setting up a business. 

It was a tough decision to make, but after looking at it from all angles and discussing the matter at great length with my family, it seemed like the right decision moving forward. 

My real estate investing mentor recommended that I can save some realtor fees by being my own seller representative and listing my properties as FSBOs, and offering a 3% buyer agent commission. After all, 6% on 2 properties adds up to a fairly sizable sum of money.

Armed with recent comps for each neighborhood, I set my target price points and included padding for negotiation and commissions for a buyer's agent factored in. 

I took photos of the inside and outside of both properties, crafted some meaningful descriptions that I am sure will catch any prospective homebuyer's attention, and set about the business of putting together my very first sales listings.

Being the skeptic, I decided to first list only 1 property so that I may gauge the market and see the response I would receive. The listing has been on the MLS for a couple of weeks, and I have since lowered my asking price by $15K to stimulate some interest. 

After the second week, I decided to post the property on Craigslist to see what type of responses I would solicit using both the MLS and CL. On the very same day that I posted my house on Craigslist, my phone began ringing. Every realtor in the area was calling me to find out more about the property and trying to convince me that I need to use them as my seller's agent. I guess the disclaimer on Craigslist stating "do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers" is there for show...

In any case, what I've so far learned is that realtors would love to sign an agency agreement to sell my property regardless of whether or not they have a buyer. 

The challenge, as I see it, is to attract BUYERS to take an interest in what I have to offer. I don't want to keep lowering my price or stick "For Sale" signs out in front of my properties.

I guess it's back to the drawing board to analyze the whole situation and come up with a strategy for making my properties attractive to investors or home buyers. My hope is that once I get a prospect through the door, all the updates and improvements will sell the house (just like in those house flipping shows on TV). 

For my next posting, I will share what I have done to attract buyers and not sellers' agents, and hopefully describe the sales! Until then...