I can't decide whether to do a For Sale By Owner, advertise/market on the internet (mostly to out of state people as a vacation home) or get an Agent and then get stuck with paying the 6% commission (which is more like 20-30% of the equity).

Any advice, guys?

Sell it yourself. The ONLY thing you will not get (Im pretty sure) is an MLS listing. If you have little equity, and want to keep it, this is the best way.

If there is ANY way to get an MLS listing without shelling-out a pantload of cash, I want to know about it =)

I, from experience, do not trust real estate agents. Never let them give your offer to a seller unless you are there! The house will almost always cost more because the sellers' agent doesnt want to cut-up his share of the loot...sorry I digress.

Sell it yourself. It's not too hard and will save you TONS of money.

Try looking here [url]http://www.help-u-sell.com/[/url] , never tried it but I think it gets you on the multi-listing.

I recently sold my home and bought another. Advertised it at a fair price in the local papers. Sold the second day for my asking price. Owned it for 2 years to the day of closing, sold for $15000 more than I had in it. Total $78500. NO AGENTS, all for me.

Don't try to sell it yourself!!!!Tried that route, didn't work. Not only don't you have any idea what it is worth, but you won't be able to advertise it properly. If you price it too high, you'll sit with it. Too low, and you won't make any $$$$$. Also, how do you plan on showing the house to buyers????Do you want people coming off the street nosing around your house? You'll have to hire an attorney anyhow to do the paperwork. Whatever $$$ you spend in realtor fees, you'll make up in properly pricing the home. Also, don't ask the realtor to take a cut on their commission. That's very rude. They are professionals who work hard for their money. Mom was a realtor for 25 years and I heard all the horror stories about having to drag people around all day on a Sunday (In the realtor's car) when they were sight seeing only,  and had no intention of buying a home. Did I mention the fact that the potential "buyers" expected the realtor to take them out to lunch also?? That comes out of the realtor's pocket, not the company. Do yourself a favor and list your house with a professional.

I buy houses fix up and resell for a living. Theres nothing to selling the house yourself. You need a purchase agreement drawn up by a lawyer. Here's a site for you to get comparable home prices in you neighborhood [url]http://list.realestate.yahoo.com/re/homevalues/[/url]. Sure saves on the commision. It'll only cost me about $150.00 in advertising in the local paper to sell the home I just completed. It'd cost me $5200.00 commision if I used a realtor. I've been doing this for 7 years. [:D]

True, a lot of realtors get treated like dirt, but a lot of realtors also treat others like dirt. If you know some people who have sold recently ask them their opinion about their realtor and try to find a good one. A lot of people steer away from FSBO's because owners tend to add "sentimental" value to their property. Most investors will not even look at a property that is for sale by owner. If you know the value and have some potential buyers try to sell it yourself. If, in the words of the LEOs on this board, "Let the professionals handle it".

Don't try to sell it yourself!!!!Tried that route, didn't work. Not only don't you have any idea what it is worth, but you won't be able to advertise it properly. [red]Its easy to find-out the approximate value of a house in your area. The internet is chock-full of places that help put a value on the house. Local papers are actually a pretty good way to advertise. Agents have a lock on the MLS, so that is about the only thing you cannot use when selling it your self. Also, there are TONS of books available that show you how to write an excellent selling description[/red]

If you price it too high, you'll sit with it. Too low, and you won't make any $$$$$. [RED]Sell it just UNDER what its worth...it will go FAST and you get to keep it ALL[/red]

Also, how do you plan on showing the house to buyers????Do you want people coming off the street nosing around your house? [red] Just keep the house clean. If someone wants to see the house, show them the fricken house! [/red]

You'll have to hire an attorney anyhow to do the paperwork.[red] So, you are saying that real estate agents are attorneys??? Very little paperwork on the selling end...the closers do 99.9% of the work...Just dont lie in the description[/red]

Whatever $$$ you spend in realtor fees, you'll make up in properly pricing the home.[red] No, do your homework and you will not have to pay a realtor (middleman) Does this mean properly pricing the home with the EXTRA 7%???LOL'''go ahead and keep the extra 7%[/red]

Also, don't ask the realtor to take a cut on their commission. That's very rude.[red]That's business, if you want mine, you will take a cut[/red]

