Selling a house without an agent.

parrotc

Member
Hubby and I are putting our townhouse (North Beach) on the market in a few days. We are going to attempt to sell it ourselves. Any advice on if we should retain a real estate lawyer now or can we just take a signed purchase agreement to our local title company? Thanks.
 

Erin

Member
Lawyer

You don't need a lawyer until closing. We purchased a FSBO in Myrtle Beach and used a lawyer in the end - the owner didn't have a lawyer - he used ours as well (all under the one expense). We purchased our house here FSBO and the owner used Capristo for closing; we signed papers and the lawyer was his expense.
 

http

New Member
Exactly, that's the key. Getting the lawyer involved anytime before the closing is going to cost you a lot; not anywhere near as much as an agent, but still a lot considering the average lawyer goes for $250/hour.

The secret to all of this though is like the person above said; wrap the legal fees into the closing cost and get the buyer to pay them. That's something you can't do with an agent. Works like a charm.
 

parrotc

Member
Thanks for the info. I was getting a little stressed out by the process, but I'm starting to realize it's not that difficult. I'd much rather have the agents commission in my pocket than his/hers. Thanks again!
 
G

giggles04

Guest
Originally posted by parrotc
Thanks for the info. I was getting a little stressed out by the process, but I'm starting to realize it's not that difficult. I'd much rather have the agents commission in my pocket than his/hers. Thanks again!

Shoot I agree... when its time for me to start looking... I'm going to try and get something without an agent!!! Save money that way!:)
 

parrotc

Member
no no no i meant strickly for selling our current house... we're buying my in-laws house no agent needed for that, :smile:
 

http

New Member
Originally posted by kwillia
I am finding it is hard to find what you are looking for without the help of an agent...I do admit it may be I just don't know all the right places to be looking. :frown:

Yea, buying is a little different. I think I'd want an agent just so I don't get ripped off by all the hidden costs. But selling, you're in total control; no agent needed.

As far as looking, that's nothing. Between Realtor.com and Longandfoster.com (the latter has more) just about every listing on the east coast is online. You can filter your property right down to the type of heat it has.
 

RodRugg

Active Member
One time my uncle Stanley had a yard sale and he got this guy down the street to be his lawyer. He got that guy to make everybody that bought something sign a piece of paper saying they were happy with what they bought and that they would write a letter in 30 days saying that they was still happy with their stuff and tell what they did with it. It sure worked and my uncle got a lot of letters from people and it made him feel good that they enjoyed his stuff. It costed my uncle $50 plus $1 for every letter he got.
 

Erin

Member
No

You can buy a contract from Staples, or there are places on line where you can copy one and tailor it to your own needs. We haven't sold a house yet, but that was the process the previous owner of our homes used.
 

Cheetah

Member
We're doing just that right now. For $400, you can have your home listed on MLS so that realtors show your home in addition to any open houses or advertising you do on your own. We sold our first house on our own in 5 days and our current one is doing very well only being on the market for a week. He provides the forms and such and provides consultation for a fee. I also recommend getting a lock box through him if you do that so realtors can go in with prospective buyers during the day. Don't allow people w/o a realtor to use lock box. www.misterlisterrealty.com.

Advice - They key is having your home show well. Get some boxes and put alot of your shelf trinkets/decor away; keep closets very tidy; remove any excess clutter off of kitchen and bath counters; remove all trash (who wants to see dirty tissues in the bathroom?); have it smell clean, too. Good Luck!
 

sschleper

New Member
First time home seller..

My husband and I need to sell our home due to a job change and we would rather sell it ourselves and keep the money we would be forking over to an agent at closing.

My husband is ready to put a for sale sign in the yard but i am a bit mor timid and would like to know what what legal precautions i should take before jumping right into selling my house on my own and other things i should look out for. I certainly do not want to get ripped off or scammed in any way by a buyer who sees a young couple selling a house w/o an agent. Is selling your first home w/o an agent a smart way to go? We are very new at this considering we only bought the house a little over a year ago.

One last question...With the way the market is acting should we put the house up now even thought we dont have another house picked out yet to move into? We are in a rush but can commute until the current house is sold.

Any info, websites, or books would be greatly apprecitated!!!

Thanks!!
 

dawn

Well-Known Member
giggles04 said:
Shoot I agree... when its time for me to start looking... I'm going to try and get something without an agent!!! Save money that way!:)


It doesnt cost a buyer any money to use an agent. The seller is the only person to pay a fee.



(My primary job is a paralegal, but i am also licensed to sell real estate.)
 

itsbob

I bowl overhand
sleuth said:
ok... so how does one go about buying a house without an agent????
WHy would you want to.. if the house is listed with an agent it's probably going to cost 6% commission whether you have one or not.. Now if it's FSBO then that might be a time to consider going realtorless.. FOr a buyer an agent is fairly invisible.
 

General Lee

Well-Known Member
Alot of buyers agents won't show a home that is for sale by owner. They will explain how much of a hassle it is to deal with for sale by owners. Granted, if the buyers want to see the home bad enough, well they will but agents tend to shy away from homes being sold by the owners.
 

dn0121

New Member
I just bought a fsbo, and got a helluva deal. I was able to get it way under asking, and I think it was because it was not in the MLS. I had a Realtor and looked at about 40 houses. I was glad to have her. Saves me a lot of hassle.
 

AK-74me

"Typical White Person"
I did it

I bought my first and only house without an agent, the seller and I agreed on terms, she had a lawyer write up the contract, I had a lawyer I hired review it and the deal was done. Cost a few hundred bucks and didn't have to pay anyone a commission.
 
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