FSBO or Agent?

Question

I have been living in my home approx. 2 years. It is a beautiful little house and I have had in the last three months five different people come to my door asking to please contact them if I ever want to sell.

I don't know why they expressed interest other than my property is in a very nice part of SE Wisconsin, lake view, elementary school very close by (just walk through backyard).

I never considered selling. Until now.

Due to a death in the family it seems prudent that I sell this home.

Would it be better to contact these people first? Do a FSBO or Agent?

Five people in two months, each not knowing the other (I asked!) one guy offered me nearly 25K more than I owe on my mortgage. Is there something ELSE going on that I may need to find out, as to what is causing such an interest?

Answer 1

Talk to your neighbors...see if they are getting the same requests/inquiries.
Talk to some NOTABLE realtors in your area...say you aren't interested in selling, but people keep bothering you with theses questions...(if you don't want them to solicit you too)...but do they know of anyone trying to buy up land in the area.
Read the local paper, or even get in touch with whoever reports on real estate matters in your area...they may know if anyone is speculating on a "big project"?

Concerns...
I don't know the purchase price...but $25k seems to be a significant increase in value to you. So. If you sold, where would you live? Cost more or less? Bigger mortgage or smaller?

Death in the family makes selling your home prudent? A husband that was helping pay the mortgage?... or inheriting property and you don't have a mortgage on that one?

FSBO......you are "on the hook" for nearly everything... but if you are comfortable being a "do it yourself" person... you can save some money. I bought and sold my second home as a FSBO. But someone will have to provide the paperwork/contracts, etc (fsbo will hook you up with a local realtor that can help you with extra stuff like that for a flat fee or %)

Realtor...may know what else is going on in the area....and "should" be looking out for your best interest, but they don't always know that much or care that much. A good realtor can be invaluable...most aren't so good. You don't need help finding buyers, unless they are just "lowballing" you (sale price fsbo vs sale price -commission with realtor).

Simple math after you consider these things.

Answer 2

We sold our home last year & started out FSBO...we really didn't want to give up the agent's cut. BUT, we went with an agent after a coupe months only because we had made a contingent offer on another house. If I were you - start looking around for a good attorney you like & want to work with. THey will answer all your questions & heklp immensely. You will use one for the contracts & everythign in the end anyway. Any good atty will give you a free consultation to see if it's worth going for. It's a lot of work for you (more than an agent)...BUT, DO IT if you think you have serious buyers ready...best wishes!! (I know a few friends who did it FSBO & they were really pleased). There are a LOT of resources & materials available when you do FSBO, too

Answer 3

If you've already had 5 inquiries, I'd say you don't need an agent. Make sure you have the house appraised to determine the selling price (and to ensure that you make a decent profit). Also, make sure the potential buyer(s) can be financed; just because they're interested doesn't mean they have the credit available. I'm not a real estate expert, but we just bought a house through a FSBO deal and saved money because we didn't have to pay a real estate agent commission, which I'm told could be 6% and higher.

Answer 4

It sounds like your house should sell quickly. There is a book called, "How to Sell Your House in 5 Days" that you should check out. I borrowed a copy from the library so you might check there. The idea is that you run an ad on a Wed. and have an open house on Sat. and Sun. People come to the open house and make an offer on paper. After the open house you start calling the people and tell them that someone offered more than they did and do they want to raise their bid. According to the author you'll get the best price for your house.

Answer 5

FSBO only works in a HOT market. I am not willing to pay 6% of my equity (approx 30k which is nuts) to a realtor so I am going with a hybrid which is Help-U-Sell. Only thing I have to do is show the house and I save thousands.
I just interviewed 2 'traidtional agents' and i Help U sell broker. The discount brokers DO NOT charge the fee up front. You can pay when it sells just like the traditional way. After chatting with them I am thouroughly convinced the only thing the traditional agent does the discount agent does not is SHOW THE HOME. The traditional agents tried to BS me by saying they have tons of buyers, the market is going up, they have unique markeitng plans, blah blah blah . The Help U sell broker worked for Prudential, Remax in the past and he is no joke. Interview all your options and go with the one option that will be cost effective AND will market your home. Good luck.

Answer 6

It's your call. I wouldn't FSBO it more than a week, or you'll weed out potential buyers. If you do sell it yourself, get an appraisal, because it sounds like you don't know how much it is worth. It may have appreciated since you bought it.

If it hasn't sold in a week, list it with a Realtor. Speaking from advice, I have a client who tried to FSBO a home at $120k for six months. All of their potential buyers called and found out the price and haven't called back. It appraised at 89k, and has been listed for 9 months.

Answer 7

Hey i say use an agent but becareful there are some untrust worthy agents out there and trust me this is coming from someone in the industry but in California. If you wish i can talk to you via email or messenger and kinda lead you in the right direction in what to do and no, at no cost, just hear being a nice guy

Answer 8

Not that I want to burst your bubble, but I have encountered many past clients who have told me similar stories, and ended up listing the home for sale with me. Sad to say, many of those who express interest are not totally serious about the comments which they tend to make.

However, it would not hurt to contact them and advise them of your intentions to sell. If they are as interested as they claim, an offer to purchase will show up in short order.

If this fails, you can always engage the services of a qualified real estate brokerage firm.

Answer 9

I always tend to err on the side of cutting OUT the middle man. :)