They are professionals who work hard for their money. [red] $7,000 to $20,000 (in most cases) for a weeks work? LOL[/red]

Mom was a realtor for 25 years and I heard all the horror stories about having to drag people around all day on a Sunday (In the realtor's car) when they were sight seeing only,  and had no intention of buying a home.[red] A good salesperson knows when someone intends to buy a house and shouldnt put up with those who don't[/red]

Did I mention the fact that the potential "buyers" expected the realtor to take them out to lunch also?? That comes out of the realtor's pocket, not the company. [red] Never feed the animals[/red]

Do yourself a favor and list your house with a professional.[red] Like a Doctor or a Lawyer?[/red][/quote]

I say sell it yourself. Your inexperience with selling will be FAR outweighed by the money you will save.

mmsig229, I appreciate that your 'mom' was a real estate agent and I'm not replying like this to piss you off. There are TONS of people out there who are willing to waste equity with an agent, so don't worry too much about this.

Damm!!!! If I thought my post was going to be disected, I would have been more complete. I stand by my earlier statements. If my furnace needs replacing or my computer blows up, I call a professional to fix them. Besides, there are professional realtors just like there are professional police officers, masons, and yes attorneys and dentists. We can agree to disagree.

You can get into the local MLS through some "new" Internet sites.  Look at FSBO.com for starters.

Also, nowadays (at least in my area) realtors -- sorry, I mean Realtors(TM) -- use "lockboxes" on peoples' front doors to leave keys.  Each Realtor(TM) has a little electronic keypad, and each lockbox has a docking port for the keypad.  The Realtor(TM) plugs them together, enters her Secret Code(TM), and pulls the keys out -- so you don't have to stick around and show the place.

One disadvantage is that Realtors(TM) are protective of their commissions, and so FSBO's don't get the attention that a listing with an agency does.  In a hot market, it's not a problem, but in a slowing market like now, it can be.  JMHO.

(I'm looking into this stuff too, because my place is going on the market soon. . . .)

BTW, NOBODY pays the full 6% any more.  There are too many "full service realtors" that only charge 4% -- even the big boys will cut their percentage commissions down to that to match, if you ask.  You can at least shave it down to 5%, or set up a split commission where they're getting 1.5% up to some amount, and 4% over that amount, so that you don't lose as much to commissions.

I can't offer any advice, but did you and the wife ever plant those flower seeds I sent you?

[50]

Hey, CK!  Dude, howya been?  We were planning on doing it this year and then the weather and all the problems with our neighbor started up.  Do you think we could still plant them this late and get a good yield?  Maybe move them into the sunroom in the fall?  We were really looking forward to seeing them bloom.

Man, we sure did have a great time in San Diego last year, didn't we?  Love that bar and that cook-your-own steak place you took me to.  And it was a lot of fun seeing the look on that kid's face at the range when he got to fire your AR-15. :)

(We're discussing various ornamental poppies)

Those will NOT germinate if you plant them after EARLY spring.  They time their blooming by the season.  I usually plant them in December or January here in San Diego.  For most of the US, plant as soon as danger of a hard frost is past and not much later than that.  They are all done blooming and mostly dried up by the summer solstice whenever they're planted.  Once I planted some in June and they bloomed when they were about 2 inches tall.



That was a lot of fun even though I could technically get sent to prison for letting him shoot it.  I was a little embarrassed when my AR (homebuilt with PWA lower and ArmaLite A2 post-ban upper) jammed on that lousy Norinco ammo.  Headspace is really tight on that rifle.  But it feeds anything else flawlessly.

Hope you get your house sold pronto.  Don't worry about keeping the seeds around another year.  They keep for several years no problem.

Don't forget that the California poppies (biggest seeds) are perennials.  They leave a little carrot-shaped root.  The foliage falls off in winter and the plant grows back bigger next spring.

Another benefit of a realtor is their ability to "pre-screen" potential buyers.  You don't want to accept an offer and then go through a bunch of crap because the buyer can't get a loan.  Then they will ask you for owner financing - don't do it!!  A professional realtor will make sure the buyer can qualify for a loan (if it's not a cash buyer).  Also, they will know what forms to file where, how to get a title search, etc, etc.  Their expertise is well worth the cost and may save you money in the long run!