Reston, VA · Member since 2017 · 42 posts · 10 votes
Hi BP community.
I am selling a 6 BR colonial house rental property in a pretty desirable area. I had a buyer back out at the last minute. House is back on the market. I listed with a flat fee MLS offering a 1% buyers commission. This was 4 days ago.
The buyer I had lined up before listing on MLS found my house FSBO on Zillow so I thought listing on MLS would generate more traffic. No such luck. Not one inquiry.
The house appraised at $340k so we listed at $345k.
I have a sign in front yard and also listed it on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist. I log in every couple days to renew those posts.
I’m starting to get concerned. The tenants we had in there moved out almost a month ago. (Ugh)
What else can I be doing? I would have thought we would have at least gotten one call by now, but nothing. The school district is awesome (10/10 on Greatschools.org).
Any insights, advice or reassurance appreciated.
Richard Solano - I have a few opinions based on what you have said so far:
- 1% to an agent probably isn’t enough. Sad to say but there are still agents out there who won’t show a house to a client solely based on the commission they are getting. You will never know about those because they will just mark your house off their list before contacting you. Whenever I list a house for a client I always recommend they offer the buyer’s agent 2.5% to avoid the issue of not showing for low commission. Even when I am working for less than 2.5% for my own commission for selling it I still recommend offering 2.5%. I actually had an agent call me before and flat out tell me he wasn’t going to show my house simply because I was only offering 2.5%. Greed still exists....
Photos- did you take your own photos or use a professional? I always spend $125 to have a professional come and take my listing photos unless the listing is a house in need of repair, which yours doesn’t sound like. They know the best angles, lighting, touch ups, etc. Your photos are what makes the phone ring and gets people in the door to see it in person.
Rental- are you still marketing it as a rental? At $345k I would venture to guess this is a <1% for monthly rent:sale price, and 1% seems to be the bare minimum a lot of investors prefer.
Price- MLS is definitely the best way to market to the broadest range of potential buyers so if you aren’t getting any calls and have been on MLS for a decent amount of time, the market is probably telling you something. You simply might be priced too high. You might consider coming below the appraisal price. Remember, an appraisal is just one person’s opinion of value. I have had properties where one appraiser says $350k and another says $325k.
I haven’t seen your listing so I don’t know if any of the things I mentioned are even on the right track but throwing out some possibilities.
If you prefer to chat in more detail feel free to send me a PM. I wouldn’t mind looking at the comps for your listing and giving you my opinion of value, for whatever that is worth to you.
Best of luck with your sale!
Richard Solano - I have a few opinions based on what you have said so far:
- 1% to an agent probably isn’t enough. Sad to say but there are still agents out there who won’t show a house to a client solely based on the commission they are getting. You will never know about those because they will just mark your house off their list before contacting you. Whenever I list a house for a client I always recommend they offer the buyer’s agent 2.5% to avoid the issue of not showing for low commission. Even when I am working for less than 2.5% for my own commission for selling it I still recommend offering 2.5%. I actually had an agent call me before and flat out tell me he wasn’t going to show my house simply because I was only offering 2.5%. Greed still exists....
Photos- did you take your own photos or use a professional? I always spend $125 to have a professional come and take my listing photos unless the listing is a house in need of repair, which yours doesn’t sound like. They know the best angles, lighting, touch ups, etc. Your photos are what makes the phone ring and gets people in the door to see it in person.
Rental- are you still marketing it as a rental? At $345k I would venture to guess this is a <1% for monthly rent:sale price, and 1% seems to be the bare minimum a lot of investors prefer.
Price- MLS is definitely the best way to market to the broadest range of potential buyers so if you aren’t getting any calls and have been on MLS for a decent amount of time, the market is probably telling you something. You simply might be priced too high. You might consider coming below the appraisal price. Remember, an appraisal is just one person’s opinion of value. I have had properties where one appraiser says $350k and another says $325k.
I haven’t seen your listing so I don’t know if any of the things I mentioned are even on the right track but throwing out some possibilities.
If you prefer to chat in more detail feel free to send me a PM. I wouldn’t mind looking at the comps for your listing and giving you my opinion of value, for whatever that is worth to you.
Best of luck with your sale!
Agents won't typically get out if bed for a 1% commission rate. So either sit on it until the market comes to you, lower the price or bump up that %Comm!
Good luck
BB
Consider a mail campaign to renters in the surrounding areas. You might consider teaming up with a mortgage broker to share the cost.
The list criteria should include Renters, age 30-50, Income $70,000 plus, high Financial Stability Score and with that many bedrooms I'd add in families with children.
like others said .. no agent is going to show the house unless the buyer specifically ask to see it.
your being dollar wise and pound FOOLISH.. you will lose in negative cash flow everything you hoped to gain by trying to cut commish.. it just is what it is. brokers work on compensation just like anyone else .. when the rest of the selling community is offering 2. 5 to 3% why are they going to spend time on yours.. of course in super hot markets you can get away with this you can even FSBO.. but most FSBO sales are discounted by 5 to 10% as buyers are aware there is no commission and buyers are not dumb.. they realize this and make their offers accordingly
Yeah maybe 1% on 1 3.45MM house but one percent on your listing doesn't do the trick. I mean this in the most loving of ways. DONT BE SO CHEAP.
Like, you can get a beer at the store for a dollar, but a Steel Reserve Malt liquor isn't gonna have the same effect as a great IIPA. You get what you pay for my friend. Good luck
