Selling a House/No Realtor

[jsmla]

My parents have both passed away and we need to sell the house. So far we’ve done nothing. We were over there today clearing out some of the furniture and a young woman stopped by. She and her husband are looking for a home in the neighborhood and asked about my parents’ house. I showed it to her and she seemed excited. They are moving to be close to his parents (whom we know) and they live across the street.

If this works out we were thinking it would be nice to skip the whole realtor/listing thing but are unsure of where to start. I’m thinking a lawyer and appraiser? Has anyone done a sale by owner type thing? I’d love to hear all about it!

Thanks!

 

[Lilsia]

You will need to get a real estate lawyer to do the paperwork. Not using an agent will save you TONS of money. I don't know where you live but there is a company called FSBO Homes that only charge a few thousand and will do all of that for you. They charge one flat fee instead of a percentage of your home sale like real estate agents do. It is also a good idea to get an appraisal so you know what your house is worth. Good luck.

 

[SG131]

My first house was purchased without a realtor. It was my great aunt's house. They got an appraisal and that's what I paid (I probably should've negotiated cause the price was a bit high but I was young). Then we had a lawyer who handled the paperwork end of things. It was fairly easy and saved the sellers a good bit of money. Since you know their family that's a plus.

 

[js]

I sold our first house without a realtor and would do it again. I needed a real estate lawyer (and now I have one, my dd LOL although she is corporate real estate). I had a job where I could do a lot of the work on my own, making flyers, putting stuff online, etc. It was almost a full time job but it was in the 90s when the market was going fast. I sold my house the first weekend with an Open House. However, I still showed my house until the buyer’s mortgage was fully confirmed and going through. I kept my For Sale sign up until we closed.

 

[jsmla]

Thanks, everyone. Neither my brother nor I live near my parents town. If this doesn’t happen we’ll have to use a realtor. I’m guessing we should start with an appraisal. It would be great if this works out.

 

[ronandannette]

Thanks, everyone. Neither my brother nor I live near my parents town. If this doesn’t happen we’ll have to use a realtor. I’m guessing we should start with an appraisal. It would be great if this works out.

Is there a lawyer involved with your parents' wills? If so and you trust her/him, ask for a referral to someone who handles real estate. I'd actually start with a consultation there before an appraisal, just to feel more confident going forward. Good luck!

 

[mnrose]

Start with a lawyer. Your biggest impediment is going to be determining a fair price. Appraisers are used to determining whether the "value" of the offered price is "fair", not so much setting the price, although I'm sure they could do that.

 

[ptlohmysoul]

Basically all you need is a closing company. You might be able to get a generic contract from them and modify it or look on-line, but find one that is specifically for that location so that it adheres to all the local laws. You can get and pay for an appraiser - if the buyer is financing, they have to have that information and may be required to provide an appraisal. They would be wise to get an inspector also. And who pays for that would also be negotiable between parties.

 

[disney junky]

Appraisers do comparisons of recent sales of similar homes in the area. That's how they arrive at an appraised value. That's the number that matters to the lender.
I was a real estate agent for a few years.
Selling privately involves a few things.
1. Determining an asking price isn't that hard. An agent would typically do what an appraiser does and find comparable properties sold within a particular radius, often by school district, within the past 6 months. So if it's a two story, find a similar two story. Condition is a factor. The asking price is little more than an educated opinion of someone who understands the market. A formal appraisal costs money. A reputable realtor might give you an opinion on what he or she would price a house for listing. Ask two or three. We did it all the time. I lost many listings to agents who would list a price higher than I thought it would sell for, but that's the nature of the business.
2. The buyer is going to have an appraisal done anyway at his or her expense if they are financing. That's why I wouldn't spend the money.
3. If an agent is representing a buyer of a for sale by owner home, you might what to consider that the agent representing the buyer may ask for a commission. Here, it was usually 2.5%. If you as the seller say you aren't willing to pay, then the buyer will have to pay an additional amount to their agent or else their agent won't represent them. A good agent will have had them sign a buyer agency agreement which has a beginning and ending date, so you can't go behind an agent's back and make the deal. The buyer by contract will owe the agent the commission. It's part of the business.
4. Where these deals can get really tricky is during the inspection phase because if there are problems and the buyer isn't willing to buy in as is condition and the seller isn't willing to fix the problems, the deal is off. These are things covered in all real estate contracts. And it's how real estate agents really earn their money.
I've bought two properties using just a lawyer, but they were from my kids, and there wasn't going to be any negotiation. I knew what I was paying and what I was getting. It was easy, but that was family. Your situation it different.

