Rental Property Investor · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Joe Schultz you're right. Paying 3% to throw it on the MLS is a waste. On the other hand, if that is all your realtor does, they are a waste of a license
Flipper/Rehabber · Charleston SC · Member since 2019 · 78 posts · 43 votes
7y
@Joe Schultz
You can always list with a limited service broker. They'll charge you a couple hundred bucks to list the property on the MLS. Keep in mind it would still be wise to offer a buyer agent co-broke of 3%. Maybe only 2.5% if you're in a really hot market or price range.
Rental Property Investor · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Joe Schultz you're right. Paying 3% to throw it on the MLS is a waste. On the other hand, if that is all your realtor does, they are a waste of a license
I use a broker who I pay a flat fee. I still need to pay the buyers broker but I usually save a few thousand dollars. I find it works just fine. It takes a little more effort on my side, but I think it’s work the savings. No disrespect to brokers.
I just don't think that paying 5 or 6% to a realtor to sell a home is necessary.
Having to pay the 2 1/2 - 3% to list a home to get it on the MLS seems to high to me. I know that realtors do more than this but it still seems high.
Do you know of other ways to sell home(s)? Or am I dreaming?
Thank you
The best advice I can give is that you change your mindset.
Find a very good agent and pay 6% to get your home(s) sold and you'll be very happy. There are many agents who don't do much beyond listing a property, it is because of those agents that people feel paying 6% (note: 5% isn't an option) is a waste; and that's understandable. A proactive agent will net you more money with you paying 6% than will a crap agent being paid X%. I know this first hand.
If you have the time and feel that you can sell your home, then flat-fee it while paying 3% (yes, a full 3%) and handle that half.
Real Estate Agent · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2019 · 359 posts · 295 votes
7y
what @Tchaka Owen said 100%. do your research and find a good agent. if you have never listed a fsbo before, i would go ahead and try it, maybe you will do perfectly fine with it but theres a reason why some of the best business for agents is to convert fsbos to listings. if you dont care about marketing time, you can always list with an agent later on.
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
7y
@Joe Schultz one other option is to auction the property. Many auctioneers don't charge the seller anything and get their fee from a "Buyers Premium"
It is easy to say "all an agent does is throw it on the MLS and get 3%" The broker takes a cut and agents have lots of expenses. I wouldn't consider being an agent for that small amount of money. All the hassle and nit-picky paperwork wouldn't be worth it to me.
Good agents are worth what they charge. Not all agents are good.
Real Estate Broker · Bay Area · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Hi Joe,
It all depends on how you value your time. If you believe what you believe and think that agents are not worth the 2.5-3% to list and do all the work for you then sell it yourself. Others here have given you some great options on flat fee brokers.
You can view my opinion as bias bc I am a broker in CA but based on my experience listing with an agent sells for more and sells way faster than FSBO. The big thing I see is saving yourself time and having it done right from the beginning. Now you gotta hire the right agent because they are all not the same.
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
7y
I sold 5 of my last 6 rental homes FSBO. 3 were direct to buyers with 0 commissions paid, 2 had buyers agents. The buyers with agents were much easier transactions and because I sold a la carte, the buyers paid their own agents to educate them and negotiate against me. What a concept.
However, I have sunk years into education and experience as to buying and selling on my own. My homes were priced properly, in good condition and all disclosures signed and available before putting the sign in the yard.
Most don't know what they are doing. No disclosures are filled out, homes are over-priced and they don't know boo about how to advise their buyer about how to submit an offer or on what kind of PSA.
FSBOS suck so bad in general I rarely inquire about them as a buyer. Do you know what you are doing? 90+% don't.
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
We've sold flips both with an agent and FSBO and I can't tell you how much easier and faster it is to sell with an agent vs FSBO. Not only will FSBO take up your time that you could be spending to find the next deal, but it will also take longer to sell, sometimes months longer or not at all.
And by the time you decide to finally try an agent, you've already lost money because of your holding costs and marketing costs, but you've also lost money because you could have done another deal by now.
And when we did FSBO's, we used flat fee listings, where you get your property on the MLS but no agent is marketing it for you. That helped a little but not much.
On the flip side, when we listed with a really great agent who goes all out to market the property and get showings and even brought in a killer photographer to make the house look amazing, we sell almost immediately with 5 showing a day instead of 5 showing a week or a month. Then we were onto the next deal quick.
And if you offer their full commission, they will be much more aggressive and sell faster, which costs less in the end.
The point is, in this business, time is money. Don't waste it. We've lost far more money selling FSBO by wasting time, losing out on the next deal and paying holding and marketing costs than we ever spent on realtor fees.
Not to mention the frustration you'll save yourself. With the right agent, the selling process can be easy, fast and enjoyable rather than stressful.
The whole trick is finding the right agent. Do your homework there. Ask, ask, ask other investors and home sellers in your area who they've used and what their experience was.
And try various agents out by getting property comps from them just to see how well they communicate, how professional they are, how aggressive they are. If they're promoting their services to you in a consistent and convincing way, that's a good sign that they'll be that thorough with selling your property.
