May 15, 2007

Curious George: Heave-ho hovel - does anybody have experience with selling a house without a realtor? Any words of warning or hot tips?

I'm going to put my wee house on the market soon, and will try to do it without a middleman for a while. I have a pretty good idea what sort of pricetag to apply, and I know about reducing clutter, making it smell good, etc. I've found several great places to advertise it inexpensively or for free, and am working on a couple of web pages. What are the not-so-obvious issues or hazards of this transaction that I might miss?

posted by fish tick 17 years ago
  • make sure they pay cash up front. that is all.
  • My friends sold their house on Craigslist and it worked out fine.
  • Do you have a lawyer who can draft up documents like the purchase-and-sale agreement and so on?
  • Get a lawyer to draft up the offer, when it comes time. It may cost you a couple hundred, but it'll save you a lot of hassle if it's done right. I used to throw in the offer if I knew I was going to handle the sale, and I expect that you could find a similar deal. There are enough do-it-yourself realty websites out there, but I wouldn't know which one to recommend. It's still early in that game here in Ontario, so I expect that they're all of the same-ish quality. Internets posting is key, if you're going to compete with mls.ca or whomever. Be sure to have as much information about your wee house on hand as possible. If you don't have one already, or one that's not up to date, it may be an idea to invest in a survey -- that'll answer a lot of questions a buyer has up front. Recent tax bills are also key, both for giving the buyer an idea about those costs, as well as providing a legal description. Depending on when you bought, show them your home inspection report. Insist on seeing ID when they make the offer. There's enough mortgage fraud going around these days to make that a valid concern. if they give you hassle, just blame it on your paranoid lawyer.
  • Nthing the lawyer for your contract. Agents often suggest that the owners leave the house when they're showing. I'd suggest that you only have one person showing the house, and the anyone else go out for drinks.
  • I did sell a house once without a real estate salesperson, but the buyers were pretty wise to the savings I would make by not paying a commission, and I finally got just about the amount I would have had I stuck with the horrible woman I originally contracted with. I was anxious to leave Oklahoma, so I took the offer, and felt good about denying the bitch her money. The guy who bought it was a construction contractor and was willing to do all the escrow/title transfer stuff, which was a mystery to me. He seemed to do it honestly, and I was glad not to have to learn the ins and outs. You might want to check into the requirements, though.
  • Great helpful stuff - thanks all! Much to mull over in the next little while, and bullets to sweat.
  • "I was anxious to leave Oklahoma" haha, that made me laugh
  • Assuming you get a lawyer, ask him/her to verify that your bidders have the necessary capital/mortgage and, if relevant, mortgage insurance. We lost almost a month when selling our flat because the buyers *forgot* to get insurance on their mortgage. At that stage, we could've legally refused the sale and kept their 10% deposit. Check what's standard in terms of deposit and waiting period in your jurisdiction.
  • Call the buyer's agent after the showing to see what they thought of the place. Ask for constructive criticism if they aren't interested in buying. Keep in mind that websites aren't the only way to go. Mr. Mickey & I drove around neighborhoods we liked, looking for the "For Sale" signs in the yards. Print flyers with color pictures, details about the house, and the price (along with contact info for showings), and stick them in a little box on your yard sign. Check back every day to make sure it's full. Good luck!
  • Ah - paper flyers - good idea! Will do.
  • If you live in the US, know that most real estate transactions involve commission of six percent. Three percent goes to the buyer's agent, and three percent goes to the seller's agent. If you still want the buyer's agent to make three percent, then you will need to put "BROKER PROTECTED" on your sign and all of your advertising. I would recommend doing up a flyer and bringing/sending it to as many realtors as possible. Invite them to a luncheon at the house where you serve them cheap food in exchange for them viewing your house. If you don't want the seller's agent to get three percent, then know that no realtors are going to show or suggest your house to any of their buyers. They would have no reason to. If you do not do the "broker protected" approach, then you are limiting yourself only to people who want to buy a house without a realtor.
