Despite the glut of homes on the market, falling prices in many areas, and competition from bargain-basement foreclosures, plenty of homeowners still want to sell their properties without a real estate agent.
For the intrepid and value-minded homeowner, selling a home without an agent has some distinct advantages: saving the typical 6 percent commission, no conflicts of interest, and more control over the process.
But going solo also can be time consuming and mentally challenging. Sellers must research the market, advertise and show the home, negotiate with buyers and learn the legal and financial details behind real estate transactions.
“The majority of people that use our services are independent-minded folks,” said Greg Healy, vice president of ForSaleByOwner.com. “A lot of these people want to sell the property on their own for the feeling of being successful … They’re going to know the best features of their property better than some agent who is going to some in and ask them a million questions.”
One of his successful clients was Jim Seidel, in Miramar, Fla. With skidding prices and slow sales, Seidel wanted to avoid paying the commission.
He noticed a neighbor was being foreclosed upon and the house was for sale. So he found out the price, and slashed his asking price on his Internet listing by about $100,000 to $355,000, and sold his home in just five weeks.
“Obviously we wanted to save money in commissions,” said Seidel, a clinical specialist for pacemakers. “We wanted to sell it right away, rather than wait, because we figured the prices would keep falling. We did a quick price comparison and we priced it fairly.”
Of course, real estate agents have their benefits. They have access to the Multiple Listing Service, which advertises homes for sale to other agents, and contain property details and sales transaction data. The agents pay for advertising and marketing costs, and can often devote more time to showing the property than an owner. Continue reading article here.