Interview agents. Make a list of questions to ask them about all of the things they will do to market your property that other agents won't do. Where exactly will they market your property? Will they be aggressive about getting showings, will they do open houses, provide a great property photographer and create a virtual tour, will they help with staging and curb appeal?
Ask them to show you their past sales portfolio so you can see if they generally sell their listings fast and for top dollar.
As you interview agents, make a list of all the things these agents say they will do to market your property. Then ask your favorite agent if they will incorporate any other ideas from your list that they are not already doing.
Once you find that agent who will move your properties fast so you can do more deals, you'll never want to go back to dragging things out and losing time and money by going it alone.
Marble Falls, TX · Member since 2015 · 41 posts · 12 votes
7y
Nicholas Alexander
I think there are a few things that are part of this home.
It's my home personally
I am conservative and do most things myself.
Note: In some areas, i really should move on and hire others.
It is an older home (built in 1920) and I restored it and upgraded it to a very nice home. Value of these older homes that have been fixed up really nice may not come up to the dollar amount that I think that it should and it's not.
The added expense to sell a home when I expect the sale to be in the 260's (264k x .05=13,200).
It's somewhat personal to me and doing a quality job costs more but that's what should be done so I have spent more on it than I planned.
My parents could use some help because of their health so that's the reason i was selling.
Real Estate Agent · Merritt Island, FL · Member since 2017 · 974 posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Nicholas Alexander - because one is taking on a mindset of success. One objective of that mindset seeks to maximize net profit, which often requires hiring the best talent. If you're successful at what you do and someone wants to hire you and says, "By the way, I'm going to pay you 1/3 less than what you're used to getting"......what would be your reaction?
Too many focus on what the agent is making; it's not what the agent makes, it's who makes you the most in the end.
Rental Property Investor · Evans, GA · Member since 2014 · 74 posts · 65 votes
7y
Throw it on Zillow and offer buyer agents a 2.5% or 3% commission. Don't forget to pay a professional photographer to take great pictures. Hopefully a good agent that knows what they are doing will sell it for you and deal with the hard parts of the sales process.
Honestly, unless you have done SEVERAL real estate transactions yourself, know all the active, pending, and recent closed sales, knowledgeable with real estate financing and which lenders to use, know how to speak to appraisers, and are an expert negotiator, you are shooting yourself in the foot by not hiring a realtor. It's one thing to come to an agreement with a retail buyer, but getting from contract to close is quite a process. Dealing with retail buyer is ALWAYS emotional and they NEED an advocate to hold their hand through the process.
I DO agree that listing agents get paid VERY WELL for what they do, but a good one will net you more money on the back-end than their fee. A buyer's agent almost always earns their 3%! Representing buyers is labor intensive!
If you're not selling to a retail buyer it's a little easier dealing with cash buyers, but you will almost always net more money by throwing it on the MLS because if it's a real deal there will be multiple offers.
Rental Property Investor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2019 · 40 posts · 23 votes
7y
@Tchaka Owen makes sense, I suppose you incentivize folks better when you pay full rate but set the expectation up front in the relationship that you expect results.
Throw it on Zillow and offer buyer agents a 2.5% or 3% commission. Don't forget to pay a professional photographer to take great pictures. Hopefully a good agent that knows what they are doing will sell it for you and deal with the hard parts of the sales process.
Better to offer buyer agents a 3.0% or 3.5% commission.
FYI: I'm a licensed agent (as was my old business partner) and we never offered less than 3% on any of our flips. In some instances we offered 3.5% and those sold faster than most of the 2.5% ones in the same area. For us (and most investors), time is money....it was financially astute to provide an incentive to agents and get the property moving quickly.
My main business is flipping, but I’m also a realtor. I ALWAYS offer at least 3% commission for my coop.
Like I mentioned in my post, 3% is more than fair to hand-hold buyers through the process. That said, if OP wants to be as cheap as possible he could prob get by with 2.5%. I’ve had to grin and bear it making 2%-2.5% coop in the past, but it does make you salty AND that buyer agent is more likely to recommend the competition. WHY? More money and you deal with a professional instead of dealing with both sides. FSBOs suck and most agents steer their folks away when they can.
I guess the main theme here is that you need to pay people right for the work they do.. there really are no short cuts.
Flipper/Rehabber · Newport News, VA · Member since 2016 · 128 posts · 54 votes
7y
@Joe Schultz I have used limited service broken on multiple occasions with a flat rate of $200. I also indicate in the note section that buyers agents are welcome and they will be compensated with 3%. I market my own properties and hold open houses at my leisure and it works just fine. Good luck!
Realtor · Angleton, TX · Member since 2019 · 87 posts · 39 votes
7y
I'm in a hot market in Bentonville AR , and I've seen people/investors do FSBO " for sale by owner" and it's as if they are raising their hands asking for a realtor to help . 87% of people who do FSBO end up using an agent. Most people don't have the time ,resources,marketing that realtors do. Here's the other side ..
Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Joe Schultz
Sure, list it on Zillow, trulia, and the other big name brands where people go to search for housing.
Facebook market, Instagram, Craigslist are good secondary places to put up your listing.
Go on your board of realtors website and find their agent directory, grab every agents email, email market your property to them. (Id offer a 3% buyer commission if you want them to bite)