TIPS for FSBO or Selling with Redfin?

Question

Hi All,

Looking for some advice and tips regarding selling my Twin Cities, MN home without a realtor. I live in a townhome in a desirable neighborhood so I am not too worried about demand.

I see redfin has a 1.5% listing fee - has anyone done this before?

Any other tips or advice with selling your home FSBO?

Thanks!

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Jon Minerick "1. Price fairly, or even a little less than what it is worth, if possible."   That's exactly my plan for when I sell property. I'm not going to risk sitting on market for months just make a couple dollars.

I see flippers over price stuff in my market and it's shocking how many price reductions they go through before selling. Obviously they're making money on those deals but that type of investing isn't sustainable.

Jonathan Minerick · Answer

@Sean Sloop Also take a look at doing a "Flat Fee MLS" listing, which gets you the exposure of the MLS + major websites for a small upfront fee (e.g. $150) and no listing commission. Add in the services of a transaction coordinator (~$400) to help with paperwork and IMO it's the most effective use of your money with the least amount of work.

A few other tips for selling:

1. Price fairly, or even a little less than what it is worth, if possible.

2. Offer a market rate commission to buyer agents (typically 2.5%). The truth is that most agents don't care what their buyers pay, they just want to get a deal done (which is a great thing).

3. Get pro photos

Best of luck!

Jon

Sean Sloop · Answer

@Amber Gonion that's a good point. I would only be saving the 1.5% (~3k) is it worth not using an agent at that point? Haha.

Amber Gonion · Answer

@Sean Sloop the catch must be that it is 1.5% for the listing, but you still need the commission for the buyers agent so add on the typical 2.7-3% buyer’s commission and they are at 4.2%-4.5%.   We do that all the time.

When anyone puts a property on the MLS you need to disclose the amount that will be paid to the buyer’s agent.  Keeps everything above board.

Sean Sloop · Answer

Thanks for the input! You make a valid point and im still on the line of whether I am going to FSBO or go with a  Realtor.

Russell Brazil · Answer

If you need tips, then it sounds like you dont know what you are doing. Im in the top 1% of agents nationwide, and still when I buy or sell in states Im not licensed in and dont know the nuances and laws of that state and local jurisdictions, I still hire an agent that knows what they are doing.  I see agents on the opposite side of deals from me make mistakes that cost their clients tens of thousands of dollars. I know that even though Im tops in the industry, the same thing could happen to me in locations Im not intimately familiar with the laws.

Sean Sloop · Answer

@Jon Minerick great advice, thanks!

Sean Sloop · Answer

@Kim Feldkamp I'll look them up, thanks!

Kim Feldkamp · Answer

We used a company called Home Avenue to list our place on the MLS.  They have a bunch of a la carte add ons for you and we paid the buyers agent 2.5%.  We took our own photos but that's my husband's hobby - you need good photos. Saved us over $10K on the sale of our house and it was worth the savings for the effort.

TIPS for FSBO or Selling with Redfin?

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