My For Sale By Owner Journey (Home Sale)

[Owen Lucas]

I inherited a 2 family home and plan on selling it myself to avoid realtor fees. I will be reading up on the FSBO process but here is what I have planned so far:


- Meeting with a license property appraiser this week. ($500) An appraisal is needed to establish the "day of death" cost basis in case of any increase in value when I sell. Our accountant recommended this and I like to have my ducks in a row for the IRS, just in case.

- Calling a few real estate attorneys for contracts and proceedings. ($1500 ?)

- List property on MLS via 3rd party. ($100)


The estate attorneys real estate agent nosed in on the deal and said the property is worth $130k after driving by the house. I am estimating at least $150k, but we'll see what value the appraisal comes back with.

He didn't see the inside where 1 floor was completely renovated including refinished hardwood floors, new kitchen, and 100% repainted. New electrical panels for both floors. Unrenovated floor is in great shape to begin with, just needs updating and new carpet. The house is brick with solid bones and a refinished basement as well.

Overall the house is a land lords dream come true. It can probably be split into 4 families if someone wants to go that route.

Assuming a $150k appraisal a realtor charging %6 would cost me $9000 for the whole deal. I can afford it but I'm doing this mostly for the principal and the challenge.

 

[tbm5690]

Good on you. Try FSBO first and if it doesn't work you can always go a different route down the road.

 

[walterjay]

Man I don't know where that place is located but probably worth 3X that around here.

 

[Rand]

have you checked any online sites to get an estimate of value? my 1952 1156sqft cape cod is supposedly upto 136k

also

Real estate agent commission rules are about to change, shifting costs between buyers and sellers

“We’re going to either see prices are going up for buyers, or the market is going to correct itself."

fortune.com

 

[Passport1]

Can you put it on Facebook?

 

[Owen Lucas]

have you checked any online sites to get an estimate of value? my 1952 1156sqft cape cod is supposedly upto 136k

also

Real estate agent commission rules are about to change, shifting costs between buyers and sellers

“We’re going to either see prices are going up for buyers, or the market is going to correct itself."

fortune.com

Yes, I had to expand my search radius to find comparable homes as most are 1 families nearby and I think I'm undervaluing the place at $150k. I'll see what the appraisal comes back at and then bump up the price $25k to see how the market reacts. I'm not in a hurry to sell.

The changes in commission structure are interesting and hopefully turn out better for the consumer. I think it's a parasitic system with a monopoly on the uninformed. No where else I know in the world are 6% commissions a norm.

Can you put it on Facebook?

That is a good idea.

 

[JHZR2]

Man I don't know where that place is located but probably worth 3X that around here.

I was going to say. $130-150k for a little two family? Rent must be really low.

 

[atikovi]

Can you put it on Facebook?

Hi Owen, is this still available?

 

[RhondaHonda]

What are the rents and what are the real estate taxes there?

 

[jhellwig]

Tried it last year. Nothing but tire kickers and people wanting to help sell it. Realtor was worth every penny but we also were busy and moving so needed it gone without messing around

 

[Owen Lucas]

I was going to say. $130-150k for a little two family? Rent must be really low.

Yes, it's a low income neighborhood. The family was one of the final hold outs of a bygone era.

As @walterjay stated, this property would be easily $300k plus in an better neighborhood or more in a nice college town / city.

Rent wouldn't be worth the hassle and even if was a profitable venture, news coverage of squatters, cash for keys, and property destruction are a real turn off.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Hi Owen, is this still available?

lol good one. Not yet, I am in the research phase now.

What are the rents and what are the real estate taxes there?

Rent is poverty level. Real estate taxes, no idea, I'll have to look into it.

Tried it last year. Nothing but tire kickers and people wanting to help sell it. Realtor was worth every penny but we also were busy and moving so needed it gone without messing around

Worst case scenario I'll go the realtor route. I'm not in a hurry though and I like a good challenge / project.

I want to see if I have what it takes to market and sell a house. Am I punching above my paygrade? We shall soon see.

 

[cptbarkey]

Good for you trying something new and learning all the dirty details along the way. Maybe you will like it enough to do it professionally. Good luck.

 

[Chris142]

Man I don't know where that place is located but probably worth 3X that around here.

same. looks like my place built in 58,on a dirt road and only 1007 sqft is worth $345.

 

[sloinker]

Wait until July. The 6% commission is going away.

