Has anyone sold their house without an agent and “as an owner”? How was that experience? As a commercial RE attorney I feel I should be able to do this solo and save the agent fees but not sure. Any advice?

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Do it. Agents are rip offs. It’s not hard. As you know, title company does most of the work.

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You mean taking your money to do nothing?

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Yes. It was simple, especially in a sellers market. Take good photos and list online on places like Zillow with buyer's agent commission protected at regular rate in your area (usually 2.5 or 3%).

The buyer's agent does all the work. Seller's agent gets 3% for marketing essentially, but in a market where everything sells within hours rather than weeks, anything that hits Zillow is being seen.

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Agree with this. Selling couldn't be easier in this market. Don't throw away 3% for someone to do next to nothing. These realtors touting themselves as great "salesmen" are kidding themselves. I could put my backyard shed on Zillow and I'd get a buyer. You will, however, lose access to the MLS without an agent. If you get an agent, have them do it for 1%. There is literally no "marketing" required besides listing it online. In a different market, more work would be required. But in this market, you're gifting someone 3% for doing next to nothing.

Every agent in your area will be bad mouthing your house and every buyer will expect to share in your savings.

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Also—be prepared to offer a buyer’s agent fee (2.5-3%). That will nip the bad-mouthing in the butt. We sold our former house this way and bought our current house this way-it was pleasant both times.

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Selling your house yourself is a lot like representing yourself pro se: if you find yourself thinking you can do it all on your own, you have an idiot for a client.

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A good agent is really helpful with putting together an effective marketing campaign, doing comparative market analysis, managing showings, handling contract negotiations, getting through the inspections process, and getting the deal to closing. As a commercial real estate attorney, you should look at your billable rate and the time you would spend, and include that in your cost. As others have said, FSBOs don’t get nearly the buyer traffic. Also, since you are used to the CRE space, you are used to a different style of practice. I personally would hire a good agent and seller’s attorney and let them do the work, but double check the settlement statement closely.

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I’d definitely do it. Homes here in Indy sell within days. So paying a realtor is a waste of money. IMO.

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Slightly biased opinion but as a realtor (NY & NJ), use an agent. They’ll be able to generate a lot more traffic/interest to your house. Especially if you use a larger brokerage, your agent will know buyer’s agents within their brokerage who will reach out to see if there’s any interest from their clients.

Some general listing agent advice, interview several agents. Some will have lower commission fees but nickel and dime you for marketing and advertising fees. Others will have higher commissions, but won’t charge any ancillary or advertising fees. Lastly if you’re working directly with a broker, see if you can negotiate a specific commission structure or flat percentage that works best for you.

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I helped my son buy a house, sans realtor. I put an ad on Nextdoor saying “I have a client looking to buy a home between $X and $Y. Before you call a realtor call me.” It worked out great with seller paying no commission.

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I bought my house without an agent but I wouldn’t sell without one. It just seems like way too much work.

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My main question is this: What is your time worth?

There are 2 issues here: Ease of the transaction and traffic to buy your house.

If you feel YOU have the time to stage, take pictures market and show the house then all by means try to do it yourself. This is the traffic issue. Can you spare your time to do all of these things to generate traffic to buy your house?

Second: You don't know what you don't know. A real estate agent knows how to easily navigate the BUYER and the situation. Do YOU have the time to dedicate to their inspections (etc etc)?

Is all of the time you are going to use worth not paying the 5% commission?

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Our old neighbor did. It was apparently a nightmare. WAY more work than he anticipated, and based on the MLS he ended up selling lower than what he could have. Plus we just heard that the new owners are filing a quiet title action against him and a malpractice action against his closing attorney because their title has issues despite a supposed title search and transfer of a warranty deed.

In contrast, we bought our house from a flipper who is a licensed realtor, and she still used a local realtor as her agent for the sale. And our buying process was extremely present.

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We looked into it for our house but ultimately ended up not selling and renting it out instead. You can’t really hit the ground running without an agent, because Zillow and similar websites won’t allow “coming soon” posts for FSBO homes. And in most markets now, the first few days of a house being on the market are absolutely crucial. So there’s a high risk your house will inevitably look less desirable because it’s sat for X days on Zillow. If you live in a really desirable neighborhood, though, your neighbors may have friends looking to move there. So I would start by talking to neighbors and friends, posting on Nextdoor that your house is coming to market soon, and then see if it gets any traction. Then you can decide if you need an agent.

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Jurisdiction?

Georgia

Looking for a buyer? DM me.

We did it. We will never do it again, even though we got a good price for our place and saved the sellers’ commission. Long story short, it’s a huge hassle, and yes, many buyers’ brokers will not show your place. It’s a cabal.

You aren’t paying the agent for legal expertise/knowledge. You are paying them for market knowledge/marketing/coordinating and scheduling between all relevant parties. You can do this on your own, you just might not be nearly as effective, which could result in not getting as good a price and/or wasting a ton of time and energy you could have put towards something else.

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