 

[dish rag]

Big mistake.

 

[kiddo76]

As long as you have a real estate lawyer, private sales are very doable. We bought our house private sale, sold 2 of my mother's properties private, and are in the middle of closing on 2 of my dad's properties private. We have 1 house of my dad's that when we are ready to sell we will likely use a real estate agent since we don't know anyone who might be interested in purchasing it.

 

[kiddo76]

Big mistake.

How so?

 

[jlb727]

I have done a FSBO sale before. I did a ton of research on comparable current listings and on the county recorder’s public website for recently closed sales. That helped me see what nearby homes were actually SELLING for rather than what they were listed for. We made sure we had a lawyer that we trusted, and he walked us through the process and handled everything, even a dispute with the buyers who wanted an insanely high credit at closing to fix something that wasn’t even an issue. In the end, it all went off fine and we saved a bundle of money not using a real estate agent.

So tldr: do lots of research to set a fair price and get a good real estate lawyer that you trust. It’s definitely doable with those two things.

 

[_19disnA]

IF the OP truly has someone lined up who is serious about buying, seems it could be doable. HOWEVER, for the typical home being sold, part of what the realtor does is arrange for the listing to advertise home is for sale. They also coordinate showings and want those who are interested to be pre-qualified so they don't waste the realtor's time looking at homes they can't afford. While in theory you can save money selling it on your own, there is a LOT more to this which is what you are paying the realtor to do and may not be the way to go for most people.

 

[barkley]

i think so much of this kind of decision depends on the age/condition of the home and what the real estate laws are like in a given area.

some places even if you buy 'as is' there are components of the home that if out of code/need repair go back on the seller. if it's an older home it may seem reasonable to agree to do a 'simple' repair or replacement of something to make the deal until you find out that you were grandfathered into an older building code that replacement calls for major upgrades/changes (we had this w/a water heater-prayed it would never go out on us b/c it would have had to be relocated w/new plumbing and electrical to the current building code approved location). we've all seen the tv reno shows where a simple renovation reveals major underlying problems that cost tremendous amounts of money to address.

we used a realtor on our last home sale that took care of every detail. he knew what was reasonable for a buyer to ask for, for a buyer to have in place (solid financing vs. sketchy lender or a lender that would in no way fund for the kind of contract they were offering to enter in to-and issue we've seen ruin some home sales w/neighbors). we've always felt it was money well spend.

ymmv

 

[jsmla]

Thanks, everyone! I feel like value is going to be tricky. The house has been very well maintained as far as things like the roof, HVAC and stuff are concerned but, as to decor, it’s still 1990 in there. I’ve been looking online at sites like Zillow and most of the houses in the neighborhood have been completely gutted and redone. The area is also definitely a buyer’s market.

 

[_19disnA]

And don't put too much weight into those Zillow 'estimates' of home prices, they are fairly useless. The actual value of two similar houses right next door to each can vary based on the age of the roof, HVAC, windows and what types of updates the owners might have done over the years. Zillow takes none of that into account. Realtors typically create 'comps' by looking at other recent home SALES prices which is far more meaningful.

 

[tvguy]

I guess it can be done, but there is a LOT that a Realtor does that can keep you out of trouble.
Inspections. Legal requirements. Comparable values. Disclosures.
I can't imagine not using a realtor.

 

[kiddo76]

I guess it can be done, but there is a LOT that a Realtor does that can keep you out of trouble.
Inspections. Legal requirements. Comparable values. Disclosures.
I can't imagine not using a realtor.

I good lawyer and an appraiser can do all.of those things for you and a fraction of the cost of a real estate agent.

If you don't need to market the property, there is no reason to get a real estate agent involved.

 

[jsmla]

And don't put too much weight into those Zillow 'estimates' of home prices, they are fairly useless. The actual value of two similar houses right next door to each can vary based on the age of the roof, HVAC, windows and what types of updates the owners might have done over the years. Zillow takes none of that into account. Realtors typically create 'comps' by looking at other recent home SALES prices which is far more meaningful.

That’s the thing with this house. My parents were very good about structural/mechanical maintenance. The roof is less than ten years old, new(ish) HVAC and the exterior is in good shape. Inside there’s a warren of tiny rooms with mauve carpet and avocado/harvest gold bath fixtures.