  • Madame live in Canadiola.
  • Oh. In that case, then my advice will be useless until the annexation is compete.
  • Ack!
  • Complete, of course.
  • We're annexing the US? Why the hell would we want to do that?
  • To help your Olympic hockey team finally make it to the medal round?
  • *sulks because nobody wants to see my shrubbery*
  • Pls to post the pix of shurrberry, fsh tck. K Thx!
  • *cchhk* paging curieux ... curieux to aisle 14218 ...*cchhk*
  • I do in fact have two very high hedges, however they lack the two-tiered effect with the nice little path running down the middle.
  • Is this the thread where people are growing chickens, or the one about bugs that sleep for 17 years?
  • This is the thread where we roll up newspapers and whack dog snout.
  • Geddorffamylawn, you dog snout wackers! Can't you see you're lowering the tone of the place?
  • At least we're not throwing gravel (gravel!) at cats, or aiding and abetting fetid rodents.
  • fish, do you even HAVE a shrubbery?
  • Indeed I do.
  • But do you have gravel?
  • But do you have gravel? Nope- but I do keep a powerful watergun handy to scare off those house-destroying snigglesnaggles. I've had to do all kinds of repairs to the shed thanks to squirrels.
  • Ugh. Squirrels. Foul house-destroying tree rats.
  • Voila. My shrubbery.
  • Very nice, fish tick! And you're leaving this place? I used to like squirrels, until they started eating the peanuts out of the jay feeder on the patio. That by itself would have been okay, but then they started digging up my most favorite succulent, then chewing on my most favorite succulent, and then pooping everywhere. I've had to put away the jay feeder, and *still* have one nosing around the patio who just yesterday knocked a plant off the wall in such a way that the pot broke when it fell. Stupid squirrels!!
  • Ooh, it's beautiful! I wish I could buy your house.
  • *cchhk* paging curieux ... curieux to aisle 14218 ...*cchhk* Somebody called? Sorry, can't help with the lawyer, the shrubbery or the gravel. And I try to stay clear from the watergun.
  • fish, do you even HAVE a shrubbery? Whew, thought I was in the wrong thread there for a moment. Was totally afraid to click on that picture for fear of a pruned merkin.
  • Oh, I pruned it, GramMa.
  • Oh. Good. I was afraid to suggest that it was getting a bit overgrown. When you sell a house, you want everything neat and tidy. And when you're in an accident, you want to make sure you have clean underwear.
  • Now that HAD to be a setup!
  • Followup: Sold it sans housepimp. Yay!
  • Congrats, tickerino!!
  • Yay!
  • Well done.
  • Well, indeed!! Congratulations. *takes deep breath
  • Don't forget to take kitty with you when you move!
  • Thanks all, and thanks for the reminder, Lara. The buyers were quite disappointed that I wouldn't leave Molly behind. Also: I have nothing per se against realtors; I just can't afford to spend the money on one.
  • Ooh - trouble brewing. Insurance weasels will not be flexible after the buyers requested an extension of the closing date. I am skeert, and have gone to AskMe for help, but the input of anybody here well versed in such things is more than welcome. *chews nails to the quick*
  • Not trying to be facetious here, just trying to ease yer mind a bit... If the insurance weasels can't be persuaded, what are the chances of some catastrophic event occurring between midnight Monday and Wednesday when the deal is finally done? IAclearlyNAL. But just to be safe, no wild parties, limited use of open flames, just sit up for two nights with a loaded shotgun and a fire extinguisher.
  • Talk to your lawyer. And good luck!
  • Thanks, islander, I like the gun & extinguisher idea. However, I know of someone who had a pipe burst in a house while it was in real estate limbo, so I am cautious. I managed to talk to a "team leader" (*gag*) at the insurance company, and she condescended to grant me a 2 day "verbal" extension, after much huffy talk. Got a pdf from the company regarding this, so I'm hoping I'm safe. Now where'd I leave them matches?