Home prices could go down now that the biggest group of real-estate agents agreed to lower commissions

The National Association of Realtors said it would pay $418 million in damages to settle lawsuits that claimed the NAR kept commissions unfairly high.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[RhondaHonda]

lol good one. Not yet, I am in the research phase now.


Rent is poverty level. Real estate taxes, no idea, I'll have to look into it.


Worst case scenario I'll go the realtor route. I'm not in a hurry though and I like a good challenge / project.

I want to see if I have what it takes to market and sell a house. Am I punching above my paygrade? We shall soon see.

I’m not sure where this is located or what the definition of poverty level rents are so it’s hard to say what it’s worth. It sounds like it’s not a huge dollar amount so try and sell it yourself and if you can’t, you can always call a realtor.

If it’s occupied with decent tenants I’d imagine it will sell quickly.

 

[nwjones18]

I hope it works out well for you and it certainly isn't impossible. My Grandad sold his himself a couple years ago after he fixed up a lot of things himself and stuck with the number he wanted until someone eventually paid him (took at least a year). I'm in the middle of selling a house now (first one I've sold) and I thought about doing it myself, but ultimately decided to go with a realtor even though I wasn't even in a particular hurry. Pay for a professional home photographer. I don't know what filter/app they run the pictures through, but my house looked amazing in the pictures, like so good you'd almost be let down when you saw it in real life. My house sold for full asking in a matter of hours, VA appraised it at asking price, realtor covers most of the lawyer stuff and came off her commission by $1k to cover a minor snag we had after the appraisal.. Its been easy and quick, but it cost me $14k... Assuming I'd have gotten as much by myself (who knows). I know I'd have spent a lot more on prep if it was just me. Realtor was very much "we'll sell it as is, just do curb appeal things" and she was right.

Also in my area, and with my 2 house sample size. Zillow estimate of value was dead on appraisal.

 

[nwjones18]

Wait until July. The 6% commission is going away.

Home prices could go down now that the biggest group of real-estate agents agreed to lower commissions

The National Association of Realtors said it would pay $418 million in damages to settle lawsuits that claimed the NAR kept commissions unfairly high.

www.businessinsider.com

This news all came out less than a week after I signed my contract with my realtor.. It will be interesting to see how much the commission goes down in real life.

 

[Owen Lucas]

My house sold for full asking in a matter of hours, VA appraised it at asking price, realtor covers most of the lawyer stuff and came off her commission by $1k to cover a minor snag we had after the appraisal.. Its been easy and quick, but it cost me $14k... Assuming I'd have gotten as much by myself (who knows). I know I'd have spent a lot more on prep if it was just me. Realtor was very much "we'll sell it as is, just do curb appeal things" and she was right.

This is my issue with the whole situation.

What did the realtor do in those hours your house was listed for sale? How much work did the realtor do after the sale? Pretty sure it's a bunch of template / form stuff that takes a few hours but not $14k worth of labor / resources. It's cut and paste. How much heavy lifting did the title agency do? Nothing personal, I'm just on a rampage against the industry lol.

In the future you could do the same by paying $100 to have your home listed on MLS. Everyone will come banging on your door even without a realtor in almost any market now. Step 2, hire an attorney for the contract stuff. An attorney won't charge $14k.

Will it be as easy as I say it is? IDK, stay tuned.

 

[nwjones18]

This is my issue with the whole situation.

What did the realtor do in those hours your house was listed for sale? How much work did the realtor do after the sale? Pretty sure it's a bunch of template / form stuff that takes a few hours but not $14k worth of labor / resources. It's cut and paste. How much heavy lifting did the title agency do? Nothing personal, I'm just on a rampage against the industry lol.

In the future you could do the same by paying $100 to have your home listed on MLS. Everyone will come banging on your door even without a realtor in almost any market now. Step 2, hire an attorney for the contract stuff. An attorney won't charge $14k.

Will it be as easy as I say it is? IDK, stay tuned.

Believe me you aren't rampaging any worse than me. I'm paying $14k.. haha. When I justify it to myself I say things like "I'd have been on the hook for the Buyer's 3% commission anyway", which I probably would be unless it was an individual-individual sale. and when I think of that, the fact that I most likely sold it for more than I would have otherwise, and spent less prepping for sale, I don't think its as bad of a deal as it seems like on the surface.. I will say when my realtor hit list the ad for my house was on every home site on the internet instantly, it was on facebook and instagram it was going to be unmissable to anyone looking.